MLB Player News

Zerpa (shoulder) covered 4.1 innings and struck out seven in his most recent rehab start Monday for Triple-A Omaha. He allowed four earned runs on six hits and two walks.

Zerpa has resided on the injured list all season while recovering from a tendon issue in his left shoulder, but he appears to be on the cusp of an activation. He's now reached the fifth inning in both of his last two rehab outings and tossed a season-high 80 pitches Monday. Altogether, Zerpa has compiled a 3.78 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 19:8 K:BB in 16.2 innings over his five starts between Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. If the Royals opt to have him forgo another rehab start, Zerpa could be a candidate to return from the 60-day IL to fill the opening in the big-league rotation Sunday versus the Rays.

Patino was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Thursday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Patino's latest stint in the majors lasted only one day, as he was touched up for two runs in a two-inning relief appearance in Wednesday's loss to the Phillies. Ryan Thompson will absorb his roster and bullpen spot.

Jimenez (shoulder) threw a 20-pitch bullpen session Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

He's finally throwing off the mound again after missing nearly three months with a right shoulder strain. Jimenez will eventually go out on a rehab assignment and is going to require multiple rehab appearances before rejoining the Athletics' bullpen.

Tarnok (shoulder), who dealt with a blister issue after his June 29 rehab start with Triple-A Las Vegas, allowed an earned run on three hits and four walks over four innings during the Aviators' loss to Round Rock on Monday.

Tarnok appeared to be hitting on all cylinders physically even though he had some control issues, which actually served to boost his pitch count to 78. The right-hander has issued four free passes apiece in each of his last two rehab starts, but otherwise, he appears to be ready for possible activation before or during the All-Star break.

Pruitt struck out a batter while working three perfect innings as Oakland's opening pitcher in Wednesday's 12-3 win over the Tigers.

Though he faced the minimum nine batters while departing with a 4-0 lead that the Athletics never relinquished, Pruitt didn't qualify for the win because he didn't pitch at least five innings. Instead, the win fell to Ken Waldichuk, who worked 4.1 innings in a bulk-relief role. The three innings were a season-high total for Pruitt, but it's unclear if the Athletics are interested in having him build up his pitch count in preparation for a more traditional starting role. The strong outing should at least make Pruitt one of the team's preferred options the next time manager Mark Kotsay chooses to deploy an opener.

Garcia was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.

He's taking the roster spot vacated by Randy Vasquez, who was optioned following Wednesday's spot start. Garcia will provide some length in the bullpen as the Yankees approach the All-Star break.

The Astros are expected to recall Blanco from Triple-A Sugar Land to have him start Thursday against the Mariners, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 News Houston reports.

Since Blanco had been optioned to Sugar Land on Sunday, the Astros will need to place a player on the injured list to facilitate his return to the big club, with Jose Altuve (oblique) standing out as the most obvious candidate to be deactivated in a corresponding move. The Astros sent Blanco back to the minors with the expectation that he wouldn't be needed to make another start before the All-Star break, but those plans changed when Framber Valdez needed more time to recover from an ankle injury and with manager Dusty Baker opting to skip the struggling Cristian Javier's next turn through the rotation. Over his prior 14 appearances (five starts) with Houston this season, Blanco pitched to a 4.73 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 39:22 K:BB in 40 innings.

Bradford most recently appeared out of the bullpen for the Rangers' 12-11 loss to the Astros on Monday, covering 2.1 perfect innings while striking out four.

Since being called up from Triple-A Round Rock on June 13, Bradford has made just four appearances, with two coming as a starter and two coming as a reliever. His pair of starts came amid a heavy stretch of games in which the Rangers wanted to build in some extra rest for the other five members of the rotation, but Bradford looks as though he'll stick in the bullpen through the All-Star break. The Rangers may use the upcoming break to send Bradford back to Round Rock, though the rookie southpaw should be the organization's top choice to rejoin the big-league rotation should Texas lose a starter at any point.

Littell did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing two runs on four hits over two innings against the Phillies. He struck out two.

Littell served as the Rays' opener Wednesday and got off to a good start with a 1-2-3 first inning. However, he would run into trouble in the second after striking out Bryce Harper to open the frame, allowing four consecutive singles as the Phillies tied the game at 2-2. The right-hander was then relieved by Yonny Chirinos to begin the third after seeing his ERA jump up to 5.71 on the season. On a positive note, Littell has now recorded at least two strikeouts in each of his last five appearances (spanning 8.2 innings).

Jansen worked a perfect ninth inning Wednesday without walking or striking out a batter to record his 18th save of the season in a 4-2 win over the Rangers.

The veteran closer fired eight of 11 pitches for strikes while shutting down the bottom of the Texas batting order. Jansen has converted nine straight save chances dating back to May 20, posting a 2.65 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 18:5 K:BB in 17 innings over that stretch, and he continues to climb the career saves list -- with 15 more in 2023, he would tie John Franco for fifth all-time.