MLB Player News

The Twins recalled Balazovic from Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Oliver Ortega (back) headed to the injured list, Balazovic will come up from the minors to fill the opening in Minnesota's bullpen. The 24-year-old righty has made 18 appearances with the Twins this season, putting up a 4.44 ERA and 1.56 WHIP through 24.1 innings, and he will likely serve in middle relief while in the majors.

The Twins placed Ortega on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left lumbar strain, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Ortega was forced out of his appearance Tuesday against Milwaukee after experiencing tightness in his back during the seventh inning. Now, he'll be sidelined for at least two weeks as he recovers. Jordan Balazovic was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.

Vespi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

He gave Orioles manager Brandon Hyde a lefty relief option while Danny Coulombe was out but is no longer needed with Coulombe back in the fold. Vespi holds a 4.30 ERA over nine appearances for the O's this season.

Coulombe (biceps) was activated from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Coulombe wound up missing just the minimum 15 days with left biceps tendinitis, tossing a scoreless inning in his lone rehab appearance. The left-hander has collected a 2.77 ERA and 48:9 K:BB over 39 innings this season out of the Orioles' bullpen and will return to a high-leverage role.

Topa (3-4) took the extra-inning loss against the White Sox on Wednesday, allowing an unearned run without retiring a batter.

Topa was in for all of two pitches in the 10th inning, and while facing Elvis Andrus, J.P. Crawford's throwing error on a rundown attempt allowed inning-opening runner Tim Anderson to score the winning run for Chicago. The run was the first of any kind on Topa's line since July 22, a span of 13.1 innings across 13 appearances.

Martinez (0-2) took the loss against the Royals on Wednesday, allowing an earned run on three hits, a hit batsman and a walk over 2.1 innings. He struck out three.

Martinez's one big mistake was deposited by Dairon Blanco into the left-field seats in the third inning for the first run of the game. The right-hander has allowed at least one run in all four appearances he's logged since returning to the majors Aug. 8 while pitching to a 5.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9 and 1.6 HR/9 across 11 innings. With both Luis Medina (finger) and Freddy Tarnok (calf) on the injured list for the time being, Martinez could be called on for another spot start early next week.

Jansen reported improvement with his injured right hamstring Thursday and is confident he can avoid a stint on the injured list, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Jansen had to be lifted from Wednesday's appearance in Houston because of tightness in the hamstring, but he's feeling better after presumably receiving some treatment. The closer noted that he will see how he feels in the coming days, which would seem to indicate he could be unavailable for at least a day or two. However, at this juncture it looks like Jansen should be able to bypass the IL as the Red Sox fight for a playoff spot. Chris Martin might be needed in the short term should some save chances arise for Boston.

Armstrong is scheduled to serve as the Rays' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He'll draw a starting assignment for the fifth time this season but likely won't be asked to cover more than few innings before exiting the contest. The Rays haven't named a designated bulk reliever to work behind Armstrong, but Erasmo Ramirez is available on five days' rest and looks like the Tampa Bay bullpen arm most likely to work the longest during Thursday's contest.

Houston optioned Martinez to Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brandon Bielak will fill the vacancy in the Astros' bullpen ahead of Thursday's series finale against the Red Sox. Martinez, 28, has struggled to a 5.23 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 43 innings of relief this season at the major-league level.

Santos allowed three earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two across 1.1 innings to blow a save chance Wednesday against the Mariners.

Santos entered the game in the eighth inning and was in line to attempt a five-out save. However, he unraveled after striking out the leadoff man in the final frame, allowing five consecutive batters to reach base while blowing a two-run advantage. Santos has now blown each of his last two save chances while allowing six earned runs across a combined 2.2 innings. The White Sox lack high-quality relievers in the back of their bullpen, but if he continues to struggle it's possible that Jimmy Lambert or Aaron Bummer could see save chances across the final month of the campaign.