MLB Player News

Santiago (back) will receive an MRI on Wednesday, Brandon Warne of Zone Coverage reports.

Santiago was placed on the 10-day DL on Wednesday due to upper-back pain, and has been in a constant struggle at the mound over the past two months. The team will determine the timetable and course of action that they want to take following the results of Santiago's MRI, with the left-hander holding onto the chance of only missing one scheduled start.

Paredes was called up by the Angels on Wednesday, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Paredes recently spent two days with the team toward the end of June before returning to Triple-A Salt Lake, struggling through an appearance against the Red Sox. Although he has been putting up great stats at the minor-league level (1.85 ERA, 49:17 K:BB in 39 innings), that hasn't translated to the majors at this point in time. The team has yet to announce a corresponding move.

Tolliver was optioned to Triple-A Fresno on Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Tolliver was only up with the big club for three days to provide a fresh arm out of the bullpen before the Astros required another starter. He ended up making two appearances, giving up one run on two hits and two walks over one inning. Joe Musgrove was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move and will start Wednesday against the Braves.

Santiago was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday due to upper-back pain, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear where this injury stems from, though he did only last 3.1 innings in his last start, a loss to the Royals. Additionally, Santiago missed most of June with a shoulder strain and has a brutal 10.93 ERA over his last four outings, so this trip to the DL piles on to what has been a rough season for the southpaw. On the bright side, with the All-Star break approaching, the 29-year-old may only have to miss one start before he returns to the mound. Alan Busenitz will take his place on the active roster and Felix Jorge will likely assume his spot in the rotation.

Busenitz was called up by the Twins on Wednesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Busenitz heads back up to the big leagues due to the injury of Hector Santiago, who landed on the DL with upper-back pain prior to Wednesday's contest against the Angels. In six appearances out of the bullpen for Minnesota this year, Busenitz holds a 2.08 ERA with four strikeouts against three walks in over eight innings of work.

Boxberger notched his first hold of the season in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Cubs, firing a scoreless inning while allowing a walk and recording a strikeout.

So far, so good for the 29-year-old former closer, who finally made his 2017 debut last Friday against the Orioles. Boxberger also fired a scoreless inning in that contest, striking out the side on 13 pitches. He disposed of the potent trio of Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ after giving up a leadoff walk to Kris Bryant on Tuesday, so he's certainly proving himself against quality hitters thus far. If the veteran right-hander can continue turning in efforts of similar caliber, the Rays will potentially have one of the stronger late-inning 1-2 punches in baseball in the form of Boxberger and closer Alex Colome.

Martinez gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks across 3.2 innings of relief in Tuesday's 11-4 loss to the Red Sox. He struck out three batters.

Martinez was making his second appearance out of the bullpen since the recent returns of Cole Hamels and Tyson Ross resulted in him losing his rotation spot. With the Rangers now at full strength in the rotation for the first time all season, Austin Bibens-Dirkx is also expected to move to a relief role in short order, which could make Martinez a redundant piece out of the bullpen. With that in mind, Martinez could be at risk of a demotion to Triple-A Round Rock in the near future.

Kahnle (0-3) allowed a ninth-inning home run and was tagged with the loss in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Athletics.

While it wasn't a save situation for Kahnle, it was certainly closer-like, as Chicago had just tied up the game in the top of the ninth and needed a shutdown inning to get into extra frames. And with closer David Robertson away from the team while on the paternity list, it was a chance to see how Kahnle might respond as Chicago's fill-in closer. The White Sox will eventually need an arm to replace Robertson, who is expected to be traded later this month, and Kahnle's name has been floated as a potential closer for the rest of the season.

Wilson pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout in Tuesday's 5-3 win over San Francisco, earning his ninth save.

Wilson has earned saves in four of his last five appearances after going more than three weeks in June without one (through little fault of his own). The lefty closer's ratios are terrific, so he's capable of being a borderline-elite bullpen arm if the Tigers can just get him save chances more consistently.

Lawrence, who was sent back to Triple-A Tacoma on June 14, is using his major-league experiences from earlier this season to improve as a pitcher, Terrence Holmes of The News Tribune reports. "He's been a really good starter for a number of years," Tacoma manager Pat Listach said. "When you do go to the big leagues and you get the confidence that you are a big leaguer, you're just in Triple-A - it means something. You are hungry to get back so you have a little more incentive because you already been there and got a taste of it."

The 29-year-old right-hander has given up seven earned runs over the 25.2 innings encompassing his four appearances with the Rainiers since returning from his Mariners stint, with his most recent outing a complete-game shutout of Albuquerque on Monday in which he scattered seven hits. Lawrence also had a no-hitter through six innings in a June 18 start against Salt Lake before being pulled in that game, so he's certainly shown stretches of dominance. Lawrence credits his time with the Mariners this season -- which has consisted of 17.1 innings across six appearances -- with helping him "learn more about [himself]" and then putting those things into practice with Tacoma. Given his strong work at the Triple-A level, Lawrence figures to have a solid chance of another stint with the major-league club in the season's second half.