MLB Player News

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.

Burdi (appendicitis) has advanced to long tossing, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Burdi is currently stationed at the Cubs' spring training complex in Arizona as he works back into form following an emergency appendectomy in late May. He's not eligible to be activated from the 60-day injured list until July 23.

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.

Hoeing did not factor into the decision Wednesday, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks over three innings against St. Louis. He struck out three.

Hoeing managed to get through the first inning unscathed despite allowing a double and two walks on 27 pitches. However, the Cardinals would get to him for five runs in the third, as the right-hander failed to retire five of the first six batters he faced, and he eventually surrendered a two-run blast to Nolan Gorman to top things off. Hoeing has now allowed five or more runs in back-to-back starts, giving up four homers over that stretch.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after Wednesday's win over the Pirates that Graterol has been unavailable the last couple days due to an arm issue, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

The specifics of the injury aren't available at this time. The team will check on Graterol on Thursday to see if he can be available. If he can't, he could be placed on the injured list. Graterol has notched four saves for the Dodgers this season as one of their primary late-inning relief weapons.