MLB Player News

The Cubs optioned Rucker to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.

With the Cubs needing to clear a spot on the 26-man active roster for Sunday's starter Drew Smyly (oblique) to return from the 15-day injured list, Rucker was deemed an expendable piece. During his one-week stint with the big club, Rucker logged three appearances out of the bullpen and gave up two earned runs on four hits and no walks over 4.1 innings.

Castillo will start Sunday's game at Seattle.

Castillo was promoted from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday and allowed one run over three innings in relief that same day, and he'll be back on the mound for Sunday's series finale against the Mariners. The right-hander is unlikely to have a large workload Sunday given that he'll be pitching on two days rest.

Brash (2-3), recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day, secured the win over the Blue Jays on Saturday, firing a perfect seventh inning during which he recorded two strikeouts.

The starter-turned-reliever worked up to 25 pitches in his one frame, but that was largely due to a 13-pitch encounter with Lourdes Gurriel that included nine foul balls but ultimately culminated in a strikeout. Brash proved well-suited for relief work during his just-concluded 22-appearance stint with the Rainiers, with the bullpen role seemingly helping him to harness his unpredictable control somewhat better.

Jackson recorded his 17th hold in a win over the Astros on Saturday, allowing a hit and recording a strikeout over a scoreless two-thirds of an inning.

One of the Athletics' bullpen's workhorses was at it again Saturday during a game in which five relievers preserved a strong start from rookie Zach Logue. The 27-year-old has been highly reliable during his first taste of the big leagues, with Saturday's outing lowering his ERA to 3.21 and serving as his ninth scoreless appearance in his last 10 trips to the mound.

Puk recorded his ninth hold in a win over the Astros on Saturday, firing a scoreless sixth inning during which he hit a batter and recorded a strikeout.

Puk worked around a plunking of Alex Bregman to produce his second straight scoreless appearance. The big southpaw endured a rough patch recently that saw him allow at least one run in four straight outings, but he's delivered for both the Athletics and fantasy managers this season with nine holds plus an impressive 2.57 ERA and 1.03 WHIP.

Heasley was placed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with right shoulder tendinitis.

Heasley surrendered six runs (five earned) over 1.1 innings Sunday against Cleveland and is now headed to the injured list. The severity of the injury remains unclear, but the right-hander will be eligible to rejoin the active roster shortly after the All-Star break, which ends July 22.

The Rays optioned Faucher to Triple-A Durham on Sunday.

Faucher was one of four players removed from the 26-man active roster ahead of Sunday's series finale in Cincinnati and the only one for non-injury reasons. He was charged with the loss and a blown save Saturday after failing to record an out while allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits and a wild pitch. The Rays will replace Faucher in the bullpen with Phoenix Sanders, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The Nationals optioned Adon to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Adon will head back to the minors after he picked up his MLB-leading 12th loss of the season Thursday, when he was charged with four earned runs on six hits and three walks over four innings against the Phillies. The Nationals activated reliever Hunter Harvey (forearm) from the 60-day injured list to take over Adon's spot on the 26-man active roster, but the team will still need to find a pitcher to replace Adon in the rotation when his next turn comes up in Saturday's game versus Atlanta.

Garcia (4-5) was tagged with the loss against San Francisco on Saturday as the result of allowing two runs on two hits and one walk over one inning. He struck out one batter.

San Francisco starter Carlos Rodon and Padres starter Yu Darvish engaged in a pitchers' duel for seven innings Saturday, with both hurlers allowing only one run. Garcia came on to replace Darvish in the eighth and couldn't extend the excellent pitching, walking Joc Pederson with one out before serving up a two-run homer to Wilmer Flores. Garcia was consequently handed his fifth loss of the campaign. He's given up at least one run in three of his past five outings and has walked three batters over 5.1 frames during that stretch.

The Nationals reinstated Harvey (forearm) from the 60-day injured list Sunday.

Washington optioned right-hander Joan Adon to Triple-A Rochester and transferred right-hander Jackson Tetreault (shoulder) from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to clear room on the 26-man active roster and 40-man roster for Harvey, who is back with the big club for the first time since late April. After a two-plus-month absence due to a right forearm strain, Harvey was cleared to rejoin the big-league bullpen after striking out four across 2.2 scoreless innings over his three minor-league rehab appearances.