MLB Player News

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Thursday that Crochet (shoulder/lat) has yet to resume a formal throwing program and is limited to playing catch with weighted plyometric balls, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Initially placed on the injured list April 29 due to shoulder inflammation, Crochet advanced to facing live hitters in late May, but after experiencing a setback and being diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain, he's essentially back to square one in the rehab process. While he hasn't been shut down from activity entirely, Crochet will need to eventually restart a throwing progression before the Red Sox have a better sense of when he might be ready to return. Even if he gets the green light to start playing catch with a baseball during the All-Star break, Crochet would likely need at least a month to check all the boxes in his throwing program and complete a rehab assignment, so a return in late August probably represents a best-case scenario for the 27-year-old.

The Brewers optioned Stallings to Triple-A Nashville on Sunday.

Milwaukee called up Stallings on Saturday, designating him as its 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader against the Pirates. Stallings wasn't needed out of the bullpen for either contest and wound up heading back to Nashville prior to the Brewers' series finale in Pittsburgh.

The White Sox optioned Davis to Triple-A Charlotte following Sunday's 9-1 win over the Athletics.

Davis will give up his spot on the active roster and in the bullpen to right-hander Trevor Richards (personal), who was reinstated from the bereavement list. During his four-day stint with the White Sox, Davis made two relief appearances and struck out two while allowing one hit and two walks over three scoreless innings.

The White Sox reinstated Richards from the bereavement list following Sunday's 9-1 win over the Athletics.

Richards will be available out of the Chicago bullpen to begin the second half after he was away from the team for four days while tending to a personal matter. The White Sox optioned right-hander Tyler Davis to Triple-A Charlotte to open up a spot on the active roster for Richards.

The Cardinals outrighted Shuster to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Shuster will remain in the organization after clearing waivers when the Cardinals designated him for assignment Wednesday. The lefty reliever has made five appearances at the big-league level this season, giving up nine earned runs on 11 hits and six walks across nine innings.

Whitlock earned the save in Sunday's 3-2 extra-inning victory over the Mets, striking out one in a perfect 10th inning.

After Aroldis Chapman held New York scoreless in the bottom of the ninth inning, Whitlock got the call in the 10th after the Red Sox took a run-one lead in the top half. He'd set the Mets down on 15 pitches, stranding the free runner at second base to notch his second save this season. Whitlock has been excellent in the backend of Boston's bullpen of late. He's allowed just one run in his last 14 appearances (13.1 innings), posting a 0.68 WHIP with 12 strikeouts and no walks over that span. Whitlock will head into the All-Star break with a 2.18 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 37:6 K:BB across 33 innings this year.

Miller picked up the save Sunday against the Blue Jays. He struck out one across a perfect inning.

Miller looked like his usual dominant self, inducing a weak groundout from Ernie Clement and a routine popout from Myles Straw before striking out Vladimir Guerrero on three pitches to secure the save. The flamethrower owns a dazzling 0.91 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 72:13 K:BB across 39.2 innings this season. Miller's 25 saves lead the National League and are tied with Bryan Baker for second in MLB behind Cade Smith (28).

Sewald picked up the save Sunday against the Dodgers. He struck out one across a perfect inning.

Sewald made quick work of the Dodgers in the ninth inning, retiring the side in order on 12 pitches (nine strikes) to secure the save. Despite a 4.24 ERA, the right-hander has converted 22 of 23 save opportunities this season while posting a 0.88 WHIP and 38:8 K:BB across 34 innings. Sewald ranks fourth among National League relievers in saves, trailing Mason Miller (25), as well as Jhoan Duran and Riley O'Brien (24 apiece).

Hill was charged with a blown save Sunday against the Nationals, as he gave up one run on one hit while striking out one batter over two-thirds of an inning.

Hill took the mound in the sixth inning following starter Will Warren, who tossed five frames of one-run ball. After Hill struck out the first batter he faced, he then gave up a game-tying solo home run to Curtis Mead. Sunday marked the third time over Hill's past five outings that he's given up at least one homer, and he's yielded four total runs across 4.2 innings during that span. The lefty reliever concludes the first half with a 4.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 17:7 K:BB while notching eight holds over 36 innings spanning 43 appearances.

Blackburn earned a save against Washington on Sunday, striking out two batters over two perfect innings.

Blackburn entered the contest in the bottom of the eighth inning after New York took a one-run lead in the top of the frame. The veteran righty retired the side in order on 17 pitches, and manager Aaron Boone elected to stick with Blackburn for the bottom of the ninth after the Yankees tacked on an insurance run in the top of the frame. Blackburn was even more effective in his final inning, needing just four pitches to set the side down in order again. The save was the first of the campaign for the hurler, who has primarily worked in middle relief this season. His opportunity to close Sunday was due to David Bednar being deployed each of the previous two days and throwing 38 total pitches during that span. With that in mind, fantasy managers need not consider Blackburn off the waiver wire as a source of additional saves.