MLB Player News

The Guardians recalled Espino from Triple-A Columbus on Friday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Espino was one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball a few years ago, but his career has been sidetracked by injuries, including a pair of shoulder surgeries. He's moved to the bullpen this season and has finally earned a call-up after collecting a 5.30 ERA and 29:15 K:BB over 18.2 innings with Columbus.

Gasper will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Friday's contest versus the Rangers.

Regular leadoff man Jarren Duran has been moved down to the No. 5 spot in the Boston lineup. Gasper is making his sixth straight start, but he's just 2-for-19 at the dish in the first five of those contests.

Duran will start in left field and bat fifth in Friday's game against the Rangers.

It's the first time since April 25 that Duran has batted anywhere other than leadoff. After a strong showing in May during which he put up a .879 OPS with nine home runs and five stolen bases, Duran is just 5-for-33 with no homers, one steal and a 0:14 BB:K so far in June. Mickey Gasper is batting leadoff for the Red Sox on Friday.

Mayer (back/neck) will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Friday's game versus the Rangers.

Mayer was held out of Wednesday's lineup versus the Rays due to back and neck stiffness, but he's feeling better after a team off day Thursday. The 23-year-old is sitting on a .600 OPS with three home runs and three stolen bases this season.

The Padres reinstated Bogaerts (personal) from the paternity list Friday.

The veteran shortstop was placed on the paternity list Tuesday and is now back with the Padres after spending a few days with his family. Bogaerts has a .659 OPS through 63 games this season and has especially struggled early in June, going 3-for-23 with eight strikeouts through the first seven games of the month.

The Padres designated Johnson for assignment Friday.

San Diego needed to clear a spot on its active roster for the return of Xander Bogaerts from paternity leave. Johnson has managed a lowly .178/.229/.222 slash line in 32 games as a part-time outfielder for the Padres this season. There's a good chance the 30-year-old clears waivers, and if that happens he would have the ability to elect free agency.

Baldwin (oblique) will report to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday to begin a rehab assignment, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

The 25-year-old catcher was able to progress to taking live batting practice this week and has now been cleared for game action after recovering from the oblique strain that sent him to the injured list in mid-May. Assuming all goes well with Gwinnett, Baldwin could be back in Atlanta for the start of the team's next homestand, which begins Tuesday versus the Giants.

The Rockies will call up Sullivan from Triple-A Albuquerque to make his major-league debut with a start Friday versus the Athletics, Kevin Henry of The Denver Gazette reports.

It's a difficult environment for Sullivan to be making his big-league debut, as Friday's contest will be played at the very hitter-friendly Las Vegas Ballpark. The 23-year-old southpaw holds a 5.60 ERA and 50:19 K:BB over 54.2 innings covering 11 starts this season with Albuquerque. Sullivan could earn additional starts if he pitches well, but he's not a recommended fantasy option Friday.

The Giants recalled Walker from Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Walker began the season as the Giants' de facto closer but was demoted to Sacramento just over a month ago after posting a 6.46 ERA and 14:10 K:BB over 15.1 innings. He seemed to get back on track at Sacramento, permitting two runs with a 7:3 K:BB across 9.1 frames. No one has taken hold of the Giants' closer job since Walker was optioned, so he could push his way back into the late-inning mix. Initially, however, the club is likely to ease him in with some low-leverage outings.

Crow permitted one hit and one walk over two scoreless innings of relief Tuesday in the Brewers' 7-5 loss to the Athletics.

After he had made his first four big-league appearances as a starter, Crow shifted to the bullpen this week while Milwaukee elected to move forward with Robert Gasser and Shane Drohan as the back-end members of the five-man rotation. Though Crow fared well in his first relief outing, the Brewers aren't likely to pull the plug on developing him as a starter just yet. With that in mind, Crow could sent back to Triple-A Nashville in the near future so that he can continue working out of the rotation.