MLB Player News

The Reds activated Johnson from the bereavement list Wednesday.

Johnson is ready to rejoin the bullpen after being away from the club for a few days. The veteran reliever will move up in the Reds' bullpen hierarchy while Emilio Pagan (hamstring) is out and could see some high-leverage opportunities.

The Reds placed Pagan on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a left hamstring strain.

Pagan suffered the injury on the first pitch he threw during an appearance Tuesday against the Cubs. It's the second time this season he's had a left hamstring issue. He was unavailable for only a couple days the first time, but the reliever will miss at least a couple weeks of action this time around. Tony Santillan is the favorite to serve as the Reds' closer while Pagan is sidelined, and Graham Ashcraft could also be in the mix.

Major League Baseball issued Valdez a six-game suspension and fined him an undisclosed amount for intentionally throwing at Boston's Trevor Story in the fourth inning of Tuesday's 10-3 loss, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Valdez recorded just nine outs and surrendered a career-high 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits and one walk before he was ejected from the game in the top of the fourth when he plunked Story. Unless Valdez elects to appeal the ban, his suspension will go into effect beginning with Wednesday's series finale versus Boston. Valdez will be eligible to return to action May 14 against the Mets in New York.

Martin is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

He'll hit the bench Wednesday, but after opening the season in a short-side platoon role in the outfield, Martin is beginning to encroach on the left-handed-hitting Matt Wallner's playing time against right-handed pitching. Martin picked up starts in three of the Twins' previous four matchups with righties and is sporting a team-best .886 OPS over 100 plate appearances on the season.

The Royals recalled Cerantola from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

Cerantola earned the promotion after turning in a 1.42 ERA and 18:6 K:BB over his first 12.2 innings with Omaha. The 26-year-old reliever will be making his major-league debut when/if he gets into a game.

The Royals optioned Kolek to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

Kolek picked up the win in a spot start Tuesday versus the Guardians, yielding three runs on four hits and no walks with three strikeouts across six innings. With Kolek back in the minors, Noah Cameron (back) seems destined to rejoin the rotation after missing just one start.

Lewis is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

He had just received a day off Saturday, but after making two straight starts, Lewis will get another breather Wednesday and give way to Tristan Gray at third base. Aside from a minimum-length stint on the injured list in April due to a knee sprain, Lewis has been able to stay healthy this season, but his production has fallen off. Over 89 plate appearances, Lewis has produced a .582 OPS and has struck out at a 30.3 percent clip, with both representing career-worst marks for the 26-year-old.

Pederson is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

Brandon Nimmo has been limited to designated hitter duty as he comes back from a hamstring issue, which leaves Pederson without a spot to play. It's just the second time this season that the left-handed-hitting Pederson has been absent from the lineup when the opposition was starting a right-handed hurler.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

He'll receive the night off while Minnesota goes with Victor Caratini behind the dish. Jeffers has been an offensive tear of late, slashing .324/.400/.529 with two home runs, one stolen base, nine RBI and seven runs over his last nine starts.

Nimmo (hamstring) will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Wednesday's game versus the Yankees.

Nimmo tweaked his hamstring this past Friday and has not started a game in the outfield since then, occupying the DH spot twice and sitting out the other two contests. The Rangers could continue to ease Nimmo back into things in a non-defensive role until he feels back to 100 percent.