Nationals recalled RHP Cory Abbott from Triple-A Rochester.
Abbott had a 5.71 ERA in nine starts for Rochester, and he's allowed one run over four innings in two relief appearances for the Nationals this season. He'll likely pitch in the middle innings for now, but he'll remain a rotation fallback.
Zach Jackson, out since May 17 with a strained flexor tendon, could begin a throwing program next week.
It's clear that Jackson won't be back before the All-Star break. He was looking like Oakland's best reliever before going down, amassing a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings.
Mason Miller has resumed throwing for the first time since being diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain last month.
Depending on how his arm responds, Miller might be back to spend the final two months in Oakland's rotation. If the elbow remains a problem, Tommy John surgery would become a possibility.
The Nationals are reportedly DFAing Erasmo Ramírez and calling up Cory Abbott.
This will presumably be a switch in middle relief. Abbott has been starting in Triple-A and could slide into the rotation, but if the Nationals wanted to make a change there, they probably would have just sent down Jake Irvin.
Preston Tucker had a double and four walks for Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday, raising his OPS to 1.206.
Tucker, who spent some time in Korea, is making a case to return to the majors for the first time since 2018. He's batting .368 with 10 homers and more walks (31) than strikeouts (27) in 172 plate appearances for El Paso. It probably should be noted that he is taking advantage of a very friendly offensive environment; he has 18 extra-base hits in 20 games at home and five extra-base hits in 20 games elsewhere.
Carson Kelly (forearm) doubled in two runs in a rehab game with Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.
Kelly is 5-for-17 through five games with Reno. He should be firmly behind Gabriel Moreno on the depth chart when he comes off the IL, something that could happen within the next week.
After sitting the last two days, Ramón Laureano is batting cleanup against the Pirates on Wednesday.
The Laureano usage has gotten rather bizarre of late; in Oakland's last six games, all against righties, Laureano has hit third or fourth three times and been held out of the lineup entirely three times. The A's will say they have four decent options for three spots against righties and perhaps they do. They'll still probably want to give Laureano more playing time next month in the hopes of getting a quality prospect for him before the deadline.
Jack Suwinski is sitting Wednesday versus a lefty for the third time in the last five days.
Suwinski, off to a 1-for-11 start this month, was getting time against lefties when he was hot, but that's ceased of late. It's hard to blame the Pirates when Suwinski is hitting just .171/.271/.220 in 48 plate appearances versus southpaws. He's at .250/.366/.567 against righties. The Pirates have Ji Hwan Bae in center field today.
The White Sox and Yankees game Wednesday evening in New York could be postponed because of air quality issues from the wildfires in Canada.
Newsday's David Lennon says the plan as of about an hour ago was to play the game, but that MLB is monitoring the situation. Lance Lynn and Randy Vásquez are tonight's scheduled starters.
Jimmy Lambert, on the IL since May 29 with right ankle inflammation, is beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte.
Lambert had a 5.91 ERA in 23 appearances before going on the injured list, so it's possible he'll be sent down once the brief rehab assignment is complete.
Derek Hill went 3-for-6 with a homer for Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old Hill was supposed to be in the mix for a bench spot on the Nationals this spring, but he suffered a right hamstring strain in early March and missed the beginning of the year. Since joining Rochester on Apr. 18, he's been terrific, hitting .338/.403/.566 with six homers in 37 games. He should eventually get a shot if he keeps it up.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand went 3-for-4 with a homer and a walk for Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday.
Encarnacion-Strand has five homers and a 1.245 OPS in his last 12 games, and he's at .352/.408/.716 for the year. The easy time for the Reds to call him up seems to have passed, what with Joey Votto back on a rehab assignment and likely to come off the IL sometime soon. They could still make room for him with Votto on the team, but it probably wouldn't leave much for Votto to do.
Eric Lauer (shoulder) gave up four runs -- two earned -- and struck out five in 2 2/3 innings in his first rehab start with Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday.
Lauer might not have been very effective, but he showed better velocity last night, averaging 92.1 mph on his 46 fastballs. He's been at 90.9 mph in the majors this year, down from a career-best 93.4 mph last year. That little extra could make a difference for him when the Brewers put him back in the rotation. Most likely, he'll make one more rehab start first.
Nick Madrigal went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles for Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.
Madrigal is off to an awesome start in Triple-A, going 15-for-32 with eight (eight!) extra-base hits and seven walks. That's good for a 1.419 OPS. The Cubs could eventually demote Miles Mastrobuoni or Edwin Rios in order to give him another chance.
Daniel Hudson (knee) pitched a perfect inning in his first rehab outing in the Arizona Complex League on Tuesday.
That's a good sign. Hudson has struggled to return from a torn left ACL, due mostly to scar tissue in his knee. He could emerge as a closer candidate for the Dodgers if he impresses in the coming weeks.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal says the Royals have told teams they'd like to pair Aroldis Chapman with another veteran in trade talks in order to shed salary.
It's not a must, according to Rosenthal, but it's something they're looking at. Rosenthal speculates on a Chapman-Scott Barlow pairing, which is odd since Barlow has positive trade value and will bring a decent return himself. If the Royals are truly looking to trim salary, the injured Brad Keller or Amir Garrett would make more sense to attach to Chapman.
Joe Musgrove pitched well in a no-decision against the Mariners on Tuesday night, racking up eight strikeouts over five innings of one-run baseball.
The right-hander scattered four hits and one walk on the evening. The only blemish on his night came on an RBI single off the bat of Ty France in the third inning. Musgrove generated a whopping 16 swinging strikes on 102 pitches in the ballgame -- posting a CSW of 31 percent. Still 3-2 on the season, the right-hander will carry a 4.35 ERA,1.33 WHIP and a 42/13 K/BB ratio (41 1/3 innings) into Tuesday's matchup against the Guardians.
Fernando Tatis Jr. went 1-for-4 and drove in the Padres' lone run in Tuesday night's loss to the visiting Mariners.
The superstar outfielder got the Padres on the board and tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI ground out off of Logan Gilbert in the third inning. That would be the only run that they would muster in the contest. He also smacked a one-out double off of Gilbert in the sixth inning, but never advanced past second base. He's been solid since returning from his suspension -- slashing .257/.303/.497 with 11 homers, 28 RBI and six stolen bases in his first 41 games.
Paul Sewald recorded his 12th save of the season on Tuesday night, working a scoreless ninth inning to protect a three-run lead against the Padres.
The right-hander tried to make things interesting in the night, as a leadoff single by Juan Soto and a one-out walk to Gary Sanchez brought the tying run to the plate, but Sewald was able to retire Jake Cronenworth on a swinging third strike and then got Brandon Dixon to ground out to second base to end the night. The 33-year-old hurler has been terrific overall this season -- compiling a 2.84 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and a 35/8 K/BB ratio over 25 1/3 innings.
Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-4 and swatted his 11th home run of the season on Tuesday, helping to power the Mariners to victory over the Padres.
Rodríguez added insurance for the Mariners in this one, as his mammoth 436-foot (108.6 mph EV) blast on the first pitch that he saw from Steven Wilson in the eighth inning increased the M's lead to 3-1. With the two-hit attack, the superstar center fielder is now slashing .246/.304/.442 to go with his 11 homers, 33 RBI and 12 stolen bases.