MLB Player News

Abreu (calf) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday's game against the Athletics, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Abreu landed on the IL in late May with a calf injury. He began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land on June 26 and wound up making four appearances, striking out six while allowing one run across four innings. He'll resume his big-league campaign with a 4.21 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 23:13 K:BB.

Francis and Trevor Richards were traded from the Brewers to the Blue Jays on Tuesday in exchange for Rowdy Tellez, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Francis spent the final month of the 2020 campaign at the Brewers' alternate training site in Appleton, and he was promoted to Triple-A Nashville in 2021. The right-hander made seven starts with the Triple-A club and posted a 3.49 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 38.2 innings. He'll likely report to Triple-A Buffalo going forward but could be considered for a major-league roster spot at some point in the second half of 2021.

Richards and minor-leaguer Bowden Francis were traded to the Blue Jays from the Brewers on Tuesday in exchange for Rowdy Tellez, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Richards was traded to Milwaukee alongside Willy Adames on May 21, posting a 3.20 ERA and 25:9 K:BB in 19.2 innings with the Brewers. The righty primarily served as a bulk reliever, winning three games but also blowing two saves in his 15 appearances. Now, Richards joins a struggling bullpen that may find use for him in later, higher-leverage situations than the Brewers did.

Fairbanks (2-3) secured his second win in a victory over Cleveland on Monday, firing a perfect ninth inning during which he recorded a strikeout.

Fairbanks got 10 of his 13 pitches into the strike zone in an efficient final frame to close out a wild win for the Rays. The right-hander now has back-to-back scoreless outings after a rocky five-appearance stretch during which he pitched to a 15.43 ERA and 3.43 WHIP across 4.2 innings.

Lakins underwent successful surgery to fix a recurrent olecranon stress fracture in his right elbow Tuesday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Lakins was placed on the 10-day injured list June 30 and was later transferred to the 60-day IL on July 3. The 27-year-old will likely miss the remainder of the season following the surgery, but manager Brandon Hyde said Tuesday that the right-hander could "possibly" be ready for spring training in 2022, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports. Lakins posted a 5.79 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 24:17 K:BB across 24 appearances (one start) prior to suffering the injury.

Robles gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth inning Monday to record his eighth save of the season in an 8-5 win over the White Sox.

Taylor Rogers was dominant in front of him, striking out four of the five batters he faced, but Robles didn't drop the baton in the ninth despite a far less impressive effort. The right-hander had been tagged for eight runs in 3.1 innings over his last four appearances, so this outing was encouraging. On the season, Robles has a 4.38 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 36:22 K:BB through 37 innings, and he'll remain part of Minnesota's closer mix until the team finds a better option from the right side to complement Rogers.

Ottavino allowed one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two to lock down the save in Monday's 5-4 win over the Angels.

Ottavino was on in the ninth because closer Matt Barnes threw 33 pitches the day prior. He ran into trouble, giving up a run and had two men on with the dangerous Shohei Ohtani at the dish. The fill-in closer wriggled out of the jam, as Ohtani's 101.9 mph grounder was picked cleanly by second baseman Christian Arroyo to end the threat and the game. It was Ottavino's seventh save.

Clase (3-4) blew a save and took a loss after allowing two runs on three hits and a walk against the Rays on Monday. He failed to record an out.

Clase allowed three straight singles to open the inning, including an RBI base knock by Wander Franco to tie the game. After intentionally walking Austin Meadows, he forced a groundball by Yandy Diaz but the winning run still came in to score. Clase is now 11-for-13 in save chances this season after his first blown save since April. He owns a 1.51 ERA through 35.2 innings.

Bazardo (lat) was recalled from Triple-A Worcester and placed on the 60-day injured list Monday.

The right-hander was already on the injured list at Worcester with a strained right lat, but he was promoted so Boston could clear a spot on the 40-man roster. Bazardo originally landed on the shelf in late May, so he'll be eligible to be activated in late July. He resumed a throwing program in mid-June, though it's unclear where he currently stands in his recovery.

Mejia won't start Tuesday against the Rays after the game was postponed due to Tropical Storm Elsa.

Mejia could be a candidate to start one of the two games in Wednesday's doubleheader against Tampa Bay following Tuesday's postponement. The righty has posted a 7.80 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 15 innings across his last three starts.