Estevez (4-5) took the loss Wednesday, giving up one run on two hits and one walk in the ninth inning as the Royals fell 8-7 to the Nationals. He struck out one.

The Kansas City closer entered a tie game in the top of the ninth and couldn't hold the visitors at bay, serving up a one-out double to Luis Garcia and an RBI single to Daylen Lile. Estevez has 30 saves on the season, one shy of the career high he set with the Angels in 2023, but he's struggled to find consistency since the beginning of July -- over his last 17.2 innings, he's posted a 4.58 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB while blowing three of his 11 save chances.

Vest struck out one in a perfect ninth inning Wednesday to record his 18th save of the season in a 1-0 win over the White Sox.

Kyle Finnegan worked the eighth inning against the bottom part of Chicago's order and got his first hold since coming over to Detroit, while Vest got the call in the ninth against the 9-1-2 hitters and got the job done on 11 pitches (six strikes). Vest has the Tigers' last two saves, but Finnegan got the three before that, and the duo could continue to split chances the rest of the way, with Vest perhaps being viewed by manager A.J. Hinch as the slightly higher-leverage option. On the season, Vest sports a 2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 58:15 K:BB through 51.2 innings.

Finnegan worked around a walk to toss a scoreless inning of relief in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the White Sox.

Finnegan covered the eighth inning and earned a hold while Will Vest got the save in the ninth. The same scenario played out Monday, with Finnegan picking up the win in relief and Vest earning the save. Before that, Finnegan had rattled off three straight saves for the Tigers, so it appears that the team's late-game bullpen usage is going to be a bit fluid moving forward depending on matchups. Both Finnegan and Vest have fantasy value in this arrangement, though they do cap each other's ceilings to a degree.

Gipson-Long (neck) tossed two scoreless innings of relief in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the White Sox. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

Gipson-Long was making his first MLB appearance since June 27, and he looked sharp while only needing 17 pitches to cover two frames. The righty worked behind Troy Melton, who logged five scoreless innings in a spot start. While Gipson-Long worked exclusively as a starter in Triple-A this season, he figures to be a bullpen option for the Tigers with the team adding veteran starters Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton before the trade deadline. Gipson-Long can at least give Detroit some length in relief, as he displayed Wednesday.

Astros manager Joe Espada said Wednesday that Hader will seek a second opinion on his left shoulder strain and will be sidelined "a little bit longer than the two weeks," Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Espada would not reveal what the first diagnosis was, but the injury is at least bad enough that Hader will not be back when his 15 days on the injured list are up. More information on Hader's condition and timeline should be available after he gets the second opinion. Espada has said he will not name a closer while Hader is out, but Bryan Abreu is the favorite to see most of the ninth-inning work for the Astros.

The Tigers optioned Heuer to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Heuer has permitted three runs over 4.2 innings covering three relief outings between the Rangers and Tigers this season. He's being replaced on the roster by Sawyer Gipson-Long, who is back from the injured list.

The Tigers activate Gipson-Long (neck) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Gipson-Long has been shelved since mid-July with a neck injury and had to be pulled off his initial rehab assignment due to continued stiffness. However, he's ready to go now after allowing two runs across 7.1 frames in two rehab appearances this month. Gipson-Long appears slated for a long-relief role for the time being.

The White Sox designated Shuster for assignment Wednesday.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for left-hander Martin Perez (elbow), who was activated from the 60-day injured list. Shuster has collected a 5.27 ERA over 62 career appearances (17 starts) at the big-league level.

The White Sox optioned Booser to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

Booser made a pair of scoreless appearances during his most recent stint in the big leagues, but he will nonetheless be dispatched back to the minors. The lefty reliever holds a 4.85 ERA and 29:14 K:BB over 26 innings this season.

While Abreu "would seem a logical choice" to take over as the Astros' closer following the injury to Josh Hader (shoulder), per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that he's "not naming (anyone) for the ninth."

Abreu has been phenomenal again this season, collecting a 1.67 ERA and 79:25 K:BB over 54 innings. The right-hander is the best bet to handle most of the save chances for the Astros while Hader is shelved, but Espada seems to be leaning toward more of a committee approach. With Hader unavailable, Bennett Sousa earned his fourth save of the season in Monday's win over the Red Sox. Abreu, Sousa, Steven Okert, Bryan King and Shawn Dubin could all be in the mix for saves for Houston while Hader is out.