MLB Player News

Soroka was removed from his relief appearance in Sunday's game against the Pirates due to right shoulder soreness, Kyle Williams of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Soroka was the first pitcher summoned from the bullpen to relieve opening pitcher Jared Shuster, who recorded the first five outs of the game. Though Soroka needed just three pitches to retire Joey Bart for the final out of the second inning, he didn't stay in the game to begin the third inning due to the injury. He's scheduled to undergo further evaluation on his shoulder, but the White Sox may not have an update on the severity of Soroka's injury until after the All-Star break.

The Twins designated Boushley for assignment Sunday.

Boushley will cede his spot on the 40-man roster to infielder Diego Castillo, whose contract was selected from Triple-A St. Paul ahead of Sunday's game against the Giants. Aside from making a two-inning relief appearance for the Twins on May 20, Boushley has spent the entire 2024 campaign at St. Paul, with whom he's produced a 4.68 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 73:14 K:BB in 84.2 innings. If he goes unclaimed via waivers, Boushley should remain a member of the St. Paul rotation moving forward.

The Blue Jays recalled Eisert from Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Eisert will take over the 26-man active roster spot of right-hander Bowden Francis, who was sent down to the minors in a corresponding move. The left-handed Eisert has made one appearance with the Blue Jays this season, tossing two scoreless innings June 17 versus Boston.

The Blue Jays optioned Francis to Triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Francis tossed two scoreless innings in relief Saturday and will move down to the minors in favor of a fresh arm in left-hander Brandon Eisert, who was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move. The right-hander had been struggling prior to Saturday's outing, allowing seven earned runs over his previous five frames.

Otanez, who was removed from the Athletics' 11-5 loss to the Phillies on Saturday after taking a line drive off his pitching arm in the eighth inning, is dealing with a forearm bruise in the aftermath, the Associated Press reports.

The right-handed reliever had just been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day due to Luis Medina's (elbow) placement on the injured list. Otanez's injury is muscular in nature, according to manager Mark Kotsay. Otanez isn't likely to be used in Sunday's series finale in Philadelphia but should be ready to go coming out of the All-Star break.

Vest (2-3) tossed a scoreless inning of relief to earn the win in Saturday's 11-9, 10-inning victory over the Dodgers. He walked one and struck out one.

Vest was the last of six Detroit pitchers to appear in the contest, and he calmly navigated the top of the 10th inning on 12 pitches before Gio Urshela ended the game with a walk-off homer in the bottom half. The veteran righty has been solid once again this season with a 3.27 ERA and 36 strikeouts across 41.1 innings. Vest should continue to work in a high-leverage setup role for the Tigers ahead of Jason Foley, though it's a fairly fluid bullpen, and Vest could see some save opportunities down the stretch if Foley stumbles.

Yates walked one and struck out one in a scoreless 10th inning Saturday to record his 15th save of the season in a 2-1 win over the Astros.

The 37-year-old right-hander continued his resurgent campaign. Yates has yet to blow a save this season, and he hasn't been tagged for an earned run in 10 straight appearances, posting a 0.80 WHIP and 17:4 K:BB across 10 innings over that stretch. His first-half performance has earned Yates his second career All-Star Game berth -- the other came back in 2019 with the Padres, when he led the majors with 41 saves.

Shuster is listed as the White Sox's opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

According to James Fegan of SoxMachine.com, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol had previously said Saturday that Chad Kuhl was likely to start Sunday's series finale, but Shuster will instead get the ball for Chicago in its final game before the All-Star break. Shuster has prior starting experience, but he's mostly worked out of the bullpen since being called up from Triple-A Charlotte on May 1, covering no more than 3.1 innings in any of his subsequent 18 appearances. He'll be taking the hill on one day rest Sunday, so Shuster is unlikely to work more than once through the batting order before turning the game over to Kuhl and the rest of the White Sox bullpen.

The Angels announced Saturday that Wantz underwent season-ending surgery on his right elbow, MLB.com reports.

The club didn't provide many details on Wantz's procedure, but the prevailing assumption is that he underwent Tommy John surgery. Assuming that's the case, Wantz likely won't be ready to pitch again until late in the 2025 season, if not the start of the 2026 season. He appeared in just one game out of the big-league bullpen this season and made seven appearances (six starts) at Triple-A Salt Lake, where he turned in a 6.17 ERA and 1.65 WHIP over 23.1 innings. Set to turn 29 years old in October and likely at risk of missing the entire 2025 season, Wantz will likely be a non-tender candidate this offseason.

Contreras is expected to be the Angels' primary pitcher out of the bullpen behind starter Carson Fulmer in Sunday's game against the Mariners, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels are planning to treat their final game before the All-Star break as a bullpen day, with Fulmer and Contreras likely on track to cover the bulk of the innings. Fulmer tossed three innings in relief in his last outing Monday and has covered as many as four innings in an appearance this season, so he should be able to give the Angels a decent amount of length as an opener before Contreras is likely summoned from the bullpen. Contreras had started in each of his last three appearances, tossing between two and three innings on each occasion while turning in an 8.22 ERA and 2.35 WHIP.