MLB Player News

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.

The Dodgers optioned Vanasco to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Vanasco will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to right-hander Brent Honeywell, who will get the start in Sunday's series finale versus the Tigers after being claimed off waivers from the Pirates a day earlier. During his latest stint with the Dodgers, Vanasco made his lone appearance in Saturday's 11-9 extra-inning loss to the Tigers and failed to record an out while getting charged with three earned runs on three hits.

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.

The Brewers selected Kuhnel's contract from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Milwaukee designated southpaw Dallas Keuchel for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster for Kuhnel, who will join the Brewers for the second time this season. Kuhnel's previous stint with Milwaukee lasted just one day, as he was called up from Nashville on June 25 before being designated for assignment a day later and eventually accepting an outright assignment back to the Triple-A club.

Zastryzny will serve as the Brewers' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Zastryzny will get the opener assignment for the second time this season, after he previously tossed a scoreless inning as a starter in his Brewers debut back on July 1 in Colorado. Colin Rea had been listed as the Brewers' scheduled starter for Sunday and will presumably be in store for his typical workload while coming out of the bullpen once Zastryzny exits the contest, likely after one or two innings.

Kerkering will serve as the Phillies' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.

Kerkering will be making the first start of his professional career, but the Phillies are unlikely to ask him to cover more than the opening frame or two, given that the hard-throwing reliever hasn't recorded more than five outs in any appearance this season. Though he's given up a hit in all but two of his last nine relief outings, Kerkering has struck out 10 batters and hasn't allowed a run during that stretch, bringing his ERA down to a shiny 1.30. Michael Mercado is expected to operate as a bulk reliever for the Phillies once Kerkering exits Sunday's contest.

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.

Hodge (0-1) allowed two runs on two hits across 1.2 innings of relief to take the loss in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He walked one and struck out two.

Hodge allowed his first runs since June 6, a streak of seven appearances and 10 innings. The righty has been scored upon only twice this year in 14 appearances overall, and he has a solid 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 18 strikeouts across 16.2 innings. Veteran Hector Neris is first in line for saves at the moment, but Hodge may be next up if Neris struggles or gets hurt.

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.