MLB Player News

Ferguson will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher in Thursday's later game at Cleveland, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ferguson was not needed in the resumption of Wednesday's suspended game, so he'll get the call to kick off the Dodgers' regularly-scheduled tilt versus the Guardians, likely covering only the first inning before giving way to bulk pitcher Ryan Pepiot. Ferguson, 27, carries a 2.87 ERA and 54:20 K:BB across 47 innings this season with Los Angeles.

The Twins recalled Balazovic from Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Oliver Ortega (back) headed to the injured list, Balazovic will come up from the minors to fill the opening in Minnesota's bullpen. The 24-year-old righty has made 18 appearances with the Twins this season, putting up a 4.44 ERA and 1.56 WHIP through 24.1 innings, and he will likely serve in middle relief while in the majors.

The Twins placed Ortega on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left lumbar strain, John Shipley of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Ortega was forced out of his appearance Tuesday against Milwaukee after experiencing tightness in his back during the seventh inning. Now, he'll be sidelined for at least two weeks as he recovers. Jordan Balazovic was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.

The Cubs recalled Thompson from Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Thompson will join Chicago's bullpen mix ahead of Thursday's series opener against the Pirates. The 28-year-old former starter has issued 35 walks in 46.1 innings this season between the minors and majors while working exclusively in relief.

Vespi was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday.

He gave Orioles manager Brandon Hyde a lefty relief option while Danny Coulombe was out but is no longer needed with Coulombe back in the fold. Vespi holds a 4.30 ERA over nine appearances for the O's this season.

Coulombe (biceps) was activated from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Coulombe wound up missing just the minimum 15 days with left biceps tendinitis, tossing a scoreless inning in his lone rehab appearance. The left-hander has collected a 2.77 ERA and 48:9 K:BB over 39 innings this season out of the Orioles' bullpen and will return to a high-leverage role.

Topa (3-4) took the extra-inning loss against the White Sox on Wednesday, allowing an unearned run without retiring a batter.

Topa was in for all of two pitches in the 10th inning, and while facing Elvis Andrus, J.P. Crawford's throwing error on a rundown attempt allowed inning-opening runner Tim Anderson to score the winning run for Chicago. The run was the first of any kind on Topa's line since July 22, a span of 13.1 innings across 13 appearances.

Martinez (0-2) took the loss against the Royals on Wednesday, allowing an earned run on three hits, a hit batsman and a walk over 2.1 innings. He struck out three.

Martinez's one big mistake was deposited by Dairon Blanco into the left-field seats in the third inning for the first run of the game. The right-hander has allowed at least one run in all four appearances he's logged since returning to the majors Aug. 8 while pitching to a 5.73 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9 and 1.6 HR/9 across 11 innings. With both Luis Medina (finger) and Freddy Tarnok (calf) on the injured list for the time being, Martinez could be called on for another spot start early next week.

Jansen reported improvement with his injured right hamstring Thursday and is confident he can avoid a stint on the injured list, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Jansen had to be lifted from Wednesday's appearance in Houston because of tightness in the hamstring, but he's feeling better after presumably receiving some treatment. The closer noted that he will see how he feels in the coming days, which would seem to indicate he could be unavailable for at least a day or two. However, at this juncture it looks like Jansen should be able to bypass the IL as the Red Sox fight for a playoff spot. Chris Martin might be needed in the short term should some save chances arise for Boston.

Ferguson is expected to serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher in Thursday's later game against the Guardians, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

The Dodgers' plans could change depending on how the bullpen usage shakes out in the resumption of Wednesday's suspended game. Whatever the case, Ryan Pepiot will be called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to handle the bulk of the innings for Los Angeles in Thursday's regularly-scheduled tilt at Cleveland. If Ferguson does open the game, he'll likely cover only the first inning.