MLB Player News

The Astros optioned Kuhnel to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Houston will swap Kuhnel out of its bullpen for Parker Mushinski, who was called up from Sugar Land in a corresponding move. After being acquired from the Reds on June 17 before receiving a call-up July 8, Kuhnel gave up four earned runs over two innings in his first two appearances with the Astros.

Lange picked up the save in Sunday's 3-1 victory over San Diego, tallying a walk and a strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.

After retiring the first two batters in the ninth, Lange walked Xander Bogaerts before Jake Cronenworth reached on an error, putting runners on second and third. However, Lange induced a flyout from Gary Sanchez to strand the tying runs aboard and earn his 17th save. The 27-year-old Lange appears to have settled in after a rocky June -- he's delivered three consecutive scoreless appearances while notching four straight saves. His ERA is down to 3.98 with a 1.28 WHIP and 52:27 K:BB across 40.2 innings this season.

The Rangers optioned Otto to Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

Otto will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster and in the bullpen to right-hander Owen White, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. After being activated from the 60-day injured list June 30, Otto made four relief appearances and gave up 10 earned runs on 10 hits and five walks over 8.1 innings.

The Rangers recalled White from Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

Texas optioned right-hander Glenn Otto to Triple-A to clear room on the 26-man active roster for White, who is up with the Rangers for the second time this season. With the Rangers opting to skip Nathan Eovaldi's turn through the rotation Tuesday against the Astros, White or Cody Bradford could be candidates to serve as a spot starter or multi-inning option out of the bullpen that day. White's potential role for Tuesday should be sussed out based on his usage (or lack thereof) in Sunday's series finale with the Dodgers and Monday's series opener in Houston.

Atlanta transferred Chavez (shin) to the 60-day injured list from the 15-day IL on Sunday.

Chavez's move to the 60-day IL comes as no major surprise after manager Brian Snitker disclosed Saturday that the right-hander was still walking with a limp and was "weeks away" from being activated. The 39-year-old was initially deactivated June 15 due to a left shin contusion and won't be eligible to rejoin the Atlanta bullpen until around mid-August.

The Padres recalled Avila from Triple-A El Paso ahead of Sunday's game against the Tigers.

San Diego optioned its starter from Saturday's 14-3 win -- Jackson Wolf -- to Double-A San Antonio in a corresponding move. Avila is expected to serve as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen while he's up with San Diego.

Thompson (2-3) allowed three runs on two hits and two walks while recording one strikeout in one-third of an inning to take the loss Saturday versus the Cubs.

Thompson struggled and was pulled after allowing a two-run single to Cody Bellinger. Drew VerHagen then allowed an inherited runner to score the game's last run. Thompson has a win and a loss over his two appearances since rejoining the Cardinals' major-league roster. The southpaw has a shaky 5.79 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 19:11 K:BB through 14 major-league innings as a low-leverage option.

Kauffmann joined the Rockies' taxi squad earlier this weekend and could be formally called up from Triple-A Albuquerque to either start or serve as a bulk reliever in Monday's game in Washington, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Colorado is treating its series finale in Miami on Sunday as a bullpen day, so the team will presumably wait and see how the game plays out before determining if it wants to deploy an opener in front of Kauffmann or use the right-hander as a traditional starter. Either way, Kauffmann doesn't profile as a reliable streaming option after he posted a 10.19 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 8:10 K:BB in 17.2 innings over five appearances (three starts) with the big club earlier this season. Since returning to Albuquerque in late June following his most recent stint in the majors, Kauffmann has logged a 5.71 ERA and 1.96 WHIP in 17.1 innings over three starts.

Munoz secured his 10th hold in a win over the Blue Jays on Saturday, firing a perfect eighth inning during which he recorded a strikeout.

The hard-throwing right-hander righted his ship with a sharp 13-pitch outing after having taken his third loss of the season Wednesday versus the Twins. Munoz has now reached double-digit holds for the second straight season, and despite some infrequent hiccups, he's sporting an impressive 2.66 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 13.3 K/9 and 0.4 HR/9 across 21 appearances.

Jackson (elbow) threw another bullpen session Saturday, the Associated Press reports.

Jackson also threw a bullpen session the previous Saturday and didn't experience any residual effects, but the Athletics apparently determined he wasn't yet ready to face live hitters. However, if the right-hander's elbow responds well again over the next few days, a live BP session could be the next step in Jackson's recovery.