MLB Player News

The Twins placed Stewart on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right shoulder strain, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Stewart just returned a week ago from a lengthy absence due to shoulder issues and is now headed back to the IL. The righty was roughed up for seven runs over 2.1 innings covering three appearances over the last week while showing diminished velocity. Stewart has often been a lockdown reliever for the Twins when healthy, but whether he'll be able to regain that form this season is a fair question.

Jimenez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Jimenez will head to the bench after he manned shortstop in each of the last four games while going 2-for-15 with an RBI and a run. Ernie Clement will slide over from his usual spot at third base to cover shortstop in place of Jimenez, who is slashing .228/.297/.281 since getting promoted from Triple-A Buffalo on July 2 and stepping in as the primary replacement for the injured Bo Bichette (calf).

Kirk (elbow) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Kirk is likely still aching after taking a pitch off his left elbow in Tuesday's 6-2 loss, but with a day out of the lineup Wednesday coupled with a team off day Thursday, the Blue Jays seem hopeful that the backstop will be ready to go for Friday's series opener versus the Yankees. Brian Serven will handle the catching duties in the series finale in Baltimore.

Gelof went 2-for-3 with a walk in a win over the Giants on Tuesday. He was also caught stealing twice.

Gelof's small-ball production stood in stark contrast to that of his teammates, as the Athletics scored all five runs off home runs. The multi-hit effort was an especially welcome sight for Gelof, who entered the night mired in a 1-for-25 slump that had encompassed his previous seven games. Gelof had last tallied multiple hits in a game July 9, and despite Tuesday's success, his average remains just below the Mendoza Line at .196 due to his recent skid. The pair of failed steal attempts were an outlier as well, considering Gelof had gone an impressive 12-for-13 in that category this season coming into Tuesday.

Vargas will start in left field and bat second in Wednesday's game versus the Royals.

The presumption was that Vargas would return to playing the infield after landing with the White Sox in a trade. However, after making his debut with his new club at designated hitter on Tuesday, he's now being used in the outfield. Vargas could still wind up playing a lot of third base and/or second base, but on Wednesday, the White Sox will have Nick Senzel cover the hot corner and Lenyn Sosa man the keystone.

General manager Ross Atkins indicated Tuesday that Bloss will get some "breathing room" at Triple-A Buffalo before being called up and added to the Blue Jays' rotation, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports. "Our ideal outcome is that he's helping us this year and growing and developing here in Toronto," Atkins said. "We're going to get to know him, make sure that he's in the strongest possible spot."

The right-hander was part of the package the Jays received from Houston in the Yusei Kikuchi deal, but Bloss will begin his Toronto tenure in the minors to help him get settled. Assuming he sees game action for Buffalo, the Bisons will be the fifth different affiliate the 23-year-old has pitched for this season -- he began the year with High-A Asheville before stints at Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Sugarland, eventually making his big-league debut with the Astros on June 21. Bloss posted an impressive 1.64 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 63:21 K:BB in 66 innings across his three minor-league stops, but he got tagged for five homers in 11.2 frames for the Astros before the trade.

The Blue Jays optioned Cuas to Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday.

Cuas will head back to Buffalo to make room on the active roster for right-hander Paolo Espino, who was called up from Triple-A to start Wednesday's game in Baltimore. The righty reliever's latest stint with the Blue Jays lasted just two days, with Cuas striking out one but walking three batters in a scoreless inning of relief in Tuesday's 6-2 loss.

Arozarena (undisclosed) started in left field and went 1-for-5 with an RBI fielder's choice and a run in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday.

Arozarena had exited Monday's game after a collision with the wall in foul territory at Fenway Park, but the exit had been labeled as precautionary and no subsequent absences were expected. That proved to be true Tuesday, with the recent arrival managing to extend his hitting streak to five games and drive in a run for the second straight contest. Arozarena was already heating up during his final weeks with the Rays and carried the momentum over across the country, and he'll enter the final game of July with a .305 average and .972 OPS across 93 plate appearances this month.

Baldwin is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Baldwin will get his first day off since he was promoted from Triple-A Charlotte earlier this month. The rookie infielder has had a tough time getting going in his first taste of the majors, going 7-for-40 with a 15:2 K:BB in 12 games. Lenyn Sosa will start at second base for the White Sox on Wednesday.

Turner started at first base in his Mariners debut Tuesday, going 1-for-5 with a run-scoring single and an RBI groundout during a 10-6 win over the Red Sox.

Acquired via trade from the Blue Jays a day earlier, Turner wasted no time making his mark in a Mariners uniform and simultaneously doing damage against one of his old clubs. The 39-year-old has been of baseball's steadier hitters over the last decade-plus, and after atypically struggling most of the season, he's now hitting a blistering .500 (14-for-28) over his last seven games dating back to July 23, a surge that's raised his average and OPS by 28 and 52 points, respectively.