MLB Player News

The Guardians optioned Espino to Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday.

As expected, Espino will head back to Triple-A after he was called up to serve as the Guardians' 27th man for Tuesday's doubleheader with the Reds. He appeared out of the bullpen in the Guardians' 2-0 loss in the second game of the twin bill, striking out three batters and issuing a walk over a scoreless inning.

Assad will start Thursday's game in St. Louis, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Shota Imanaga had been listed as the starter for Thursday's series finale, but he and the other Cubs starters will be pushed back in order to bake in some extra rest. Assad went three shutout innings out of the bullpen in his last appearance Saturday in Pittsburgh, so he'll be taking the ball on four days' rest. The righty hasn't made a start in nearly three weeks, so he won't have a full workload at his disposal.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Right-hander Casey Legumina is opening the game for the Rays, but he's likely to work just an inning or two before left-hander Ian Seymour takes over in bulk relief. With that in mind, the Rangers will send three of their key left-handed bats in Smith, Evan Carter and Joc Pederson to the bench to begin Wednesday's contest. Smith had started in each of the Rangers' last four games, but he could be the odd man out for a regular spot in the infield when Corey Seager (back) likely makes his return from the injured list later this week.

Carter is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Right-hander Casey Legumina is opening the game for the Rays, but he's likely to work just an inning or two before left-hander Ian Seymour takes over in bulk relief. With that in mind, the Rangers will send three of their key left-handed bats in Carter, Joc Pederson and Josh Smith to the bench to begin Wednesday's contest.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Right-hander Casey Legumina is opening the contest for the Rays, but the Rangers will keep the left-handed-hitting Pederson on the bench since southpaw Ian Seymour is on track to pitch behind Legumina in bulk relief. Wyatt Langford will replace Pederson at designated hitter and atop the batting order Wednesday.

Julien is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Julien was included in the lineup for the first two games of the series and went 1-for-6 with a double and a run scored, but he'll take a seat to begin Wednesday's contest while southpaw Kyle Hart opens the game for the Padres. The Rockies could summon the left-handed-hitting Julien from the bench at some point during the contest once Hart exits and right-hander Griffin Canning takes over in bulk relief.

Garcia worked around a walk and struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning to secure his second save of the season in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Pirates.

While facing off against Pittsburgh's Nos. 2 through 5 hitters, Garcia navigated a fairly stress-free 17-pitch frame to sew up the win. He could be in the mix for more closing opportunities in the short term, as manager Torey Lovullo told Jack Sommers of SI.com after the game that Paul Sewald -- who leads the team with 24 saves but blew two of his last three chances -- will be moved into a lower-leverage role for the time being. Rather than settling on a designated closer, Lovullo indicated he plans to play the matchups in the ninth inning, so the left-handed Garcia may be deployed primarily against left-handed-heavy portions of the lineup late in games. Lovullo mentioned Jonathan Loaisiga as another pitcher who might factor into the late-inning picture, and Juan Morillo and Kevin Ginkel could also be part of the mix.

The Padres designated Waldron for assignment Wednesday.

The Padres needed to clear room for Jeremiah Estrada's (knee) return from the injured list, and because he doesn't have any minor-league options remaining, Waldron was dropped from the 40-man roster to facilitate the transaction. Waldron was a serviceable back-end starter for the Padres in 2024 but has seen his effectiveness wane in the two seasons since while also missing considerable time due to injuries. In 10 appearances (three starts) for San Diego this season, Waldron turned in a 7.16 ERA and 1.56 WHIP across 32.2 innings.

Johnston is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game in San Diego.

The Padres are going with a lefty opener (Kyle Hart) before turning to a right-handed bulk reliever (Griffin Canning). While the left-handed-hitting Johnston will begin the contest on the bench, he's a candidate to enter mid-game when Canning or another righty takes over. Colorado has Jake McCarthy in right field and Hunter Goodman at designated hitter.

Karros (biceps) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest in San Diego.

Karros had to be scratched from Tuesday's lineup with left biceps inflammation and will now miss a second straight start. The Rockies are idle Thursday, so Karros will aim to return to action Friday when the Rockies return home to host the Royals. Willi Castro will fill in again at the hot corner Wednesday in Karros' stead.