Major League Baseball roundup
(The Sports Xchange) - Three players from each of the American and National leagues were named Tuesday to participate in the Home Run Derby. American League captain Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays added Yoenis Cespedes of the Oakland Athletics, Brian Dozier of the Minnesota Twins and Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles. Joining National League captain Troy Tulowitzki in the National league lineup will be Yasiel Puig of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins and Todd Frazier of the Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto was placed back on the disabled list less than 30 days after he returned to the team recovered from the same quadriceps injury. Votto, 30, was replaced on the active roster by catcher Brayan Pena, who was reinstated from the paternity list. Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole landed on the disabled list again Tuesday because of a sore back. Cole departed after five shutout innings in his last outing against the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday because of soreness in his right lat. He was sore again Monday after throwing in the bullpen and the Pirates decided to shut him down. The St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox discussed a deal for veteran pitcher Jake Peavy that could be finalized soon, according to ESPN.com. The Cardinals are in need of help for their starting rotation to stay competitive in the National League Central. Struggling Cleveland Indians pitcher Justin Masterson was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a right knee injury. Masterson has never been on the DL during his eight-year major league career. The Kansas City Royals signed left-hander Joe Saunders to a minor league contract on Tuesday and sent him to Triple-A Omaha. Saunders was released last week by the Texas Rangers. The 33-year-old started eight games for Texas this year and was 0-5 with a 6.13 ERA, 20 walks and 22 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings. The Minnesota Twins feared after that right-hander Ricky Nolasco's elbow tightness during Sunday's game against the New York Yankees might be a problem and on Tuesday announced he was going on the 15-day disabled list. The move is retroactive to July 7. To replace Nolasco on the roster, the Twins recalled catcher-outfielder Chris Herrmann from Triple-A Rochester, where he was batting .291. The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Josh Beckett on the 15-day disabled list with a left hip impingement and recalled reliever Pedro Baez from Triple-A Albuquerque on Tuesday. Beckett left Sunday's win in Colorado after five scoreless innings and 82 pitches. Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz went to bat for himself with an expletive-filled reponse to insinuations that he might have used performance-enhancing drugs in the past. "In this country, nobody gets a free pass," Ortiz said, according to WEEI.com. "He wants to make it sound like I got a free pass because nobody can point fingers at me directly. But the reason why I got that fake (expletive) free pass that he's saying is because they pointed fingers at me with no proof." The Baltimore Orioles activated right-hander Bud Norris (right groin strain) off the disabled list before the game Tuesday against the Washington Nationals to make the start and designated right-hander Julio DePaula for assignment. DePaula had been summoned from Double-A Bowie on Monday but did not get in the game. Right-hander Brandon McCarthy, acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, joined the New York Yankees on Tuesday and will start Wednesday night against the Cleveland Indians. To make room on the roster for McCarthy, the Yankees optioned right-hander Bruce Billings to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. (Editing by Frank Pingue)
