The New York Yankees optioned infielder Oswald Peraza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, which points to the Yankees activating infielder/outfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. (elbow) on Friday. Manager Aaron Boone said earlier in the day that Chisholm is "real close to a return" from the 10-day injured list after he took batting practice at Yankee Stadium before Wednesday's contest. The 26-year-old is recovering from a UCL injury to his left (non-throwing) elbow, but what initially looked like a potential season-ender, turned out to be much less serious. It's great news for the Yankees and Chisholm's fantasy managers, as his production has been fantastic since being acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline. Chisholm has hit .316 (18-for-57) with seven homers, 11 RBI and five steals in his first 14 games in the Bronx and should return to starting duties at third base.UPDATE: The Yankees' plan is to activate Chisholm from the IL for the series opener on Friday against the Colorado Rockies.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge hit his major-league-leading 48th home run of the season in Thursday's 6-0 shutout win over the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. It was Judge's third straight game clearing the fences and his fourth homer of that span. His opposite-field shot off right-hander Gavin Williams in the fourth inning traveled 360 feet and came off the bat at 104.6 mph. The 32-year-old superstar is on pace to reach the 60-homer mark in 2024, which would be the second time in his career he's reached that lofty mark after eclipsing Roger Maris' single-season American League record with 62 homers in 2022. In his last 99 games since April 27, Judge has hit 44 home runs and driven in 105 runs. He's hit six long balls in his last seven games since Aug. 14 and has gone deep 13 times in 24 games since July 26. Judge is absolutely feasting right now at the plate.

New York Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole threw six shutout innings while giving up just one hit to beat the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday at Yankee Stadium for his 150th career victory. Cole improved to 5-2 on the year despite walking five and striking out only two in the outing. He improved to 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA (three earned runs in 23 innings) in three starts in August since receiving 10 days of rest following a tough outing on July 24 due to general body fatigue. Cole joined Justin Verlander (260), Max Scherzer (216) and Clayton Kershaw (212) as the only active pitchers with at least 150 wins. It appears that the rest given to Cole recently has worked out well for the Yankees. After getting a late start to the year due to an arm injury, Cole entered Thursday's outing with a 4.15 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP and a 60:16 K:BB in 52 innings over 10 starts.

San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (thigh) ran some sprints at Petco Park before the series opener on Thursday against the New York Mets for the first time since he went on the injured list with a stress reaction in his thigh in June. Tatis estimates that he ran at about 70 percent intensity. The Padres have been pretty tight-lipped about Tatis' rehab, and there remains no timetable for him to start a minor-league rehab assignments, so the 25-year-old All-Star isn't going to rejoin the Padres until sometime in September, possibly mid-September. Tatis is a difference-maker both in real life for the Friars and for fantasy managers when he's on the field, so he should remain stashed in an IL spot in all leagues. The Dominican superstar was hitting a strong .279/.354/.468 with an .821 OPS, 14 home runs, 36 RBI and eight stolen bases in 308 at-bats at the time of his injury.

Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller picked up his 20th save of the season in the team's 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at Oakland Coliseum. In his inning of work, Miller allowed a hit to rookie outfielder Kameron Misner, walked none and struck out two. The right-handed fireballer threw 14 of his 19 pitches for strikes and reached the 20-save mark for the first time in his career in what has been a breakout 2024 season. The 25-year-old former third-round selection in 2021 out of Gardner-Webb University has only blown two of his save chances as Oakland's full-time closer this year while also posting an excellent 1.85 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 81:17 K:BB in 48 2/3 innings pitched. The A's had a chance to get several high-end prospects in return for Miller at this year's trade deadline, but they balked at the opportunity and now view Miller as a building block for the future.