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Reds activated Emilio Pagán (triceps) from the 15-day IL.

Advice: Pagán landed on the injured list on May 23rd but has been solid for the Reds this season with a 4.19 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 19 1/3 innings while striking out 25 and walking seven batters. The 33-year-old could work himself back into high-leverage opportunities if he pitches well. Graham Ashcraft was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Rotoworld 14 minutes ago

Joyce earned a hold by tossing a scoreless inning while allowing one hit against San Diego on Wednesday.

Advice: Joyce was called up from the minors Sunday and was deployed in a high-leverage situation in his first outing with the big club, getting the eighth inning with the Angels up one run. The fireballing reliever immediately got into trouble when Fernando Tatis led off the frame with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Joyce calmed down to retire the next three batters without Tatis advancing further. Joyce didn't notch any strikeouts, but he had his heater working in the outing, reaching 103.3 mph, per Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. The right-hander fanned 34 batters over 19 frames in the minors this season and could certainly be a big bullpen asset (and perhaps a future closer) in the majors if he learns to harness his control. In 10 innings with the Angels as a rookie last season, Joyce fanned 10 batters but also issued nine free passes. Rotowire.com 24 minutes ago

Brito struck out a batter over two-thirds of an inning out of the bullpen in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Padres.

Advice: After the Padres lost Yu Darvish (groin) and Joe Musgrove (elbow) to the injured list last week, Brito looked to be a potential candidate to enter the rotation, but San Diego instead called up Randy Vasquez and Adam Mazur to fill the open starting roles. Vasquez and Mazur have already been confirmed for their second turns through the rotation Thursday and Sunday versus the Diamondbacks, respectively, so Brito will stick around in a lower-leverage role out of the San Diego bullpen. Since he fell short in his bid for a spot in the Opening Day rotation, Brito has made 19 relief appearances for the Padres this season, going 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 31 innings. Rotowire.com 25 minutes ago

Kershaw (shoulder) is expected to pitch a two-inning simulated game Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Advice: Kershaw tossed one inning against live batters Saturday and appears to have come out of that session well given that he will next progress to throwing two simulated frames. Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that the future Hall of Fame hurler is "way ahead of schedule," but the skipper also implied that Kershaw is likely still "about six weeks" away from being ready to join the big club, per Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com. Kershaw himself has declined to establish a timeframe for his return from the 60-day injured list, though mid-July is looking like a reasonable expectation. Rotowire.com 41 minutes ago