Paredes went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and two walks in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Royals.

Paredes took Michael Wacha deep in the opening frame for an early 1-0 lead. He and Amed Rosario were the only Rays to get on base multiple times in the game after Paredes drew multiple walks for the first time since May 17. He's now racked up five extra-base hits, reached base a total of eight times and driven in four runs over his last three games. Paredes is enjoying another productive campaign after breaking out last year, slashing .276/.365/.481 with 14 homers, 46 RBI, 33 runs and a 35:57 BB:K in 342 plate appearances.

Stripling (elbow) pitched a live batting practice session before Wednesday's game against the Angels, the Associated Press reports.

Stripling's session seemed to have gone off without any issues, and he's now thrown a pair of bullpen sessions and Wednesday's batting practice in the last eight days. Manager Mark Kotsay had previously indicated Stripling would likely begin a rehab assignment if he didn't experience any setbacks while facing live hitters, so the veteran right-hander could be heading to Triple-A Las Vegas to begin that phase of his recovery in the coming days.

Berti (calf) could begin taking live at-bats shortly after the All-Star break, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Berti has been re-incorporating baseball activities in recent days and will continue to ramp things up. He should be ready for a rehab assignment soon after some live hitting, with a return before the end of July seemingly doable.

Blackburn (foot) threw live batting practice before Wednesday's game against the Angels, the Associated Press reports.

The right-hander has now completed two bullpen sessions and Wednesday's live batting practice in the last eight days, meaning his recovery has really started to pick up the pace. Manager Mark Kotsay had previously stated Blackburn would head out on a rehab assignment if there were no residual effects from Wednesday's activity, and the coming days should confirm whether that's still the plan of action.

The Guardians optioned Tena to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

The 23-year-old was called up by Cleveland on June 27 and appeared in three games during his brief time in the majors, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Tena will now return to Columbus, where he has a .290/.337/.477 slash line with 14 homers and 10 steals through 73 games.

The Guardians optioned Morgan to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

Morgan holds a 1.98 ERA but just a 10:5 K:BB over 13.2 innings this season and has missed time with a pair of arm issues. David Sandlin (back) has returned from the injured list to take Morgan's spot in the Guardians' bullpen.

Malloy went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 9-2 win over the Twins.

Malloy singled in the third for his only hit of the game and wound up swiping second base before the inning concluded for the first steal of his MLB career. Malloy does have a hit in four straight games now, but overall, it's been a struggle for the 24-year-old to get acclimated to big league pitching so far. He's slashing .197/.284/.394 with four homers, eight RBI, eight runs and a 7:31 BB:K in 81 plate appearances.

The Guardians recalled Martinez from Triple-A Columbus, and he's starting in center field Thursday against the White Sox.

The 22-year-old was up with the big club for a couple days in June and saw action in two games, going 2-for-7 at the plate. Martinez started at third base and designated hitter during that stint but will receive a look in center field Thursday while batting second.

The Guardians activated Sandlin (back) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Sandlin required just a minimum stay on the IL with lower-back inflammation. He'll return to a middle relief role.

Festa (1-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Tigers, allowing seven runs on nine hits and no walks. He struck out six over five innings.

Festa allowed three home runs on the day, including a grand slam to Carson Kelly in the third inning, which opened up the scoring frenzy for the Tigers. Wenceel Perez took him long in the same inning and then Riley Greene also went deep in the fifth for a two-run blast. The one encouraging stat line for Festa in this one was he had six strikeouts and no walks while piling up 13 whiffs. Still, the 24-year-old has now allowed 12 runs over his first 10 major league innings. If he sticks around for another turn in the rotation, he'll line up to face the White Sox early next week.