7 mins agoMilwaukee Brewers pitching prospect Robert Gasser is expected to be called up from Triple-A Nashville in order to make his first major-league start on Friday against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals in his MLB debut. The club's No. 5 prospect, per MLB Pipeline,read more...
13 mins agoSeattle Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (elbow) will come off the injured list to make his 2024 debut on Friday against the Oakland Athletics at home. While the A's offense has certainly heated up recently, it's still a plus matchup for Woo's first big-league start of the year. The 24-year-old has been on the injured list since the beginning of the year due to right-elbow inflammation. In his three minor-league rehab starts with Triple-A Tacoma, Woo threw 11 1/3 shutout innings with no walks and 17 strikeouts, so he appears to be in great form and will be in play as a deep-league streaming option right away in his first start back. With Woo returning to Seattle's rotation, Emerson Hancock is expected to head back to the minors.Source: Seattle Sports - Shannon Drayer
23 mins agoSt. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt remains out of the starting lineup on Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Goldschmidt was scheduled to sit out Wednesday's series finale against the New York Mets on Wednesday before the game was rained out, so the Cardinals have just elected to give the struggling Goldy another day off. Alec Burleson will once again start at first base and hit cleanup against Brewers right-hander Tobias Myers. The 36-year-old right-handed slugger hasn't recorded a hit in his last six games to drop his season slash line to .195/.287/.263 with only two home runs and 11 RBI in 133 at-bats. Burleson has never faced Myers in his career but will be a tempting DFS play out of the cleanup spot as the Cardinals look to get their offense going. Goldy should be back in action on Friday in Milwaukee as he looks to break out of his season-long slump.Source: MLB.com
30 mins agoThe Cleveland Guardians acquired right-hander Darren McCaughan from the Miami Marlins on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations. The move comes after the Marlins designated McCaughan for assignment after he allowed eight earned runs on nine hits (three home runs) while walking three and striking out only two in 4 2/3 innings against the Oakland Athletics in his lone appearance on Saturday. The 28-year-old will now give the Guardians both starting and relieving depth in the minors after they sent him to Triple-A Columbus. McCaughan has a 9.16 career ERA (8.65 FIP) and 1.82 WHIP with 10 walks and 14 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings over six appearances (one start) in his three years in the big leagues. He remains far off the fantasy radar.Source: GuardsInsider
34 mins agoThe Cleveland Guardians transferred right-hander Gavin Williams (elbow) to the 60-day injured list on Thursday to make room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Darren McCaughan, who was acquired in a trade. Williams resumed throwing a week ago while recovering from a right-elbow injury, but he still has a ways to go before he's an option to rejoin the team's major-league starting rotation. When the 24-year-old is healthy, though, he should have a rotation spot waiting for him in Cleveland after he went 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA (4.05 FIP) and 1.26 WHIP while walking 37 and striking out 81 in 82 innings over his first 16 major-league starts in 2023. If Williams can reduce his number of walks when he returns, he could be a major contributor in all fantasy leagues.Source: GuardsInsider
55 mins agoHouston Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy (forearm) is scheduled to make his first minor-league rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday. Manager Joe Espada said the plan is for Urquidy to go around four innings or 60 to 65 pitches. Urquidy is finally ready to start pitching in games again after being out since the middle of March in spring training with a right-forearm strain. Given how long the 29-year-old has been out, we should expect him to make multiple rehab outings in the minors before the Astros even consider activating him from the injured list. Urquidy, who missed a large chunk of last season as well due to injury, won't even be guaranteed a starting rotation spot when he's cleared to rejoin the big-league club.Source: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
58 mins agoWith right-hander Cristian Javier (neck) returning from the injured list to start on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said it's undecided how the starting rotation will adjust. A six-man rotation is still a possibility. Right-hander Hunter Brown, who was on turn to go this Saturday, could be available out of the bullpen this weekend. The 25-year-old last pitched on Sunday but is the logical candidate to lose out with Javier returning, as he's so far posted an ugly 8.89 ERA and 2.19 WHIP with 18 walks and 29 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings over his first seven starts of the year to go along with an 0-4 record. If Brown doesn't pitch out of the bullpen this weekend, he could get the start against the Oakland Athletics on Monday. Either way, Brown's fantasy value, which was already on life support, is taking another hit with the return of Javier.Source: Houston Chronicle - Matt Kawahara
1 hour agoUpdating a previous report, San Francisco Giants outfielder Jung Hoo Lee (foot) was absent from the team's starting lineup on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies in the series finale after fouling a ball off his foot in the win on Wednesday night. Manager Bob Melvin said Lee is getting treatment and the team will see how he feels on Friday before the start of the series opener versus the visiting Cincinnati Reds. Fantasy managers need to consider the 25-year-old as day-to-day for now and check back to see if he's active on Friday. Austin Slater got the nod in center field for the Gigantes on Thursday and was hitting sixth in the order. Lee is currently in the midst of a modest six-game hitting streak in May, going 9-for-29 (.310) in the span with a double and an RBI. He's provided a decent batting average and on-base percentage so far in his first year in the big leagues but with little power (two homers).Source: MLB.com - Manny Randhawa
3 hours agoHouston Astros right-hander Cristian Javier (neck) will start on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers in the Motor City, with lefty Framber Valdez starting the series opener on Friday and right-hander Justin Verlander going on Sunday. While it's a solid matchup for Javier, fantasy baseball managers need to remember that Javier has been out almost a month with a neck injury. In his lone minor-league rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi, Javier gave up three runs in just 3 1/3 innings (68 pitches), so he's also probably not going to go very deep in his first start back in Detroit on Saturday. Even though he might be a shaky starting option this weekend, Javier deserves to be rostered in all fantasy formats after starting the year 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 1.11 WHIP with 18 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings over his first four starts.Source: The Athletic - Chandler Rome
4 hours agoNew York Yankees catcher Jose Trevino will take a seat in favor of Austin Wells for the second straight day on Thursday against the visiting Houston Astros. Wells is catching right-hander Marcus Stroman and will hit eighth in the batting order against Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco. Wells will be making his 21st start of the season, while Trevino has started 18 games for the Yankees, so it's basically been a pretty even timeshare behind the dish in the Bronx for the two. The 31-year-old Trevino has been better offensively, hitting .281 (18-for-64) with two homers and 11 RBI, while Wells enters Thursday's game slashing just .200/.333/.317 with a homer and three RBI in 60 at-bats. Those setting DFS lineups on Thursday should look elsewhere at the catching position than Wells.Source: MLB.com
4 hours agoThe Atlanta Braves acquired infielder Zack Short from the Boston Red Sox on Thursday in exchange for cash considerations. The move comes after the Braves shipped veteran infielder Luis Guillorme to the Los Angeles Angels for cash considerations on the same day. The 28-year-old Short will be on his third MLB team of the year after starting the season with the New York Mets. In 12 games with the Mets and Red Sox this year, he's gone 1-for-16 with two walks and eight strikeouts. Short will operate in a utility bench role in Atlanta and may not stick around for long there, either. The former 17th-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2016 out of Sacred Heart has hit just .169/.262/.299 with 13 home runs, 55 RBI and eight stolen bases in 189 career games played in the majors since debuting in 2021.Source: Atlanta Braves
4 hours agoPittsburgh Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo (elbow) is coming close to the six-month mark in his rehab from Tommy John surgery, which is when he might get final clearance to resume throwing. The clearance could come next week and would be another step toward getting Oviedo ready to pitch next season. The 26-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in early December of last year and will not be available to pitch for the Pirates at all in 2024. The Cuban right-hander made a career-high 32 starts for the Bucs in 2023 and went 9-14 with a 4.31 ERA (4.49 FIP) and 1.37 WHIP with 83 walks and 158 strikeouts in 177 2/3 innings pitched. Unsurprisingly, consistency was an issue for Oviedo in his first full season as a starter in the big leagues, and he's going to need to show better command when he returns in 2025 to have any shot at fantasy relevance in single-season leagues.Source: MLB.com
4 hours agoPittsburgh Pirates catcher Jason Delay (knee) caught pitcher Bailey Falter's bullpen session on Wednesday, the first time he has done that since having knee surgery last month. He didn't have any issues and has also been playing catch up to 120 feet and taking swings off a tee. There are discussions of moving Delay's rehab to the team's Florida complex, which could happen soon. The 29-year-old underwent surgery in the middle of April to fix the meniscus in his right knee. He's making progress, but Delay has a ways to go in his recovery and might not be back with the team as a backup option before the All-Star break. In his one game played in 2024 before his knee injury, Delay went hitless in three at-bats with an RBI and a walk.Source: MLB.com
4 hours agoMinnesota Twins relief pitcher Daniel Duarte (elbow) will miss the rest of the 2024 season after having UCL revision reconstruction on his elbow on Tuesday in Dallas. The typical recovery timeline for these injuries is 14 to 16 months. The 27-year-old right-hander is not only going to miss the rest of this year, but he'll also most likely be sidelined into the second half of 2025 as well. The Mexican hurler only made two appearances out of Minnesota's bullpen this year and allowed one earned run on two hits while walking one and striking out three in four innings. In his three MLB seasons to this point, Duarte has a 3.99 ERA (6.10 FIP), a 1.38 WHIP, one save, 24 walks and 28 strikeouts in 38 1/3 relief innings for the Twins and Cincinnati Reds.Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune - Bobby Nightengale
4 hours agoCincinnati Reds relief pitcher Ian Gibaut (arm) had anterior interosseous nerve-release surgery on his right arm on Thursday, but manager David Bell said the hope is that he's still able to return this season. Gibaut had been dealing with right-arm issues since late February and will now be out even longer. The 30-year-old is currently on the 60-day injured list and won't be able to rejoin Cincinnati's bullpen until some point in the second half of the season. The former 11th-round pick by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015 out of Tulane was a key part of the Reds' bullpen last year, going 8-4 with a 3.33 ERA (4.07 FIP) and 1.28 WHIP with a career-high three saves, 28 walks and a career-high 69 strikeouts in 75 2/3 innings over 74 relief appearances.Source: The Cincinnati Enquirer - Charlie Goldsmith