Athletics DFA Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang on Friday

Ross was just demoted four days ago, but since Kaelen Culpepper (hamstring) landed on the injured list, he can be recalled this quickly. Ross is starting at shortstop and batting ninth on Wednesday against the Yankees and will likely be the team’s starting shortstop in the short term unless the wanted to move Brooks Lee, who is out of the lineup on Wednesday, back there.

This will almost assuredly end Culpepper’s season since the MLB season ends just over 10 days from now. This is also his third trip to the injured list this season, if we include minor league stints; however, he doesn’t have a long track record of injuries. The 23-year-old hit .275/.333/.404 with three home runs, 15 runs scored, and 11 RBI in 31 MLB games. He should be the team’s starting shortstop next season.

This move was announced last night by Yankees manager Aaron Boone and is now official. Schmidt has been out since undergoing Tommy John surgery last year and will now return to the Yankees in a relief role.

The Yankees needed to clear a spot on the 40-man roster to activate Clarke Schmidt, so Cabrera was let go. The 27-year-old is hitting .288 with 19 home runs and a .790 OPS in Triple-A this season and could certainly be claimed off waivers by a team needing some infield depth.

We know that DeLauter (wrist) came to the ballpark sore on Tuesday after feeling something in his last at-bat on Monday. He’s listed as day-to-day but has not started in either of the last two games. Petey Halpin will start in center field and bat eighth while Steven Kwan will move to left field.

Thorpe is making his way back from Tommy John surgery in April of 2025 and a subsequent appendectomy. He has already been pitching in Triple-A, but needed to come off the injured list after exhausting all his days there. The 25-year-old has a 2.55 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and 22/4 K/BB ratio in 24 2/3 innings at Triple-A over five starts.

With Tommy Pham (calf) back, Quero will return to the minors. Quero got a real chance in 2026 as the White Sox’s starting catcher after Kyle Teel began the year injured. Instead of capitalizing, the 23-year-old slashed .203/.284/.257 with three home runs in 217 plate appearances. It remains to be seen what kind of future he has with the White Sox.

Pham was placed on the injured list just 10 days ago and was scheduled to return this weekend. However, he ran before the game on Tuesday and confirmed he was fully healthy. He’s right back to DHing and hitting cleanup for the White Sox against the Guardians on Wednesday.

It seems that Strzelecki’s 2027 contract would have been guaranteed for 2027 based on service time, so the Cardinals opted to activate him and let him go. The 31-year-old a 3.44 ERA across 83 2/3 MLB innings since 2022.

The Cardinals needed to make space on the active roster for JJ Wetherholt (wrist) to come off the injured list, so
Urías was let go. Given his experience and ability to play all over the infield, there is a chance that some team claims him for a playoff push.