MLB Player News

Boston also got right-handed reliever Chris Carpenter from the Cubs. Kurcz was informed Thursday of the agreed-upon swap and will soon travel to the Red Sox’ spring training complex in Fort Myers, Florida. The 21-year-old had a 3.28 ERA and 91/34 K/BB ratio in 82 1/3 innings last year at Single-A Daytona.

The good news is, it appears Holmes will not need to undergo season-ending surgery. The bad news is that Mets manager Carlos Mendoza believes that Holmes is going to miss around three months with the fracture. The right-hander was one of the few bright spots with a 2.39 ERA over his 52 2/3 innings, but it now seems unlikely he’ll be back in the Mets rotation until the middle of August — at the earliest.

Rodríguez will get the nod instead of Ryan Weathers, who was previously scheduled to start the finale of the subway series. Rodríguez is taking the rotation spot of Max Fried (elbow), and the 22-year-old is considered one of the better pitching prospects at the upper levels. He’ll likely stick in the rotation until Gerrit Cole (elbow) returns near the start of June.

Wicks has been on the injured list with elbow inflammation since the start of the season. The 26-year-old could be an option for the Cubs at some point, but the former first-round selection will continue to operate in Iowa for the foreseeable future.

Instead of sticking with the six-man rotation, both Miller and Castillo will work multiple innings in the middle game of the three-game set against Chicago. What hasn’t been announced yet is who will start that game, and assuming the starter doesn’t go five innings, that hurler won’t be eligible for a win. The Mariners could move back to the six-man rotation in the coming days/weeks, but for now, it appears the two will be piggybacking.

Gasser will already be the 11th pitcher to start a game for the Brewers. The 26-year-old has made six appearances for Triple-A Nashville, and over his 21 1/3 innings, he’s whiffed 32 hitters against eight walks with a 3.74 ERA. He would be worthy of streaming consideration for those looking to take a chance.

Hader has pitched well in his previous rehab appearances, but the left-hander has been out of action for a while, and Houston will want to see their closer work a few more times in the minors before making the call-up. One of those final tests will almost assuredly be a back-to-back, and if all goes well, he should be back as the stopper for the Astros by the end of May.

Soto is not only receiving treatment on the foot, but he continues to deal with discomfort on his wrist, and he also has been dealing with elbow discomfort. “As long as he’s not putting anything at risk, he’ll continue to play,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters. Soto has been solid if unspectacular despite these injuries with a .271 average, .858 OPS and six homers over 124 plate appearances.

The Rangers are calling the spasms “minor,” and that Seager is currently day-to-day. The 32-year-old has struggled considerably to begin the year, and unfortunately injuries have been a large part of his otherwise-successful career. Ezequiel Duran will handle shortstop with Seager out.

Sogard figures to see action all over the diamond for the Red Sox after logging time at five different positions last year. The versatile 28-year-old doesn’t offer much from an offensive standpoint. He’ll likely see some time at shortstop with Trevor Story on the injured list, but most of those opportunities figure to go to Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The move is now official. It’s unclear whether Story will require surgery to address the groin issue that Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters has been bothering him pretty much all season. The lingering physical issue certainly helps explain his abysmal performance at the plate where he’s batted .206/.244/.303 triple-slash line with three homers and four steals through 41 games. It would make sense for the Red Sox to consider moving former top prospect Marcelo Mayer back to shortstop, but all indications are that Andruw Monasterio is going to be their short-term stopgap at the position with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Sogard taking the occasional turn. There should be some additional clarity on Story’s return timeline relatively soon.