MLB Player News

He entered the ninth with the Angels down 4-0, as he had pitched only once in the previous 10 days. He was perfect in his other two outings, so we’ll chalk this up to early season rust.

Giolito signed a one-year contract to bolster San Diego’s rotation earlier this week and is going to need a couple outings in the minors to build up his pitch count and stamina before making his season debut. The 31-year-old veteran languished on the open market all offseason before finally finding a suitable deal with the Padres. He’ll offer some appeal as a matchup-dependent streaming option in deeper mixed leagues once he’s ready to debut in mid-May.

Nick Loftin draws another start at the hot corner with Garcia getting some additional time off the rest and recover after making an early exit from Thursday’s game with right elbow soreness. The 26-year-old downplayed the severity of the issue while speaking with reporters, so it qualifies as a bit of a surprise to see him still on the shelf. There should be some additional clarity on his status later this weekend.

Contreras collected a pair of RBI earlier in the contest before taking position player Weston Wilson deep for a garbage-time homer in the ninth inning. It counts all the same for fantasy managers, who certainly don’t mind a little stat-padding during the late stages of a one-sided affair. It was his fifth round-tripper of the season and second time he’s gone deep in the past week.

Mayo was responsible for Baltimore’s lone extra-base hit of the contest when he doubled against Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet with one out in the fourth inning.

Monasterio ripped a pair of doubles in the early stages of the one-sided affair before launching a grand slam off lefty reliever Keegan Akin in the ninth inning to put the metaphorical cherry on top of a much-needed three-hit performance. It was his first round-tripper of the season. He’ll continue to see at-bats against left-handed pitching, but he’s mostly limited to reserve duty right now.

It was a much-needed rebound performance for Crochet after getting torched for 16 runs over 6 2/3 innings combined over his previous two starts. The 26-year-old fantasy ace looked like his usual self in this one, leaning heavily on his four-seam fastball, and limiting Baltimore’s red-hot lineup to just five baserunners. He generated an encouraging 12 swinging strikes, and gave up only seven hard-hit balls, needing just 90 pitches to navigate six frames. The scoreless effort lowered his full-season ERA from 7.88 to a more respectable 6.30 through six starts. He’ll square off against the Astros at Fenway Park in his next outing on Friday.

Rogers was replaced by long reliever Tyler Wells in the second inning after just 47 pitches. It was his shortest outing since his tenure with the Marlins back in 2022. He finished with a pair of strikeouts and issued two walks. All three runs crossed the plate with two outs in the second inning as he allowed five consecutive batters to reach base safely prior to being pulled. Simply put, the damage could’ve been even worse. He’s gotten off to an abysmal start with a bloated 4.75 ERA. 1.45 WHIP and 27/10 K/BB ratio across 30 1/3 innings through six starts. He’ll face the Yankees in a challenging road matchup on Friday. At this point, it’s tough for fantasy managers to justify throwing him out there, especially in a one-start week.

Sousa’s return should provide an immediate lift for Houston’s bullpen, which has been an unmitigated disaster with a bloated 5.94 ERA this season, which is the second-worst in the entire majors. The 31-year-old lefty missed the first month of the season recovering from an oblique strain after posting a sparking 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 59/15 K/BB ratio across 50 2/3 innings last year. There’s a chance he gets a look in upcoming save situations until closer Josh Hader is back from the injured list, which gives him sneaky appeal in deeper fantasy leagues.

Gordon returns to the minors to make room for lefty setup specialist Bennett Sousa after allowing 12 runs on 21 hits, including a staggering six home runs, despite an 11/3 K/BB ratio over 9 1/3 innings over four appearances this season. The 27-year-old swingman will be back at some point down the line when the Astros need someone to gobble up low-leverage innings.

Wheeler takes the ball for his season debut against the division-rival Braves on Saturday night as the Phillies attempt to snap a dismal 10-game losing streak. No pressure. The 35-year-old former ace’s fastball velocity simply wasn’t back to pre-surgery levels during a handful of recent minor league rehab starts which makes this a wait-and-see situation for fantasy managers, despite his lengthy track record of success.