MLB Player News

The Mariners also re-assigned bullpen coach Jaime Navarro to the minor leagues. Willis, who was close friends with former manager Eric Wedge, said he’ll continue to pursue other opportunities and understood that new manager Lloyd McClendon wanted to bring in his own coaching staff.

This will be the third straight missed game for Schwarber, who is dealing with an undisclosed illness. Bryce Harper will continue to DH, with Alec Bohm at first base and EdMunro Sosa at third base.

Dunn was acquired in a trade with the Chicago White Sox late last night, and will be immediately added to the active roster with Ben Williamson headed to the injured list. It remains to be seen how the Rays will handle playing time at second base with Williamson sideline.

Matz has been out since May 5th with elbow inflammation, but he is back now and will start on Wednesday against the Orioles. The left-hander has a 3.86 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and 28/13 K/BB ratio across 37 1/3 innings this season, but we would prefer not to use him right off the injured list.

Williamson had been out since Friday, and the Rays made a late-night trade for another utility infielder, so the writing seemed to be on the wall. Williamson has been a valuable contributor on the Rays this season, posting a solid batting average while providing defensive value all over the infield. He will likely be out for a few weeks.

Fernández hit .284/.347/.502 with 13 home runs in 64 games as a 22-year-old in Triple-A last year with the Rockies’ organization. Yet, for some reason, the Rockies put him on waivers. The Yankees claimed him and have been enjoying his success this season, as he has posted a .258/.311/.523 slash line with 11 home runs and 31 RBI in 38 games at Triple-A. Fernandez has always posted low strikeout rates in the minors and has a 48 percent hard-hit rate this season. The Yankees have him lifting the ball more than he did in Coors, which is helping his power production. He could be a sneaky outfield option for them in 2027.

We know Andres Chaparro got the call to replace Brady House on the active roster, but it’s only a matter of time before Morales is up to challenge for that spot. The 40th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is hitting .358/.440/.616 with 10 home runs, 27 RBI, and two steals in 175 plate appearances in Triple-A this season. There is little left for him to prove at this level.

Hays has gone 2-for-10 in his first three games at Triple-A, but both hits have been home runs. The 30-year-old has been sidelined since May 4th with a calf strain after also missing significant time with a hamstring strain. With Sam Antonacci playing well in left field, the White Sox will have a tough choice to make when Hays is ready to return. Likely one of Tristan Peters or Jarred Kelenic will head back to the minors, or the White Sox will choose to designate Randal Grichuk for assignment.

Povich has been sidelined since May 7th with what was originally described as forearm discomfort but then became elbow inflammation. The fact that he visited a surgeon renowned for performing Tommy John procedures isn’t great news, but it seems that the course of action right now is to address the current inflammation with an injection and then evaluate him again after the inflammation goes down. We should know more about Povich’s potential need for surgery in a week or two.

Nootbaar went 0-for-3 in his first game at Triple-A after going 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, and two runs scored in two games at Low-A. The 28-year-old had surgery on both heels in the offseason, so we should expect him to treat this rehab assignment as his full spring training. That being said, since he’s already in Triple-A, the chances of him joining the Cardinals by the start of June seem really good. Nootbaar hasn’t quite broken out the way people have hoped, but he has a career 9.7 percent barrel rate and 45.2 percent hard hit rate with a swinging strike rate of just 7.1 percent. At some point, that level of quality contact is going to produce results.

Gelof knocked a base hit in the third inning to drive in a pair of runs. He later took Ryan Johnson deep for a solo homer in the seventh for his sixth of the season. He’d add a base hit and a run scored in the ninth, ending his day hitting .269/.320/.505 with 18 runs scored, 16 RBI, and four steals across 102 plate appearances. The biggest improvement Gelof has made has been in his strikeout rate, sitting at 22.5 percent.