MLB Player News

Binford struggled mightily during six starts for Triple-A Omaha, posting a 5.86 ERA and 1.66 WHIP with more walks (15) than strikeouts (nine) in 27 2/3 innings. The 22-year-old excelled at three minor league levels last year as part of a breakthrough campaign (2.88 ERA, 139/22 K/BB in 140 2/3 IP), and there was even some talk that he might reach the majors as a September call-up. However, Binford’s lack of a dominant pitch has been exposed this season as a result of his shaky command, so it’s not surprising the Royals want him to work through his issues at a less challenging level.

Matt Shaw pinch-hit and took over at second base. This doesn’t sound especially serious at this point, but we’re sure we’ll get a real update at some point in the next 24 hours. Hoerner had already gotten a hit and scored a run, and was hitting .291/.370/.449 with four homers and seven stolen bases entering the game — he’s been one of the MVPs for fantasy baseball up to this point.

With Brandon Woodruff on the injured list, McGee will hang around and soak up some low-leverage innings from the club if needed. It seems likely that Shane Drohan will either start or have a bulk role for the Brewers during what would have been Woodruff’s next turn through the rotation.

Woof. It’s not a surprise after Woodruff was pulled in the second inning of his last start with a major velocity drop. Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that Woodruff told him he doesn’t feel like he’s injured, but that it was a dead arm situation. We’ll see where this heads, but shoulder injuries for pitchers are not auspicious signs. The optimistic case is that Woodruff is able to shake this off and return in a few weeks with his regular velocity.

The primary second baseman is taking a seat for Jorbit Vivas, which enables the Nationals to get Curtis Mead into the lineup. Nuñez is off to a .202/.312/.213 start, but he does have a league-leading 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts so far, making him fantasy-interesting. We hope this isn’t the start of a cooling trend for his playing time, but a .525 OPS isn’t exactly screaming that Nuñez has to play every day.

Yelich is hitting flips from coaches and off a tee, and has resumed light running as he tries to come back from a groin strain. He has “several weeks” of rehab work ahead, which sounds like he may be on the longer side of that potential recovery timeline.

Grichuk cleared waivers. Instead of becoming a RailRider, he will search for a new home. The 34-year-old was off to a .194/.212/.323 start for the Yankees in 33 plate appearances as a lefty-masher. A career .268/.318/.498 hitter against left-handed pitchers, Grichuk should be able to find work elsewhere.

He’ll start today’s game against the Astros for Boston. We wouldn’t send him into 12-team league lineups for his major league debut, but he has an 0.86 ERA in five starts for the Worcester so far this year, with only 12 hits allowed in 21 innings. He’s certainly a plausible play in deeper leagues.

Estrada will head back to the middle innings mix for the Padres after a short break with elbow tendonitis. Hopefully his velocity is recovered after his four-seamer fell from an average of 97.9 mph in 2025 to 95.0 mph at the outset of 2026.

“We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told MLB.com. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com notes that “Stearns and owner Steve Cohen have had no serious conversations about firing Mendoza even as two other prominent managers, Alex Cora of the Red Sox and Rob Thomson of the Phillies, were dismissed last month.” We doubt this will cool the temperature much on Carlos Mendoza’s hot seat — only wins can do that — but it’s noteworthy that Mendoza has the backing of his owner and general manager despite a 10-21 start.

Schumaker added the caveat “depending on the lane,” suggesting Latz might not get an opportunity in a clear stretch of right-handed hitters. Still, Latz seems to be emerging as the lead candidate for Texas’ closer role at this point and is worth rostering if you’re chasing saves.