MLB Player News

The Angels added A.J. Achter and Al Alburquerque to their bullpen on Monday, so Kubitza got the boot from the 40-man roster. It comes as a bit of a surprise, as the Angels had high hopes for Kubitza when they acquired him from the Braves for left-hander Ricardo Sanchez in January of 2015. Of course, that move was with a previous regime. The 25-year-old was batting .253/.349/.366 with two homers and 19 RBI through 54 games in Triple-A this season.

Stewart gets the nod at the keystone over Matt McLain for the second time in the last three games. The 22-year-old rookie is up to four appearances there already this season. Stewart gaining some additional positional versatility would be an added bonus for fantasy managers given how well he’s performed already this season.

It qualifies as a surprise to see DeLauter on the bench against veteran righty Michael Wacha, but he gets a break after six consecutive starts between DH and right field. The 24-year-old rookie went deep for the first time since April 3 during Sunday’s loss to the Athletics.

Murphy returns to Atlanta’s catching mix after missing nearly six weeks at the start of the year recovering from hip surgery. He’ll likely wind up catching more than originally anticipated entering the season since the Braves want to keep Drake Baldwin at DH as much as possible. Still, Murphy can be ignored in shallow fantasy leagues at this stage of his career.

There’s no longer a role for Heim with Atlanta now that Sean Murphy is back from the injured list. The 30-year-old backstop departs after going 2-for-5 with a homer and five RBI during Sunday’s slugfest at Coors Field. He went 9-for-39) with one homer and eight RBI in 12 games with the club.

It’s pointless to spend too much time reading the tea leaves here, but it’s undoubtedly a positive sign that Ryan traveled with the team ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Nationals. The 29-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter left Sunday’s outing against the Blue Jays in the first inning with elbow soreness. He presumably underwent an MRI to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural damage. The best course of action for fantasy managers is probably to leave him on the bench in weekly leagues before lineups lock.

Not good. It’s an extremely concerning development after Westburg opted to go the rest and rehabilitation route instead of undergoing Tommy John surgery. The 27-year-old infielder will be shut down temporarily following this latest setback before being reevaluated to determine his next steps. The big issue here is that season-ending surgery could become unavoidable if he’s unable to resume throwing without discomfort.

Peña has checked every box in his rehab progression as he works his way back from a hamstring strain and should be ready to get back into game action later this week. There’s a chance he’s back in Houston’s lineup at some point next week.

It’s astounding that all three of last year’s AL Cy Young Award finalists are currently on the injured list. Brown appears to be the closest to returning as he works his way back from a shoulder issue that put him on the shelf last month. The 27-year-old resumed throwing last week and will begin ramping up his program in the next few weeks. He’s probably not going to make it back until some point in June based on his present trajectory.

Aldegheri comes up to provide Los Angeles with some long relief depth with Nick Sandlin being cut loose. The 24-year-old can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats while pitching in mostly mop-up duty.

Sandlin has been jettisoned from Los Angeles’ bullpen mix after compiling an abysmal 11.42 ERA across 8 2/3 innings over eight appearances.