MLB Player News

Barraza, a former seventh-round pick of the White Sox in 2012, has spent the past two seasons playing for Lake Erie in the Independent Frontier League. He’ll at catching depth at the lower levels of the minor leagues for the Pirates.

The Astros can’t afford another hit to their outfield depth. Harris was hit by a pitch on the left hand during a fifth-inning at-bat before leaving the contest. Journeyman reserve outfielder Daniel Johnson, who signed a minor league contract literally two days ago, took over in left field. You can’t make this stuff up.

Ryan O’Hearn takes over at first base with Jake Mangum heading out to right field. Horwitz is presumably day-to-day for now. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Yesavage threw 64 pitches (37 strikes) in his likely final rehab outing at Triple-A Buffalo. He finished with two strikeouts and also walked four batters. The results weren’t inspiring, but the 22-year-old top prospect is one of the most exciting young arms in the sport. He’ll figures to make his season debut early next week against the Red Sox at the Rogers Centre.

As far as rehab outings go, this one was impressive. Strider’s fastball velocity ticked up significantly from early spring outings as he averaged 95.9 mph on his heater while topping out at 98.1 in this one. The 27-year-old former fantasy ace sustained his velocity throughout the 65-pitch outing while generating 15 swinging strikes, with 10 of those coming on his slider. He’ll likely require at least one additional tune-up to further increase his pitch count before returning to Atlanta’s rotation for his season debut in early May.

It’s a really troubling sign that Holliday is having persistent hand issues as he attempts to ramp up towards his season debut after suffering a hamate fracture back in spring training. The 22-year-old was pulled off a rehab assignment earlier this month with lingering wrist soreness and this latest setback is another step in the wrong direction. He’ll presumably undergo further evaluation and possibly even imaging to determine the severity but there should be a high level of concern here.

Carroll, who is back in right field and batting second, appears ready to roll after making an early exit from Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays with lower back tightness. The 25-year-old fantasy star is hitting .300/.390/.600 with 15 runs scored, 12 extra-base hits, including three homer runs, 16 RBI an two steals through 20 games this season.

Moreno is eligible to return from the injured list later this week, but it doesn’t sound like that’s happening. The 26-year-old hit the injured list earlier this month with a left oblique strain.

Walcott is roughly two months removed from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow and isn’t expected to be ready to return to game action until at least mid-July. The 20-year-old shortstop remains one of the top fantasy prospects in the game but he’s highly unlikely to reach the majors until 2027.

Leon is back with Philadelphia on a new deal after being removed from their 40-man roster earlier this week to make room for hot-hitting rookie Felix Reyes. The 27-year-old former prospect was claimed off waivers from the Astros last November. He’s yet to appear in the big leagues this season.

Triple-A Worcester manager Chad Tracy told reporters there’s “a pretty good likelihood” that Tolle pitches for the Red Sox later this week. The 23-year-old southpaw, who holds a strong 3.00 ERA and 19/4 K/BB ratio across 15 innings over three starts in the minors this season, figures to get the ball this weekend against the division-rival Orioles with Sonny Gray (hamstring) staring at a multi-week absence. His strikeout upside alone makes Tolle worthy of a fantasy roster spot in all leagues until further notice.