MLB Player News

Putnam sat out the entire 2018 season while recovering from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery, but he should be 100 percent for the beginning of the 2019 campaign. The 31-year-old right-hander holds a 3.20 ERA and 162 strikeouts in 152 career innings of relief. This looks like a nice low-cost gamble for a Boston bullpen that (still) needs quite a bit of upgrading.

Edwards will look to fill in some innings for the big club after Christian Scott forced two Mets long relievers to pitch on Thursday by not getting out of the second. Edwards has essentially functioned as an up-and-down reliever after two successful years in Washington in 2022 and 2023 — this is his fourth team since then and he’s recorded just five major league appearances in that timespan. He had a 5.29 ERA and 1.47 WHIP for Syracuse in four starts.

After he didn’t get out of the second inning while walking five batters against the Twins on Thursday, it’s probably up for debate if Scott will get another chance next week or not. Either way, the Mets need the roster spot to get a fresh pitcher up in the big leagues after having to stretch the pen to cover for Scott last night. Scott can probably be dropped in shallow leagues if he was picked up in them.

It remains unclear how much Cornelio will pitch or in what role tonight as the Nationals take on the White Sox, but it appears that at the very least he’s going to be working in a bulk role. Cornelio was Washington’s 2025 Minor League pitcher of the year and could get some runway if the early returns go well with the Nationals. The role uncertainty makes it hard to stream him today, but he could be a stash candidate in deeper leagues.

Schneider alluded to the idea that Springer is going to be playing through the toe injury when he does return, saying “it’s going to be a little tricky for him for a couple of weeks.” So don’t expect a lot in the stolen bases category. But this augurs well for a return, and based on the timeline, he’ll probably be back by the start of next week.

Legumina was designated for assignment on Tuesday and the Mariners were apparently able to find a trade partner. Tampa Bay Times’ Marc Topkin reports the Mariners are reacquiring RHP Ty Cummings from the Mariners. Legumina posted a 5.62 ERA in 48 outings for the Mariners last year and was at 4.63 in eight outings this year, but he has struck out 82 batters in 83.1 career MLB innings.

He’ll resume his role in Minnesota’s pen in the near future. Funderburk carries a 2.00 ERA in 12 appearances this year — though he has allowed seven total runs against just two earned — and has one save as part of Minnesota’s mega-committee.

“I think that he’s obviously going through it right now and not feeling great at the plate. So sometimes, the different visual, letting the game come to you a little bit before jumping in there in the two, changes your outlook and potentially the results,” Roberts said about moving Tucker down the order. Tucker isn’t exactly struggling at .245/.327/.372, with three homers and three steals, but the Dodgers were hoping for more when he signed his megadeal that pays him $33 million this year and $81 million in 2027 before team options are considered. It’s not a major move for fantasy managers, and arguably even a favorable one given more chances to hit with a runner on base.

The 33-year-old catcher landed on the injured list a couple of weeks ago with an injury that apparently sounded scarier than it actually turned out to be. Trevino will eventually take the backup catcher duties back in Cincinnati, but it might be a few weeks before he’s ready to play in the majors again.

The Diamondbacks sent Baker to Triple-A on Monday, and he elected free agency. Now he’s back with Arizona on a minor league contract. The 29-year-old has big-time power but has yet to establish any consistency at the big league level.

Cole threw 42 of his 52 pitches for strikes, which is great to see. He also struck out four and didn’t want a batter. There is no Statcast data in the ballpark, but reports are that he sat around 94-95 mph on his fastball throughout the outing. He also threw all of his pitches, so this was a positive step in his return from elbow surgery.