MLB Player News

Allen was signed to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training in February, but was limited to just four appearances with an ERA of 11.25 in the Cactus League before the shutdown. Once an upper-echelon closer, Allen struggled the last two seasons, and posted an ugly 6.26 ERA in 25 games with the Angels before being released in June while getting his walking papers from the Twins a month later from the Twins without making an appearance. It’s unlikely Allen makes a fantasy impact in 2020 if/when the season begins, but he could get a chance to make the Texas bullpen to begin the delayed campaign.

Bradley was originally slated the take the ball for Thursday’s series finale against the White Sox. It’ll likely be a bullpen game instead. The positive news is that he’s healthy and there don’t appear to be any injury concerns here. He’ll get some extra rest before toeing the rubber at PNC Park later this week. The 25-year-old emerging fantasy stalwart struck out seven and allowed one run over five inning against the Red Sox in his return from the injured list last Saturday.

The Yankees are going to roll with a righty-heavy lineup against Royals soft-tossing lefty Noah Cameron that includes Amed Rosario at second base over Chisholm, who went 2-for-6 with a solo homer during Tuesday’s lopsided win. Trent Grisham is also on the bench in this one.

The assumption based on comments from Yankees manager Aaron Boone was that Caballero would remain the club’s starting shortstop upon returning from the injured list. Simply put, that hasn’t happened. Anthony Volpe is making his third straight start at the position with Caballero heading to the outfield. It seems like it’ll be more of a timeshare at the position with Caballero bouncing around on occasion if Volpe continues to produce.

Mayo is back at DH and hitting fifth following a four-game absence due to lower back discomfort that cropped up last weekend. The 24-year-old former top prospect has been in a groove at the dish recently, hitting .292 (7-for-24) with one homer and three RBI over his last seven games. He’ll need to produce over an extended period before fantasy managers are ready to buy in again, but it’s never really been a talent issue with Mayo. A little bit of confidence could go a long way towards helping him finally reach his potential.

Poulin heads back to the minors after tossing a scoreless frame during Wednesday’s series finale against the Guardians. The 29-year-old southpaw holds a respectable 3.28 ERA and 17/16 K/BB ratio across 24 2/3 innings for the Nationals this season.

Madrigal gets the nod to join Los Angeles’ infield mix with Nolan Schanuel hitting the injured list with an ankle issue. The 29-year-old contact-oriented second baseman has plenty of big-league experience having appeared in 285 career games between the Cubs and White Sox since 2020. He doesn’t offer any semblance of over-the-fence power or stolen base upside at this stage of his career. He can be ignored in all fantasy formats.

Schanuel underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed the ankle issue after experiencing calf tightness the past couple days. The 24-year-old didn’t feel right after testing his leg earlier this week. There is no timetable for his return. It’ll be Vaughn Grissom handling the cold corner in his absence.

Lugo looked like he was going to be an interesting reserve outfielder for a hot minute last summer when he homered three times in eight games to start his Angels career. The 25-year-old scuffled over the final few months to finish hitting .232/.243/.464 with four homers and nine RBI in 70 plate appearances over 31 games. He was hitting .257/.388/.389 with three homers and 11 steals in 47 games for Triple-A Salt Lake this season.

VanWey provides Houston’s bullpen with some additional depth heading into the final two games of a series against the division-rival Rangers. The 27-year-old has tossed a pair of scoreless frames in two appearances for the Astros this season. He’ll operate in middle relief situations.

This outcome was inevitable after Alexander surrendered nine runs over six innings during Tuesday’s contest against the Rangers. Amazingly, he managed to complete six frames, sparing Houston’s bullpen in the process, after an eight-run meltdown in the opening frame.