MLB Player News

The slumping slugger has posted an embarrassing .587 OPS and 42.1 percent strikeout rate this season and is coming off a golden sombrero Saturday. Erik Kratz will catch Masahiro Tanaka. Aaron Hicks is also getting a breather, with Brett Garder sliding over to center field and Mike Tauchman covering left.

Caballero returns to shortstop with free-swinging rookie slugger Spencer Jones getting a shot in right field on Monday night in Cleveland. The versatile 29-year-old started back-to-back games in right field after franchise cornerstone Aaron Judge hit the injured list with a fracture in his rib cage over the weekend.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters Simpson will receive another full day off to address a lingering thumb bruise that he’s been dealing with since last week. The 25-year-old speedster is available off the bench. The hope is that the additional rest puts the ailment to bed. Austin Slater gets the nod in left field to face Red Sox lefty Connelly Early on Monday night with Simpson missing his third straight game.

Rays skipper Kevin Cash confirmed that DeLuca will be ready to return to game action later this week. The 27-year-old outfielder hit the injured list with a mild hamstring strain back in late May. He should make it back to Tampa Bay’s outfield mix at some point later next week.

It’s presumably the final checkmark before Helsley heads out on a minor league rehab assignment. The flame-throwing 31-year-old closer has been on the shelf recovering from elbow inflammation since late April. He’ll need a handful of tune-up outings in order to get back up to speed, especially given the lengthy layoff, but he’s trending towards a mid-June return. Rico Garcia will continue handling save situations for the Orioles in his absence.

Nance returns to Toronto’s relief corps for Monday’s series opener against the Phillies following a three-week absence due to forearm discomfort that put him on the shelf back on May 17. The hard-throwing 35-year-old has compiled a solid 4.05 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 24/8 K/BB ratio across 20 innings this season. He’ll continue operating in middle relief situations for the Blue Jays.

Rodríguez draws the short straw in a roster crunch as Toronto adds Tommy Nance back to their bullpen mix. The 29-year-old posted a disastrous 7.71 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 6/7 K/BB ratio across 9 1/3 innings during his latest stint with the Blue Jays.

It turns out that Griffin is dealing with a “flexor mass muscle strain,” which means the location of his injury has changed. Cherington said that, given the exact spot of the injury, the team is going to be more cautious with their top prospect’s return. On the positive side, Griffin is asymptomatic at this point, but there are no further details about his return other than that it will be a bit longer than originally expected.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz told reporters Basallo is dealing with a left wrist issue that he’s been playing through for some time. He added that he doesn’t believe it will require surgery. There’s no indication he’ll require a trip to the injured list at this time. Basallo will receive some extra time off following his involvement in a home-plate collision during Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays that led to his early exit from the contest. The 21-year-old former top prospect also missed time earlier in the series with an abdominal issue. There’s a lot to unpack here. It’ll be Sam Huff handling the catching duties with Adley Rutschman also receiving a day off.

Bliss was hitting .204/.263/.280 in 235 plate appearances at Triple-A. He will likely just be a pinch runner and defensive replacement while J.P. Crawford (hand) is on the injured list.

Crawford missed two games over the weekend after being hit by a pitch by Framber Valdez on Friday. The shortstop had been heating up at the plate, so this is unfortunate timing, but all x-rays came back negative, so it should be a minimum stint on the injured list. Colt Emerson figures to continue to start at shortstop with Ryan Bliss and Patrick Wisdom getting reps at third base.