MLB Player News

There have been hints this winter that Braun may be headed for retirement, and that seems to be a growing possibility with spring training set to open in two weeks. Milwaukee declined the 37-year-old outfielder’s $15 million option for 2021 back in late October -- paying him a $4 million buyout instead -- after he slashed .233/.281/.488 with eight home runs over 39 games during the condensed 2020 campaign.

Smith got the call to protect a one-run lead in the final frame and managed to work around a leadoff single from Isiah Kiner-Falefa by striking out Marcelo Mayer, Caleb Durbin and Jarren Duran to preserve the win. The 27-year-old is the first closer to reach the 20-save plateau this season and finds himself four ahead of Padres star Mason Miller for the league lead. He holds a strong 2.60 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 42/5 K/BB ratio across 27 2/3 innings of work.

Cecconi held Boston scoreless until the fifth inning when things unraveled on him a bit. He surrendered four consecutive hits to open the frame before finally being lifted following a sacrifice fly from Jarren Duran. He was bailed out from any further damage when Colin Holderman stranded the potential tying run at third base. He finished with three strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass. He’ll face off against the Yankees in a challenging road matchup his next time out on Thursday.

Ronald Acuña Jr. barely even moved as Bleday crushed a Grant Holmes fastball to right field that went 393 feet and landed several rows up in the stands. Bleday has continued to rake since being installed as a regular for the Reds, hitting .287/.392/.604 with eight bombs and a stolen base. The window to pick him up as a free agent has likely passed, but his underlying stats are good enough that fantasy managers should feel good trading for him at this point if they have a hole to fill in the outfield.

This was done as a procedural move to free up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster for the return of Santiago Espinal on Friday. Snell underwent the NanoScope surgery in mid-May to remove three bone spurs from his pitching elbow. He’s now not eligible to return until after the All-Star break.

He allowed a pair of solo homers in his first four innings. Didier Fuentes came on with two on and two out in the fifth, allowing a Sal Stewart RBI single to tack one more run on Holmes’ ledger before getting Eugenio Suárez swinging to end the threat. This has been an annoyingly common problem for Holmes, who has not gone over 90 pitches since his third start of the season on April 8 and has gone more than five innings just twice over that timespan. Holmes will face the Blue Jays next week in a matchup that looks solid in theory but could continue to leave you winless.

It went about as well as it could have considering the seven hits and three walks allowed with no strikeouts. Paddack at least limited the Braves to just five hard-hit balls, so there’s that, but there’s not much to build on here in fantasy baseball or in real life. Yunior Marte came on for the first time this season after Paddack left the game and immediately buried the Reds with four more runs, leaving Paddack with no shot at a win. Assuming he remains in the rotation, Paddack figures to face the Royals next week.

Acuña hit a no-doubt, 429-foot moonshot off Chris Paddack that landed about 10 rows deep in left-center. He didn’t come around to score on either of his walks despite the Braves scoring eight runs, but that’s about all fantasy managers can be mad about here. Acuña has homered in each of his last two games while walking four times, and he’s slowly picking up the power pace as he’s slugged .426 in his last 15 games.

He’ll take the place of the injured Teoscar Hernandez on the Dodgers’ active roster. Ward is just 2-for-6 (.333) with one RBI during his limited action with the Dodgers this season. He is not in the starting lineup for Friday night’s battle against Zack Wheeler and the Phillies.

Harris hit a lined shot to left-center in a four-run top of the sixth that kept the game well in hand for the Braves and added another RBI single to cap Atlanta’s three-run second. Harris is hitting .302/.323/.603 with six homers and 13 RBI over his last 15 games, and while he wilted a bit in the first half of May, he’s at .299/.313/.536 for the month. He’s been a steal for where he went in fantasy drafts this offseason.