MLB Player News

Ona has been bothered by right elbow discomfort since late March and finally decided to go under the knife. The 24-year-old outfielder is expected to require around 6-8 weeks of rest and rehab.

Clarke has been on the injured list since April 22nd with a midfoot bone bruise. He will likely need a couple of games to ensure that his foot can hold up to playing back-to-back games in the outfield. After that, the A’s will have a dilemma on their hands. Clarke was really struggling as a hitter, slashing .170/.228/.189 with a 40 percent strikeout rate. However, he is also an elite defender. If the A’s want to call up Clarke, they’d need to send one of Carlos Cortes, Lawrence Butler, or Henry Bolte to the minors.

The plan is for Lukes to then play a couple of games in the outfield before the next steps are set. He may be promoted to a higher level, or he could return right after that. We should know more by the end of the week.

Kirk has been doing hitting drills and caught a Shane Bieber (elbow) bullpen over the weekend. However, he feels his fractured thumb more when he’s hitting than when he’s catching, which is why he hasn’t fully started hitting off of live pitching yet. We should have a better idea of his timeline when he can do that.

After the Reds took a one-run lead in the top of the 8th inning, Stott clubbed a two-run home run off Graham Ashcraft to put the Phillies on top for good. Stott has had really good contact metrics all season, but the production hadn’t been there early on. It’s starting to tick up lately. In May, Stott is hitting .254 with five doubles, five home runs, 18 RBIs, and an .890 OPS in 15 games. Those 18 RBIs lead all of Major League Baseball in the month.

Andujar homered with one out in the bottom of the first, and the lead held up for the rest of the game. It was his second straight start batting second. It’s an odd fit for such an aggressive hitter, but since he’s hot right now, the Padres might as well lean into it. Andujar is batting .298/.319/.504 in 135 plate appearances. Nothing much suggests he’ll keep slugging like this, but he’ll be a lineup fixture for San Diego until he cools off.

King ought to buy his catcher dinner after this one, as Rodolfo Durán threw out two of three basestealers and was correct on all three of his challenges behind the plate. Of course, King was pretty good, too, giving up just five hard-hit balls and finishing up with a 35 percent CSW. He’s allowed a total of two runs in his last three starts, and his ERA is down to 2.31. He’ll make his next start at home against the A’s.

Miller spotted the Dodgers two baserunners in a 1-0 game, but after walking Freddie Freeman and Kyle Tucker, he retired Will Smith, Max Munch and Andy Pages to close it out. He threw 22 pitches in all, so consider him probable for Tuesday.

Yamamoto gave up a homer to the second batter he faced tonight and that was enough to drop him to 3-4, even though he struck out eight and allowed only two other hits. Even the homer was a little cheap; it was 98.1 mph off the bat of Miguel Andujar, and it would have stayed in play in 13 of the 30 ballparks. Yamamoto will likely make his next start Sunday against the Brewers.

Laureano has spent quite a bit of time as a leadoff man this season, but he’s earned a place at the bottom of the lineup with his .214/.293/.370 line and ugly 32 percent strikeout rate. Playing time has yet to turn into a big issue, in part because he’s clearly better defensively than the Padres’ alternative corner-outfield options (other than Bryce Johnson, who can’t hit). He’ll probably heat up again at some point, but he’s a tough mixed-league play right now.

Jeffers is off to a fantastic start to his season, so it’d be a shame if he landed on the IL with an injury apparently sustained on a broken-bat foul ball tonight. Alex Jackson would be the obvious choice to replace him on the roster, though since he’s out of options, the team could instead go to Noah Cardenas or David Bañuelos if they think it’d be a short IL stint for Jeffers. That way, the Twins wouldn’t risk losing Jackson when Jeffers returns.