MLB Player News

Nothing official from the White Sox yet, but Finnegan made the announcement on his personal Twitter account. The 28-year-old left-hander hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2018 and was released by the Reds last month. He posted a lackluster 5.53 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 57/36 K/BB ratio across 55 1/3 innings at Triple-A Louisville last season. He’ll provide Chicago with some additional relief depth entering the 2022 campaign.

Kay struck out five, so that’s an improvement. Through seven appearances this year, he has a 5.70 ERA and a poor 20/15 K/BB in 30 innings. He’s also hit five batters. The White Sox gave him a two-year deal, so they’ll want to stick with him. He’s looked like a middle reliever at best, however. He’ll face the Mariners next weekend.

One of the reasons the Mets were willing to part with Acuña over the winter was that he was already out of options at age 24, and the speedster has spent this season looking like he belongs in Triple-A. He’s hitting .169/.235/.182 with one extra-base hit in 86 plate appearances. Acuña has pretty good bat speed, doesn’t strike out all that much and can run with anyone, so the tools are there. He’s just not ready yet.

Eldridge will get another shot after batting .333/.445/.518 for Sacramento, but his return really complicates things, what with his replacement, Casey Schmitt, being arguably the Giants’ best player to date. All of the team’s veteran infielders are used to being everyday players, and it’s hard to imagine any will be happy sitting once or twice per week to make room for Eldridge at first and DH, even if it’s the right call for the team. Rodriguez has started at catcher, second base and in left field this year, so he offers a lot more versatility than Eldridge and will be an easier fit. Still, we’re not sure either rates a pickup in mixed leagues at this point. Eldridge has the potential, but he’ll stay the bench against lefties and possibly the occasional righty.

Bubic struck out seven while allowing one or no runs for the fourth time in seven starts this season. He’s 3-1 with a 3.32 ERA ahead of a date with the Tigers next weekend.

Lynch struck out three of the four. Lynch was only the choice to close today because both Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm had pitched the last two days, but he’s been the Royals’ best reliever this season. He still might wind up being interesting in fantasy leagues if Carlos Estévez fails to return to form.

Castillo had good velocity today and got through three innings scoreless, but really, he was hit hard throughout. At this point, it seems like it’d be difficult to justify keeping him and his 6.29 ERA in the Seattle rotation after Bryce Miller’s return. It’d be interesting to see if he could contribute out of the pen; all 250 of his appearances in the majors have been as a starter. Right now, he’s probably looking at one more start next weekend against the White Sox before Miller is activated.

Collins was also caught stealing for the third time in four tries this season. That’s a definite issue for him as a fantasy outfielder, since he probably has more potential in steals than in any other category. But Collins should be a fourth outfielder anyway. The Royals have thus far started him 26 times in 34 games, and he’s responded by hitting .236/.343/337 with below average defense in left field.

Vientos took Jack Kochanowicz and Nick Sandlin deep for his sixth career two-homer game. He hadn’t had even a multi-RBI game this season while hitting .238/.287/.363 coming into the day. He’s getting to play regularly of late because of all of the Mets’ injuries, but he’ll need to be a steadier run producer in order to keep the lineup spot for good.

While the Mets’ other four starters are a combined 2-13, Holmes has opened the campaign 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA, and he still hasn’t allowed more than two runs in any of his seven starts. He’s due to face the Diamondbacks next time out.

It’s still another quality start for the 24-year-old. He’s already matched his 2025 total of four quality starts in 16 fewer tries (seven versus 23), and two of his three misses this year have seen him pulled just one out short of qualifying. Kochanowicz still doesn’t inspire much confidence as a fantasy starter, but his emergence has been huge for the Angels. He’ll take a 2-1 record and a 3.05 ERA into his next start against the Blue Jays.