MLB Player News

Zombro suffered a fractured skull -- and required emergency surgery -- after getting struck by a line drive last June at Triple-A Durham. But he was medically cleared to resume physical activity in December and will report to camp with the Rays’ other minor leaguers later this month. “They said, ‘You’re good to go,’” Zombro told the Tampa Bay Times on Monday. “So I’ve booked my housing for spring (training), and I’ll be there.”

Junk’s lone mistake was a sweeper that he left over the heart of the plate to Phillies star Bryce Harper, who made him pay for it by sending the baseball 393 feet into the right-center field seats. He finished with six strikeouts and didn’t hand out a free pass. He isn’t overpowering, despite a noticeable uptick in fastball velocity this season, but he continues to effectively mix speeds and locations to keep hitters off balance and avoid hard contact. He’ll bring a sparkling 2.82 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 27/8 K/BB ratio across 38 1/3 innings into a home outing against the Nationals on Saturday to close out a two-start week.

Lauer gave up five hits, walked one and struck out two. He fell to 1-4 on the season with the less. The 30-year-old left-hander allowed a three-run home run to Ryan Vilade in the first inning, the eighth home run he’s allowed in seven appearances (six starts) so far. Lauer could get another start this weekend against the Angels if Jose Berrios isn’t activated.

Martinez gave up five hits, walked one and struck out four. The 35-year-old right-hander improved to 3-1 on the season with the win. He has an outstanding 1.71 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 42 innings pitched. Martinez will face the Red Sox on the road on Saturday.

Vientos had a seriously unlucky game, winding up with just a single on balls in play with xBAs of .940, .780, .760 and .720. His first at-bat produced a long drive to left that was knocked down by the win. Vientos didn’t find out until after he crossed second base that it was a flyout; he thought it had left the yard. His second at-bat produced a second 390+-foot flyout, and he lined out to a leaping Edouard Julien at second base in the ninth. At least Vientos’s hit was an important one, giving the Mets a 4-0 lead in the sixth before the Rockies scored twice the following inning. Vientos has six RBI the last two days, putting him at 14 in 95 plate appearances for the season.

The runs were a result of Carson Benge falling down on Jordan Beck’s long fly to center in the seventh, producing an RBI triple instead of an inning-ending flyout. Kyle Karros then singled Beck in afterwards. It’s Peterson’s first win after four losses to start the year. He could pitch again Sunday against the Diamondbacks, but with off days Thursday and next Monday, the Mets do have the option to get a little aggressive here and go with a four-man rotation next time through.

Williams got two flyouts and then struck out Troy Johnston to end the game. It’s his fourth straight scoreless appearance.

All of the runs came in the fifth, which opened with a homer and two doubles from the bottom of the Mets lineup. Sugano then walked Juan Soto and retired Bo Bichette before leaving with two on and one out. Jaden Hill replaced him and allowed both runners to score on a Mark Vientos single. This drops Sugano to 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA. He’ll likely face the Phillies on Sunday.

That Benge tripped over himself and fell on Jordan Beck’s long fly to center in the seventh will probably get more views than his homer, but at least he did have an actual highlight to go along with the miscue. Benge is 10-for-33 with two homers in his last 11 games. It’s not a big-time hot streak, but it has raised his OPS from .416 to .579.

Jenkins is going to miss at least a couple weeks, if not longer, after suffering a significant shoulder injury during a full-speed collision with the outfield wall at Triple-A St. Paul on Sunday. The 21-year-old, who was the fifth-overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is one of the top prospects in the fantasy landscape and was likely to reach the majors this summer. This latest development throws a serious wrench into that timeline.

It’s entirely possible that Edwards winds up back in New York on a new minor league pact in short order. The well-traveled 34-year-old reliever went unclaimed on waivers after being removed from the club’s 40-man roster last week. He’s posted a 1.50 ERA with an 11/4 K/BB ratio across six innings this season in the big leagues.