MLB Player News

Hess signed a minor league contract with the Rays during the offseason and returned to the mound after completing successful treatment for a cancerous tumor in his chest last October. The 29-year-old righty, who made 15 relief appearances last year with the Marlins and Rays, allowed 15 runs on 18 hits with an 11/3 K/BB ratio across 10 1/3 innings (eight appearances) this season at Triple-A Durham.

Buehler averaged 92.9 mph with his fastball in his first two starts, but he was up to 93.9 mph last week against the Rockies and 94.5 mph tonight. That’s above his 2025 average of 94.0 mph (and he was typically under that it in the second half of the year). It doesn’t make Buehler a fantasy addition just yet, but his stock is trending the right way. He’ll take a 1-1 record and a 4.58 ERA into a start in Coors Field against the Rockies next week.

The Giants’ Luis Arraez singled off Miller to start the ninth inning of a game on April 1. Since then, Miller has retired 24 straight batters, striking out 21 of them. He averaged 101.2 mph and topped out at 102.5 mph with his eight fastballs tonight.

Castillo’s own error led to the runs being unearned. Which he’ll certainly take, though it probably shouldn’t have been an error in the first place. He was hit by a Jake Cronenworth comebacker and then picked up the ball and made a poor throw to first that Josh Naylor still should have caught for an out but dropped. It’s just Castillo’s fourth ever error; he had one in 2019, one in 2021 and one in 2024. It led to him taking a loss in his first decision of 2026. He has a 5.40 ERA through four starts, but he should fare better when he returns home next week against the A’s.

Manager Craig Stammen said after the game that Laureano is going to stick in the leadoff spot for now, boosting his fantasy value. He’s been the Padres’ best hitting with a .290/.355/.551 line, four homers and three steals in 76 plate appearances.

It makes the performance a little extra impressive that Dollander certainly didn’t expect to pitch in the first. Juan Mejia opened but then left down 2-0 with two on and two out. Dollander got Cam Smith to ground out and kept rolling from there. He’s 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA and an 18/4 K/BB in five appearances. One imagines he’ll continue to go long, whether it’s as a starter of a bulk guy, in his next couple of outings with Kyle Freeland on the IL. He’ll probably next pitch Tuesday at home against the Padres.

Vodnik gave up two runs in his season debut, but he’s allowed just a 10th-inning automatic runner to score in seven innings this month. He’s the clear favorite for saves for the Rockies, though that still probably doesn’t make him worth rostering in 10- and 12-team leagues.

Weiss, filling in for Tatsuya Imai, walked four and gave up a home run to Hunter Goodman. He was making his first start after throwing 11 innings with a 7.36 ERA in five relief appearances. It’s possible he’ll get another start next week, but middle relief seems like the better role for him.

Freeman is hitting .300 in 10 games since coming off the injured list, though he’s still without an extra-base hit. In addition to his usual duties against lefties, he’s playing about half of the time versus righties. It isn’t enough to make him mixed-league relevant, but there is a scenario in which he becomes the Rockies’ primary leadoff man and proves useful in batting average and steals.

Off to a poor start, Doyle has been just a part-timer lately, starting seven of the Rockies’ last 11 games. Still, his exit velocity numbers are a little better than usual, and while his 36-percent strikeout rate is a big problem, his contact numbers are about the same as when he fanned 25-26 percent of the time the last two years. Especially once the weather heats up and Coors Field becomes a bigger factor, he still has a chance to be pretty interesting in mixed leagues, if he resumes playing regularly.

As expected, the Rangers granted Canha’s request, and the 37-year-old is now free to explore other opportunities. It’s still hard to imagine him landing a major league deal elsewhere, he’s probably going to have to spend some time in the minor leagues.