MLB Player News

Funkhouser has been experiencing recurring pain in both his right lat and shoulder and will visit a specialist to determine the severity of the issue. The 28-year-old righty reliever has yet to make an appearance this year for the Tigers and this latest setback puts his entire season in jeopardy.

García is in a 2-for-43 slump with 24 strikeouts, carrying a .598 OPS on the season. The only thing saving García at this point is the fact that the Phillies don’t really have a better option, as Gelb quotes interim manager Don Mattingly as saying “I don’t really feel like we have a true alternative.” García is an obvious candidate to be replaced as we near the trade deadline, even if he does turn it around a bit from this current skid.

It’s a massive relief for the rebuilding Rockies and fantasy managers after Rumfield was drilled on the right hand by a 97-mph fastball from Dodgers Starter Emmet Sheehan in the first inning of Monday’s series opener. The 26-year-old rookie figures to miss a couple games until the pain and swelling subside, but appears to have avoided serious injury. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day.

Lopez will presumably stick around with the Cubs as organizational depth after being removed from the club’s active roster last weekend. The 31-year-old defensive wizard makes sense as an emergency stopgap but he doesn’t offer enough offensive impact to be anything close to an everyday option at this stage of his career.

Mautz returns to the minors after allowing two runs over three innings in relief against the Brewers on Monday in his major-league debut. The 24-year-old lefty figures to be an up-and-down swingman for the Cardinals over the rest of the season.

Jump, the 73rd overall pick in the 2024 draft, will presumably go right into the rotation. He had a 4.50 ERA in nine starts in Triple-A, but he had struck out 56 while also walking 20 in 38 innings. It seems unlikely that he’ll be a mixed-league solution right away in a tough situation for pitchers in Sacramento, but he has a chance to be a No. 2 or 3 starter for the A’s in the long run.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay couldn’t report what was wrong with Civale, saying after the game: “Let’s just call it either... I can’t even comment on it right now.” The IL stint would obviously open up a spot for Jack Perkins if the A’s want to put him into the rotation after he threw 4 2/3 innings in relief on Monday.

Arozarena collected his sixth homer of the year off Jack Perkins to make it a 9-1 game in the ninth. He’ll have to pick up the pace ever so slightly there in order to pull off a sixth straight 20/20 season. It doesn’t look like steals will be a problem, as he already has 14 of those. Of course, Arozarena does like to take it down to the wire more years. In his previous five 20/20 seasons, he’s finished with exactly 20 homers three times and exactly 20 steals twice.

Castillo had thrown just 68 pitches and was one inning away from a win in 7-0 game, so he was none too happy about being lifted. Still, this is the arrangement the Mariners are using, with Castillo and Bryce Miller piggybacking. Something will give eventually, but at least both pitched well in a 9-2 win tonight. Castillo’s ERA dropped from 6.41 to 5.90. He’ll likely pitch again Sunday against the D-backs.

It seems wrong that Miller gets the win after coming into a 7-0 game to start the fifth, but that’s just the way MLB wants it. Miller struck out four and walked none in the 83-pitch outing. If the Mariners continue with this format, Miller will start over Luis Castillo at home against the Diamondbacks on Sunday and maybe he’ll be lifted after four innings like Castillo was tonight.

Luke Raley, Dominic Canzone and J.P. Crawford all homered off Civale, who was taken deep three times for the second start in a row. His ERA has jumped from 2.70 to 4.20 over the last week. The A’s will probably have him make his next start Sunday against the Yankees, though that seems dangerous. With off days Thursday and next Monday, they do have the option of moving things around and maybe letting Tuesday’s scheduled starter, Luis Severino, come back on four days’ rest against his former team.