MLB Player News

Casey was designated for assignment on Tuesday and passed through waivers unclaimed. He’ll return right back to Rochester, where he’s slashed .219/.283/.364 with six homers and six steals in 67 games this year.

Scherzer received a cortisone shot in his right forearm last week and will take advantage of the shutdown period to treat his right thumb, which has been a persistent issue for him over the last calendar year. The issue apparently cropped up recently in addition to forearm tendinitis. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer remains without a timeline to return to Toronto’s rotation, but that should come into focus once he’s cleared to resume throwing.

It’s notable that Basallo is getting an opportunity to face a lefty starter when Yankees southpaw Ryan Weathers takes the hill on Monday night. The 21-year-old backstop has been tearing the cover off the ball recently, hitting .382 (21-for-55) with two homers and nine RBI over his last 15 games. The fact that he’s struck out 15 times and drawn exactly one free pass during that span is a concern, but he’s finally starting to show off his ability to generate consistent hard contact, which was his trademark during his rise through Baltimore’s system.

Helsley expects to be cleared to resume throwing soon and will need a brief minor league rehab assignment before returning to Baltimore’s bullpen. The hard-throwing 31-year-old has checked out fine from an imaging standpoint after hitting the injured list with elbow inflammation back in late April. It’ll be Rico Garcia handling the closing duties for at least a couple more weeks.

González receives his first promotion to the majors with lefty Jose A. Ferrer away from the club on paternity leave. The 26-year-old was claimed off waivers from the Braves last August and has posted a 1.80 ERA and 14/2 K/BB ratio across 15 innings over 12 relief appearances at the Triple-A level this season.

Ferrer has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this season with a microscopic 1.80 ERA and 16/3 K/BB ratio across 20 innings. The 26-year-old southpaw has emerged as a viable closing option when Andrés Muñoz is unavailable for workload reasons, which gives him some fantasy appeal in deeper formats.

Caballero is out of the lineup for Monday’s series opener against the Orioles, with Max Schuemann at shortstop in his place, after suffering the injury during Sunday’s contest against Milwaukee. The 29-year-old speedster told reporters he’s not concerned about a potential trip to the injured list, but that’ll be determined by what imaging reveals. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day. A trip to the injured list would almost certainly bring Anthony Volpe back to the major. There should be an update on his status prior to Tuesday’s contest.

Weathers is officially taking the ball on Monday night at Camden Yards after having his previous start pushed back due to an illness that caused him to lose nearly 10 pounds. The 26-year-old southpaw is a candidate to move to the bullpen with Carlos Rodón back in New York’s rotation, and Gerrit Cole likely to return later this month. However, that’s not an immediate concern. He’ll close out a two-start week with a favorable matchup against the Mets this weekend.

Brash figures to jump back into Seattle’s bullpen mix when first eligible to be activated later this week. The 27-year-old high-leverage specialist hit the shelf back in late April with lat inflammation.

Rodríguez was waived in the offseason to make room for Cody Ponce, but was unclaimed on waivers and returned to the Blue Jays organization. He also didn’t look great in spring training, but he has posted a 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 25/9 K/BB ratio in 13 2/3 innings at Triple-A. Our guess if he will fill the bulk relief role that Lauer had been used in. That makes him intriguing as a matchup-based add in deeper formats.

Lauer has been very outspoken about his dislike of the Blue Jays using an opener before him, but we guess he won’t have to worry about that now. The left-hander has posted a 6.69 ERA this season and was no longer as effective as he showed himself to be in stretches last season. There’s a chance another team claims him off waivers.