MLB Player News

Carlson has opted to undergo the procedure after his left ankle didn’t show much improvement upon his return to baseball activities after landing on the injured list back in mid-August due to a left oblique strain. He’s expected to be fully healthy heading into spring training.

Estrada missed time at the end of April due to an elbow issue and will now head back to the injured list due to inflammation in his knee. The Padres are hopeful that he’ll be able to return after just a couple of weeks. David Morgan was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to take his place in the Padres’ bullpen.

It’s the first trip to the big leagues for the 26-year-old southpaw. Natera registered a 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 44/18 K/BB ratio over 30 innings in 20 appearances at Triple-A Salt Lake. He’ll serve in a middle relief role for the Angels.

The 31-year-old hurler joined the roster once again on Wednesday and now gets the boot without appearing in a game. He holds a 5.94 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 12/8 K/BB ratio across 16 2/3 innings of work with the Angels this season. He’ll probably pass through waivers unclaimed again and continue to serve as extra bullpen depth at Triple-A Salt Lake.

That was the expectation all along after Muncy exited Thursday’s game following a violent collision with Ildemaro Vargas at first base. Fortunately, he avoided any serious injuries. The 35-year-old slugger is expected to return to the Dodgers’ lineup on Saturday. Santiago Espinal will start in his place at third base and bat ninth against Angels’ left-hander Reid Detmers on Friday evening.

Neto missed each of the team’s previous three games due to symptoms of whiplash following a collision at home plate on Saturday. He’s starting at shortstop and hitting atop the Halos’ lineup against Dodgers’ right-hander Roki Sasaki.

Castellanos was designated for assignment earlier in the week and went unclaimed. He’s now free once more to explore the open market. The 34-year-old slashed just .191/.221/.339 with four homers and 20 RBI in 122 plate appearances with the Padres and seems to have lost the ability to mash left-handed pitching, which used to be his calling card. He can be had for the league minimum if any teams are interested.

The 26-year-old outfielder had been designated for assignment on Thursday and passed through waivers unclaimed. He’s now free to peddle his wares on the open market. Thomas has hit .253/.304/.307 with two homers and 12 RBI in 185 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season.

Mead has settled in as the Nationals’ regular third baseman and has been hitting third in the lineup over the past few weeks. He’ll get a breather in this one though with Jorbit Vivas starting in his place at the hot corner and batting sixth against Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks on Friday evening in Arizona.

Chapman started with a grand slam off Edward Cabrera in the fourth inning, knocking a hanging curve just barely into the left-center nets at Wrigley for a 382-foot blast. He added a three-run shot off Ethan Roberts in the sixth, denting a sign in left field to keep it from heading out on to Waveland at 432 feet. His other RBI came on a sacrifice fly. This is an MLB-best RBI total for this season so far, topping Luke Raley’s seven against the White Sox on May 8. Chapman is starting to heat up (obviously), with a .309/.381/.564 line and three homers over his last 15 games. He’s still trying to recover from a frigid late April-early May stretch where he went hitless for seven games, but his .241 season average is now in line with what we’d generally expect from him going forward.

Adames absolutely clobbered a homer against Edward Cabrera in the first inning, sending a four-seamer 427 feet, out of Wrigley Field entirely. He added a second off Hoby Milner that landed about halfway up the bleachers in San Francisco’s seven-run sixth inning. Adames is now hitting .311/.362/.588 over his last 30 games with eight homers, enough to push his seasonal line to .250/.296/.460. He’s walking much less than usual, but otherwise this is about what you’d have expected from him through the first few months of the season.