MLB Player News

Melendez is batting .298 with seven homers in his last 37 games, though we’d be more excited if that didn’t still come with 39 strikeouts in 146 plate appearances. He’s not going to be catcher eligible in traditional leagues next year, making him quite a bit less interesting for fantasy purposes. There’s still considerable upside in his bat, but as a subpar defensive outfielder, he really needs to step it up to be worthy of regular playing time.

Jacob provides San Diego with a fresh bullpen arm for the next couple days until the club needs to bring up Matt Waldron to replace an injured Nick Pivetta (elbow) in the rotation. The 27-year-old righty has made 39 appearances in the big leagues since 2023.

No word yet on how much time Pivetta will miss. The 33-year-old veteran has presumably undergone an MRI to determine the severity of the issue and there should be a clearer timetable at some point this week. He was lifted from Sunday’s start against the Rockies after firing three shutout frames. It’ll be Matt Waldron coming up to take his spot in San Diego’s rotation.

Yesavage is aiming for roughly 65 pitches over four innings in what could potentially be his final rehab outing before returning to Toronto’s rotation for his season debut. The 22-year-old would be in line to take the ball early next week against the Angels after only missing a couple weeks to open the year due to shoulder inflammation. He should be rostered in all fantasy leagues based on last year’s impressive debut.

Berríos will aim for roughly 50 pitches over three innings during his first rehab outings. The 31-year-old lefty will need a couple additional tune-up starts to build up his pitch count and stamina before returning to Toronto’s rotation. He’s been out recovering from a stress fracture in his elbow since spring training.

Gelof makes his first career start in right field with Lawrence Butler getting the night off from facing Rangers lefty MacKenzie Gore. The 26-year-old’s contact issues have kept him from reaching his lofty power-speed ceiling, but he’s definitely added some defensive versatility to his toolkit, which might help him stick around in a bench role.

Tatis returns to right field after logging a pair of starts at second base over the weekend against the Rockies. The 27-year-old superstar picking up second base eligibility would be a big deal for fantasy managers as he would instantly become the top option at one of the weaker position groups. It’s a storyline to monitor as the year progresses.

Waldron would be taking the place of Nick Pivetta (elbow) later this week against the Angels. The 29-year-old righty is currently on the injured list due to a well-publicized glute infection from back in spring training. It’s a strong matchup but he’s not worth the risk as a streaming option in fantasy leagues.

It’s going to be awhile before Casas is ready to make his season debut since he’ll ostensibly be shut down until he’s fully healthy before needing a full spring training style build up. The 26-year-old first baseman suffered the injury earlier this month while rehabbing from last year’s knee surgery.

There was some excitement earlier in the day when it was reported on social media that Brian Bannister, the White Sox’s senior pitching advisor, said that the team would be stretching Grant Taylor out in his role as opener. However, what Bannister said is that he was open to Taylor becoming a more traditional starter if he was able. However, Bannister also said that, when Taylor was previously working as a starter, his body would not respond well when he pitched more than three innings. Getz seemed to second this idea with his comment. As of now, it seems that the White Sox will look to get Taylor multiple inning appearances whenever he pitches, but those appearances don’t figure to be as a traditional starter. He still has fantasy value as a reliever who could pitch 100 innings this year and rack up a handful of strikeouts, but there should not be an expectation that he will join the rotation this year.

The bigger concern here is that Imai told reporters through an interpreter on Tuesday that he hasn’t been able to adjust to an American lifestyle in terms of baseball and outside of baseball citing travel and team meals as specific aspects of the transition he’s been struggling with. It’s not great. The 27-year-old starter is clearly going to need some extended time away from the club to focus on getting right both physically and mentally. At this point, it’s challenging to envision him making a significant fantasy impact this season based on his comments and on-field performance.