MLB Player News

It certainly explains why Peralta hasn’t pitched since last Thursday and wasn’t summoned when Tommy Kahnle and Ian Hamilton melted down during the late stages of Wednesday’s contest against the Blue Jays.

Vaughn made an early exit from Thursday’s one-sided win over the White Sox, which didn’t raise any alarm bells given the timing and score. However, it appears he’s dealing with some sort of hand issue, which is why prospect Jeferson Quero is being brought up from Triple-A Nashville to provide additional flexibility at first base. It’s a troubling development after Vaughn put together a strong spring but it doesn’t sound like he’s headed to the injured list. The positive news is that star backstop William Contreras is healthy. It’ll likely be Gary Sánchez seeing additional time at the cold corner if Vaughn needs to sit.

Beck, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI and was also caught stealing during Thursday’s opener, takes a seat with Troy Johnston getting an opportunity to face his former club. This doesn’t appear to be a matchup-related decision, but it’s possible Beck will be in more of a timeshare than originally envisioned as Colorado tries to work a couple new faces into their early-season mix.

No surprise here with lefty David Peterson toeing the rubber for New York after Cruz hit .102 in 125 plate appearances against southpaws last year. It’ll be Jake Mangum patrolling center field and batting ninth. Cruz committed a pair of high-profile defensive miscues when he misjudged a Brett Baty fly ball that wound up getting past him for a three-run triple before losing a ball in the sun that went for extra bases.

The Mets aren’t going to make any changes after scoring 11 runs during Thursday’s season-opening win over the Pirates and ace Paul Skenes. Benge clubbed his first career homer and walked twice during an impressive big-league debut. The 23-year-old top prospect should be rostered in all fantasy formats. It feels like only a matter of time before he’s hitting more towards the middle of New York’s lineup, but they’ll let him get used to the majors without any pressure at the bottom of the order.

Jacob Latz will start on Saturday afternoon in his place. The Rangers do not believe the issue is serious and that deGrom could potentially start early next week against the Orioles, according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It certainly sounds like a precautionary decision and that deGrom isn’t facing an extended absence or potential trip to the injured list. The 37-year-old veteran ace’s checkered injury history suggests this is a developing situation worth monitoring closely. There should be a clearer idea of his availability once he attempts to throw a bullpen session either this weekend or early next week. Stay tuned.

It’s not uncommon for managers to try to get their bench players into the lineup at least once in the early stages of the season, which is presumably why Straw will get a shot to face Athletics lefty Jeffrey Springs in this one. Barger sat occasionally against southpaws last year and that figures to be the arrangement against this season with both Straw and Davis Schneider, who is in left field in place of Nathan Lukes on Saturday afternoon, on the bench as platoon options in right field.

Simpson came off the bench during Thursday’s season-opener at Busch Stadium with southpaw Matthew Liberatore taking the ball. The 25-year-old speedster figures to cede occasional starts against lefties to Ryan Vilade, despite posting respectable numbers against them last year. The interesting wrinkle is that he’s batting towards the bottom of the order, which limits his runs scored upside, but could result in a few additional stolen base opportunities to help manufacture runs.

Quero was one of the highest-ranked catching prospects in baseball a couple years ago before missing significant development time due to shoulder surgery back in 2024. The 23-year-old backstop is likely up with the club due to an injury situation with either William Contreras or Gary Sánchez ahead of Saturday’s game against the White Sox. We’ll have updates on the developing situation as they unfold.

The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum reports Abrams is away from the team because of a death in the family. It’s possible he’ll be placed on the bereavement list to open up a roster spot if he’s going to be away from the club for a couple days. It’ll be Nasim Nuñez, who is a strong waiver wire pickup in deeper mixed leagues, taking over at shortstop on Saturday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

The move is now official. De Los Santos will see time at first base for the Marlins with Christopher Morel likely facing a multi-week absence with an oblique strain. The power-hitting 22-year-old’s fantasy stock tumbled last year when he managed just 12 homers in 106 games at the Triple-A level following a 40-homer campaign in the upper minors back in 2024. The massive over-the-fence power remains firmly intact but he’s going to strike out a fair amount, especially as he faces big-league arms for the first time. There’s enough power potential to make De Los Santos interesting in deeper mixed leagues, but a wait-and-see approach feels right in shallow mixers.