MLB Player News

After spending most of the year as a setup man, Martinez got another shot as a starter two weeks ago and performed as well as anyone could have hoped. He finishes the season 6-4 with a 3.43 ERA and a 106/40 K/BB in 110 1/3 innings. The Padres could keep Martinez at $32 million for the next two years, but one assumes they’ll decline to do that. Martinez could then choose to stay for $16 million over two years. That seems fair, though Martinez likely could get a similar deal elsewhere if he’d prefer.

Loperfido is finally ready to jump back into game action for the first time since hitting the shelf back with a right quad strain back in mid-April. The 27-year-old will need a couple games to get back up to speed before he’s an option for Houston’s outfield mix again.

Scherzer continues building up his pitch count and stamina in advance of a minor league rehab assignment. He’ll either need another bullpen session or progress to facing hitters next week. The 41-year-old veteran is working his way back from forearm and ankle issues that put him on the injured list back in late April.

It’s nice to see Eldridge finally getting consistent opportunities for San Francisco, but he’s off to a brutal .139 (5-for-36) start with just one homer and two RBI across 11 games since returning to the big leagues earlier this month. The 21-year-old top prospect isn’t striking out a ton, which is a positive sign, but he’s simply not making enough hard contact to matter for fantasy purposes right now. His future remains extremely bright, but it could take him a while to figure things out in the majors.

Emerson is hitting .143 (2-for-14) with one homer and three RBI across five games since being promoted to the big leagues last weekend. The 20-year-old top prospect figures to split time between shortstop and the hot corner along with veteran J.P. Crawford for the rest of the season. He’s one of the most exciting young middle infielders in the game, but he’s probably not ready at this stage of his development to be an impactful fantasy contributor. With that caveat out of the way, he’s the type of elite talent that could make a leap rather quickly once he finds his footing at the highest level.

The clubs ultimately decided there wasn’t enough of a window in the forecast at Camden Yards that it made sense to try to start this contest. It’ll be made up as a split doubleheader on Sunday instead. Fantasy managers should anticipate Saturday’s original starters — Framber Valdez and Brandon Young — taking the ball at some point during the twin bill.

Leasure returns to Chicago’s relief corps with Jordan Hicks landing on the shelf with a lat strain. The 27-year-old has struggled to an underwhelming 6.06 ERA across 16 1/3 innings at the highest level this season. He’ll operate in low-leverage spots for the White Sox until he turns things around.

Hicks has been marginally better this season, posting a 5.60 ERA across 17 2/3 innings after logging an abysmal 6.95 ERA over 67 1/3 innings between the Red Sox and Giants last year.

It’s the highest Ewing has hit for New York since being called up back on May 12. The 21-year-old speedster leapfrogs veteran second baseman Marcus Semien after hitting .281/.425/.438 with one homer and two steals in 11 games to open his career.

Pintaro, who made one relief appearance for the Mets last year, earns another look after posting a solid 2.81 ERA and 32/12 K/BB ratio across 25 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse this season. He’ll operate in low-leverage spots for the Mets.

All signs point to Jonah Tong sticking around for another turn in New York’s rotation after tossing three scoreless frames in his season debut on Friday night. Thornton heads back to the minors after allowing four runs over 4 1/3 innings against the Nationals in his big-league debut earlier this week. The unheralded 24-year-old control artist figures to get another chance when injuries or ineffectiveness create an opportunity later this season.