MLB Player News

Hand will hit free agency this offseason after being acquired from the Rockies at the trade deadline. The 33-year-old southpaw reliever finished this past season with an inflated 5.53 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 59/22 K/BB ratio across 53 2/3 innings (60 appearances) between the Rockies and Braves. He’s bounced around quite a bit the last few years, and appears to be on the move again this offseason.

It’s a reunion of sorts as the Mets claimed Lovelady off waivers from the Nationals last month. The left-hander has been unable to stick on anybody’s active roster and has allowed five runs in 7 1/3 innings so far this year.

Hinch said, “I don’t think [Verlander’s] taking a step forward, and he hasn’t taken a step back.” That’s not really confidence-inducing. Verlander is 43 years old, so it makes sense that he might not bounce back as quickly as he did 20 years ago. Given that his performance on the field has also been inconsistent, this seems like a situation the Tigers won’t rush, and fantasy managers should avoid.

Sosa went 1-for-3 on Wednesday in his first start with the Blue Jays and will be right back out there again. Eloy Jimenez will remain on the bench with Kazuma Okamoto at first base and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at DH. It seems that the Blue Jays are going to give Sosa a chance to start against right-handed pitchers and use the DH spot as a rotational lineup spot while potentially saving Jimenez for left-handed pitchers.

According to Tomczyk, pitchers generally have between three and six simulated games or live batting practices before rehab assignments begin. If we assume that Jones will try to get two simulated appearances per week, there’s a chance that he is beginning a rehab assignment by early May, which would put him in line to be activated off the IL soon after he first becomes eligible on May 25th.

Even with left-hander Sam Aldegheri on the mound, the Yankees will let Rice play first base over Paul Goldschmidt. This might be because Aaron Boone doesn’t expect Aldegheri, who’s pitched just 13 innings in three minor league starts, to pitch deep into this game. However, we know that Rice has hit lefties well of late, so this could be a good indication that the Yankees are open to getting Rice into the lineup when they have to face many lefties in a short period of time. Amed Rosario will get into the starting lineup at third base today with Ryan McMahon sitting, even though McMahon started against the last lefty they faced.

Massey has now started five of his last six games and six of the eight games since he came off the injured list. He has played both second base and left field, and will be in left field on Thursday with Isaac Collins (knee) still out. Massey is just 2-for-12 with a 4/1 K/BB ratio on the season, so he doesn’t need to be added anywhere right now.

Billy Cook will start in left field and bat ninth on Thursday. There’s a left-hander on the mound, but Reynolds is a switch-hitter and has 27 plate appearances this season against lefties, so this is not a platoon situation. He is a better hitter against right-handed pitching, so there’s a chance that the Pirates get him more off days when lefties are on the mound, but that will be within his normal rest. Reynolds is off to a solid start to the season, hitting .288/.400/.470 with three home runs, 12 RBI, and a 49 percent hard-hit rate. He could still be a bit of a buy-low target if people are focused too much on his poor 2025 season.

With Kris Bubic on the mound, the Tigers will again sit Keith, move Kevin McGonigle to third base, and let Javier Baez play shortstop. Keith did struggle in limited at-bats versus lefties last year, but over 135 plate appearances in his career, Keith is slashing .254/.304/.302 against lefties with a 26 percent strikeout rate. Unfortunately for him, Baez, Wenceel Perez, and Matt Vierling all have much more success versus lefties. The only hope for Keith would be that he could steal playing time from Jahmai Jones, who has slahed .251/.342/.485 against lefties in 190 career plate appearances. Maybe the Tigers would allow their former top 25 overall prospect more at-bats at the expense of a journeyman bench bat.

This is the second straight game where Ramos has been on the bench in favor of Will Brennan, who bats left-handed. Ramos is hitting just .234/.258/.266 in 66 plate appearances this season with a 36.4 percent strikeout rate. There is a danger that he is falling into a small side platoon role if Brennan is able to capitalize on this chance.

Bido bounced around to a few organizations over the offseason and allowed seven runs on seven hits in 10 innings to start the year in Atlanta. If he clears waivers, he could be brought back on a minor league deal.