MLB Player News

Waites, who emerged as a fine relief prospect in 2022, underwent Tommy John in September, so this was an easy one. He’ll probably take a minor league deal to stay in the organization.

Diaz has been sidelined since May 4th with an oblique strain, and Javier has been out since April 8th with a shoulder strain. Diaz will likely need to make a handful of starts behind the plate before being activated, but that could come by early next week. Javier will likely need until at least early July before he becomes an option for the Astros’ rotation.

This is just a rumor at this point, but it is intriguing since Montgomery is the 31st-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline. The 23-year-old hit .313/.429/.606 in 27 games at Double-A this season with six home runs and two steals before getting promoted to Triple-A, where he has hit .315/.417/.495 with four home runs, 32 runs scored, 19 RBI, and three steals in 29 games. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so the White Sox would need to make a few roster moves to call him up, but Montgomery could be added over guys like Henry Bolte and Ryan Waldschmidt if he were to be called up.

With Lamonte Wade Junior landing on the injured list, the Astros will turn back to Loperfido to fill the role as a left-handed bat in the outfield. Loperfido was put on the injured list with a strained quad back on April 17th and then was sent to the minors once he was activated.

Wade made an immediate impact on the Astros, going 4-for-12 with a home run in his first four games with the team before injurint his hamstring while running the bases. He will likely miss a few weeks and could return to a regular role in the outfield provided the Astros don’t trade for another hitter between now and his return.

Gonzalez, who is recovering from left shoulder surgery, cleared an important hurdle in his swing progression, releasing his top hand on his follow-through during batting practice swings. His surgically repaired shoulder has been able to withstand the force of those one-handed releases, which was one of the final steps before Gonzalez was deemed ready to play in games. He will likely need a lengthy rehab stint since he didn’t get any spring training at-bats, but there’s a chance he returns to Boston by the end of June.

There has been some speculation that the Astros could look to trade Alvarez at the deadline this year if they continue to fall out of playoff contention. The idea behind the speculation was that Alvarez would bring in a huge influx of talent for a roster that seems to lack depth, and it would rid the Astros of a defensive logjam created by Alvarez’s being a designated hitter. However, as Brown mentioned, Alvarez is in the fourth year of a six-year, $115 million extension, so there is no pressure on the Astros to trade him. They traded Kyle Tucker when he was heading into his final season, so there may be more reason to trade Alvarez after the 2027 season, if they followed the same path, but he’s not going anywhere for now.

Vaughn is sitting against the majority of righties while waiting for an opening in Milwaukee, but he’s batting an exceptional .364/.417/.557 with 17 RBI in 96 plate appearances when he gets to play. Tonight’s game was the first of his career with three extra-base hits and 10th with four RBI. He’d be a fine mixed-league first baseman as a regular, but things still need to work themselves out for that to happen.

Harrison has been brilliant in major league parks, but Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof all took him deep in Las Vegas tonight, and his ERA jumped from 1.57 to 2.72 as a result. There are unlikely to be any lingering effects, and he’s a fine play at home against the Phillies on Sunday.

This one should have been over in 10 and earned Aaron Ashby his 10th victory in relief, but Las Vegas Ballpark said no to that, as Ashby gave up two homers in his second inning of work. Abner Uribe then worked a scoreless 11th for the win, and Patrick notched his 12th save. Trevor Megill will likely be back in the closer’s role on Tuesday.

Springs allowed a pair of homers and six other hard-hit balls in an outing that might have been a little better in neutral park, but probably not by overly much. He should fare better against the Rockies on Sunday, but he’s not a mixed-league option at the moment.