MLB Player News

It’s theoretically a phenomenal long-term gambit by the Red Sox as they add a potential impact starting pitching prospect in exchange for a reliever on the precipice of turning 30 years old. The 22-year-old righty, who was Kansas City’s 11th round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, will likely open the upcoming season at Double-A Portland. He’s likely a few years away, but throws extremely hard and represents a worthwhile dice roll for a Boston front office that is clearly pivoting towards a long-term approach.

It’s a well-deserved break for Perez on Saturday afternoon in New York following 20 consecutive starts between catcher and DH to open the season. The 35-year-old has gotten off to a rocky start at the dish, hitting .160 with three homers and six RBI during that span. Carter Jensen will handle the catching duties with Isaac Collins (knee) back in the lineup at DH after a three-game absence.

Bieber still needs to progress to facing hitters in a live setting before he’s cleared for a rehab assignment. The 30-year-old righty was transferred to the 60-day injured list earlier this week in a procedural move that will keep him out until at least late May. At this point, it might be more realistic for fantasy managers to anticipate a return at some point in June since he’ll need several weeks of rehab starts.

Springer has resumed swinging a bat but will need to be able to run the bases before he’s cleared to return from the injured list. This latest development comes after Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters earlier this week that the veteran outfielder is feeling better and had already resumed hitting. The 36-year-old was one last year’s most impactful all-around fantasy contributors with a 32-homer, 18-steal campaign where he appeared in 140 games.

Ponce is expected to be a full-go at the outset of spring training. The 31-year-old starter suffered the knee injury while attempting to field a ground ball during his Blue Jays debut back in late March.

There was speculation Yesavage would make his season debut next week, but that’s not happening. The Blue Jays want to see him continue building up his pitch count and stamina for at least another turn in the upper minors before bringing him back to the big leagues. The 22-year-old top pitching prospect should make it back to Toronto’s rotation by the end of April. He should be rostered in all fantasy formats given his immense strikeout potential.

Berríos threw 47 pitches and allowed five runs over 2 1/3 innings on Thursday in his rehab debut. The 31-year-old lefty will continue building up his pitch count and stamina in the lower minors with an aim towards rejoining Toronto’s rotation at some point in early May.

It’s a procedural move after Estrada was found to have injured his shoulder during his time in the big leagues earlier this month. The 26-year-old was placed on the injured list at Triple-A Buffalo earlier this week before being transferred to the major-league one. He tossed four scoreless innings in relief in his lone appearance for Toronto earlier this month. No word yet on how much time he’ll miss.

Allard went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 28-year-old lefty allowed 10 runs on 16 hits over 8 2/3 innings during his latest stint with the Guardians.

It’ll likely be a brief rehab stint for Lewis as he’s aiming to return when first eligible to be activated for Tuesday’s series opener against the Mets. The oft-injured 26-year-old third baseman suffered a sprained left knee on an awkward swing earlier this month, but hasn’t experienced any issues during his recovery. Fantasy managers should expect to have him back in their lineups early next week.

Stowers kicked off a minor league rehab assignment last Friday and has gone 3-for-17 in five games as he attempts to knock off some of the rust. The 28-year-old corner outfielder suffered a hamstring injury late in spring training that put him on the shelf. He’ll probably need a couple additional rehab contests before returning to Miami for his season debut.