MLB Player News

Willes heads back to the Rangers as extra organizational depth. The 29-year-old righty didn’t pitch last season due to injury and hasn’t appeared in the majors since making four relief appearances for the Athletics during the 2022 campaign.

J-Ram is off to a hot start this week at Yankee Stadium, as he doubled three times in Tuesday’s series opener. His 21 stolen bases lead the American League, and he trails Nasim Nuñez by one for the MLB lead. Prior to 2024, Ramírez never had a stolen base attempt rate higher than 3.5%, per Statcast. He’s been at 4.5% or higher in each of the past three seasons. The power is down so far this season, but 40+ bags appear to be a given for a third consecutive campaign.

Williams struck out six and walked one, serving up homers to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and José Caballero along the way. He’s in sole possession of the MLB lead in wins, which isn’t necessarily predictive but matters for rotisserie fantasy formats. The right-hander has increased his sweeper usage this season and is relying on five pitches, each thrown 9% of the time or more. Williams is set for a rematch with the Yankees next time out, this time in Cleveland.

Cole was charged with four runs on six hits and one walk while striking out two. The former Cy Young winner pitched much better in his first two outings back from Tommy John, including a 10-strikeout gem last time out. The homers were the first he had given up. He’ll look to get back on track next time out in the same matchup against the Guardians, but this time in Cleveland.

Smith struck out one to pick up his league-leading 21st save of the season. He now has 34 saves since August 1 of last season, four more than second place and exactly double ninth place. Cleveland continues to lean heavily on him, and he keeps proving to be up to the challenge. Smith has the third-highest K-BB% among relievers in ’26, trailing only Mason Miller and Jhoan Duran.

Manzardo’s homer was his seventh of the year and second in as many days. He took Gerrit Cole deep in the second inning, the first long ball Cole had allowed in three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery. Manzardo has finally received some consistent playing time, primarily hitting cleanup against opposing righties. Cleveland has one more game in the Bronx before visiting Texas for a three-game weekend series.

Chisholm is up to seven homers and 14 stolen bases while slashing .239/.312/.394 through June 3. It hasn’t been the free-agent walk year that he or the Yankees expected, as his quality of contact has cratered. The consistent playing time and power/speed profile have kept his fantasy value afloat for now.

It’s a tad perplexing that the Red Sox are going to switch things up after Bello continued to have success pitching behind an opener recently. The 27-year-old righty has done so in four of his last five outings and boasts a microscopic 0.71 ERA across 25 1/3 innings as a reliever this season. He’ll make a traditional start at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon.

“We just want clarity on exactly what we’re dealing with,” said Boone. It’s challenging to speculate on Judge’s next steps until the club determines the severity of the bone bruise in his rib cage that has resulted in shoulder soreness for the last couple weeks. The 34-year-old generational talent has missed two straight games and was sent to see a specialist on Wednesday. The odds of a trip to the injured list feel exponentially higher than earlier this week. There should be some much-needed clarity on his status at some point ahead of Thursday’s series finale against the Guardians.

Tolle allowed seven hits and two walks in the outing but most importantly kept Baltimore off the scoreboard. He threw a career-high 99 pitches, lowering his ERA to 2.28 for the season. The rookie southpaw continues to impress with a fastball-heavy approach, including his new sinker. He next lines up for a road matchup in Tampa Bay.

Abreu connected for a two-run homer in the third off Chris Bassitt, his first since May 8. The lefty-swinging outfielder began the season on a tear but cooled in May. The Red Sox certainly hope he’s ready to go on another hot streak, as he continues to play every day and bat third. Abreu has lowered his strikeout rate in 2026, helping his batting average but hurting his power so far.