MLB Player News

Bride will head back to Triple-A with Jake Burger (oblique) back from the injured list. He’ll likely be back as a bench option at some point before 2024 comes to a conclusion.

The 26-year-old hurler had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal coming up and the Cubs wanted to keep him around, so they made room for him on their 40-man roster. Jose Cuas was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Roberts has been outstanding in 10 appearances at Triple-A Iowa this season, posting a 0.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 13/6 K/BB ratio over 9 2/3 innings. It’s only a matter of time before he gets an opportunity to pitch out of the Cubs’ bullpen.

Vargas was just optioned to Triple-A on Wednesday, but he’ll head right back with Betts heading to the injured list. Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts said that Miguel Rojas and Enrique Hernandez are likely to see the bulk of the action at shortstop with Betts sidelined, but that Vargas will fill a role on the team’s bench. If he gets a chance at starts to hit though, it’s going to be hard for Roberts to keep Vargas’ bat out of the lineup.

That certainly means that he’s going to require longer than a minimum stint on the injured list. Roberts did say that “It’s gonna take some time,” but that, “It’s not season ending”. It’s a tough break for fantasy managers who have been enjoying the spoils of the 25-year-old right-hander’s first season stateside. Expect Bobby Miller to take Yamamoto’s spot in the Dodgers’ rotation with the team continuing to utilize a five-man rotation at least until Clayton Kershaw is ready to return.

Glasnow walked only one and needed just 85 pitches to get his 21 outs today. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak in which the Dodgers just couldn’t score runs for him. He’s 7-5 with a 3.00 ERA and a 125/25 K/BB in 93 innings for the year.

Phillips had one rough outing in his second appearance back from the injured list, but he’s been lights out otherwise. This one made him 10-for-10 in save chances and put his ERA back under 2.00 at 1.93.

At least Singer got beaten by the best, giving up two homers to Shohei Ohtani and one to Freddie Freeman. Singer has opened June by surrendering 13 runs — 11 earned — in 15 1/3 innings. He’s a solid enough fantasy option with the Royals playing well, but he might prove droppable later this season.

The Dodgers’ other run came on the second of back-to-back homers from Freddie Freeman in the sixth. Ohtani’s first homer today was crushed 451 feet to center. Ohtani had been slumping some of late, having come in at .216/.310/.412 in June. He’s still fifth in the majors in OPS (.976), sixth in average (.309), fourth in homers and tied for fifth in runs scored (53).

The unfortunate injury occurred when he was hit by a 98 mph fastball during Sunday’s game against the Royals. Roberts relayed that while the injury will not require surgery, it will take time to heal. He wouldn’t elaborate on that timetable, other than to say that the injury will not end his 2024 season. Expect Miguel Rojas to see increased action at shortstop while the 31-year-old superstar is shelved.

Tellez is up to .419 with nine RBI in just 31 at-bats this month. There still isn’t really any mixed-league value here, but it should be quite a while before he’s again left out of the Pirates lineup against a right-hander.

The Pirates could have used an opener today to give Fleming a shot at a win, but they decided not to. The victory instead went to Carmen Mlodzinski, who entered with a 1-0 lead after four and worked two hitless frames. Fleming came into the day with a 5.68 ERA in one start and 16 relief appearances for the Pirates. He’s not assured additional starts.