MLB Player News

Howard was acquired in a trade with the Giants earlier in the month, but the 27-year-old gave up four earned runs in each of his two appearances. He’s now on the waiver wire, and Cleveland could try and stash him in Triple-A if another team doesn’t claim him or trade for the right-hander.

Kim finds himself glued to the bench after hitting .095 (4-for-42) with zero extra-base hits in 12 games since making his season debut back on May 12. It appears that Atlanta skipper Walt Weiss is going to give Jorge Mateo a chance as the club’s primary shortstop as long as he keeps producing.

It’s an extremely rare off day for Riley, who is hitting .242 (23-for-95) with five homers and 14 RBI since the start of May. The decision enables Atlanta to get Mauricio Dubón in the lineup at the hot corner to face Reds righty Brady Singer.

Avila figures to take the ball against the Reds on Monday at hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park. The 24-year-old righty has worked three innings in back-to-back relief outings and shouldn’t need to much time to stretch out to a traditional starter’s workload. He’s posted an underwhelming 5.06 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 20/12 K/BB ratio across 21 1/3 innings this season. He’s not a recommended streaming option for fantasy managers.

Kempner tossed a scoreless inning against the Orioles during his big-league debut back on May 5. The 24-year-old gets the call to rejoin Miami’s bullpen in place of an injured Andrew Nardi (ribs). He’s compiled a 4.56 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 46/16 K/BB ratio over 25 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season.

It’s a bit unclear how much time Nardi is going to miss, but it could wind up being a lengthy absence given the nature of the injury. The 27-year-old southpaw hits the shelf after posting a lackluster 5.16 ERA, 1.41 WHIP and 27/11 K/BB ratio across 22 2/3 innings for the Marlins this season.

No surprise with crafty southpaw Martín Pérez toeing the rubber for Atlanta. Lowe will open this contest on the bench with Sal Stewart getting a turn at DH and Spencer Steer at first base. The 30-year-old veteran has been on a tear with three homers in his five games. He’s gone deep nine times over his last 30 games while hitting .293 (29-for-99) during that span. There are times where Cincinnati will keep him on the bench, mostly against left-handed starters, but Lowe has shown enough over-the-fence pop that he needs to be rostered in deeper fantasy leagues as a viable corner infield option.

Jackson gets the nod over Colton Cowser in right field and will make his first appearance away from the infield dirt this season after 48 games at second base to open the year. Jackson Holliday’s recent return as the club’s starting second baseman has complicated Baltimore’s infield picture, which means Jackson is probably going to wind up in a multi-position utility role moving forward.

Cease could potentially progress to facing hitters in a live batting practice session next week, depending on how he comes out of the this weekend’s bullpen. The 30-year-old righty hit the injured list with a low-grade hamstring strain earlier this week. There’s a chance he’s ready to jump back into Toronto’s rotation without a rehab assignment at some point in early June.

Carter is out of the lineup for Saturday’s showdown at Globe Life Field and will undergo imaging to determine whether he suffered any fractures when he was hit on the back foot by a slider from Guardians reliever Eli Morgan. He managed to remain in the contest after the incident, which is somewhat encouraging. An update on his status should come later this weekend.

Kelenic will test the free agent waters instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte. The 26-year-old former top prospect passed through waivers unclaimed after being jettisoned from Chicago’s roster earlier this week. He hit an underwhelming .226/.305/.321 with one homer and four RBI in 59 plate appearances during a 19-game stint with the White Sox this season.