MLB Player News

Hjelle was away from the team while dealing with an issue more important than baseball for a few days. He had a 3.88 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 51 innings for the Giants this year. Hjelle will continue to pitch in long relief out of the bullpen for San Francisco.

Sandoval struck out three and walked one, but the one hit he did allow was a solo home run to Nationals INF prospect Yohandy Morales. Sandoval is working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and also biceps tightness from the middle of May. He threw 18 of his 33 pitches for strikes and is still in the early stages of his return.

Raleigh is hitting .429 with three home runs and a 2.214 OPS since starting his rehab assignment last weekend. We would say he’s ready to come back and rejoin the Mariners’ lineup.

Moore was placed on the Triple-A injured list on May 4th with a leg injury. He wound up missing about a week and has been on fire since coming back, going 38-for-102 (.373) with three home runs, 28 runs scored, 25 RBI, five steals, and a 26/18 K/BB ratio. Considering he struck out 33.7 percent of the time in his 53 MLB games last season, that K/BB ratio is a major improvement. The 23-year-old has also been playing third base lately, which should expedite his path back to the majors since Denzer Guzman is currently playing there for the Angels. We could see Moore back up in the big leagues pretty soon.

Boyle was dealing with an elbow injury in April and was activated off the injured list on May 18th, but was kept in Triple-A. He may still not be healthy because, since May 17th, he has allowed 23 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings with a 19/10 K/BB ratio. He has also been moved into the bullpen. It’s not looking good for him to have an impact with the Rays in 2026.

Gipson-Long suffered an oblique injury at the end of spring training and was working his way back from that when he was pulled from a Triple-A start on May 2nd with “discomfort.” He was then shut down for almost a month, but there has still not been any report about what he was dealing with. On Thursday, he allowed just three baserunners in five innings, walking two and allowing one hit, while striking out five. He threw 42 of his 75 pitches for strikes, so there remains some rust to shake off, but the Tigers are also getting Tarik Skubal and Justin Verlander back, so Gipson-Long figures to remain at Triple-A for the forseeable future.

Levine mentioned that White Sox manager Will Venable said Smith is “one of the team’s options” for Saturday against the Dodgers. It would certainly be a tough first test for Smith, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. The left-hander has back-to-back Triple-A outings with nine strikeouts and just threw 92 pitches in his last outing, which was his most ever in a professional game. His strikeout upside is immense, with 72 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season, but he also has 33 walks and posted a 17.6 percent walk rate last year as well. That has made it hard for him to pitch deep into games and could limit his fantasy ceiling in redraft formats.

Civale, who has been sidelined with shoulder tendonitis since May 26th, struck out seven batters and threw 38 of his 56 pitches for strikes. He will likely need two more rehab appearances and then he can return to the Athletics’ rotation and to the streaming radar in deeper formats.

It’ll be the first trip to the majors for Espino, who three years ago was considered one of the game’s top three pitching prospects before being derailed by injuries. Moved to the pen this year, has a 5.30 ERA and a 29/15 K/BB in 18 2/3 innings for Triple-A Columbus. He’s hasn’t pitched on back-to-back days at any point, he’s worked on one day of rest just once and he’s yet to get more than three outs in an appearance this year, so it’s hard to see how he fits right now. Still, he’s dealt with a whole lot, and it’s great to see him get the opportunity.

The 26-year-old hurler elected free agency last week after the Reds sent him outright to Triple-A Louisville. Richardson holds a 4.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 34/14 K/BB ratio over 30 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season. He’ll add extra bullpen depth for the Brewers.

Senga punched out five batters in the contest while allowing only one base on balls. He threw 75 pitches in the contest (51 strikes), showing no ill effects of the nerve irritation that caused him to miss his last rehab start. It’s possible that the Mets could decide he’s ready to return after this one, though it remains unclear what role he’s going to work in.