MLB Player News

Ross provides the Phillies with a capable swingman and insurance policy behind Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker at the back-end of their rotation mix. The 31-year-old righty posted a respectable 3.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 66/29 K/BB ratio across 74 innings (25 appearances, 10 starts) last year for the Brewers in his return from Tommy John surgery.

He’ll sit against RHP Ben Brown in what appears to just be a routine day off. Clement had started all 15 games the Jays have played in June and is hitting a robust .294/.313/.443 on the season. Davis Schneider will start at second base in Clement’s absence.

Blanco underwent an internal brace procedure last June and, if everything goes right in his rehab, could be available to the Astros at some point in August or September. The 32-year-old is just beginning pitching in games so it will likely take quite a bit of runway before he’s fully stretched out and ready to contribute at the big-league level again.

Taylor was placed on IL on May 26 and was expected to miss about three weeks, so this is a little later than the original expectation. Once healthy he’ll probably push Eric Wagaman or Zack Short off the MLB roster and go back to a platoon role for the Mets.

It’s important to note that fellow outfielder Kevin Alcantara was not available to be called up after C/DH Moises Ballesteros was optioned because Alcantara has to spend 10 days in Triple-A before he can be recalled to the big league roster. With Seiya Suzuki (knee) also limited to DH at-bats in the near future, the Cubs called up a better defensive outfielder in Dean. The 29-year-old is hitting .238/.369/.354 with three home runs and 14 steals in Triple-A this season.

Bloss is making his way back from Tommy John surgery, so he also walked two and struck out three in his four innings. He threw 39 of 65 pitches for strikes, and all of his damage came on a two-run home run from Dustin Harris. This was Bloss’ first start at Triple-A after making three starts in Single-A and one start in Double-A. With Max Scherzer (back) continuing to battle injuries, Bloss could be an option for the Blue Jays over the summer.

Ullola allowed two hits but struck out one and avoided any damage. This is his sixth scoreless outing in seven appearances since being shifted into the bullpen. He did have one poor outing in that span, so his total stats as a reliever are three runs allowed on six hits in 6 2/3 innings with a 9/5 K/BB ratio. It’s not flawless work, but it’s good enough that he could join the Astros bullpen at some point over the summer.

Phillips allowed one hit and one walk, but also struck out a batter and didn’t let any runs cross the plate. In 5 2/3 innings at Triple-A this season, he has allowed on runs on five hits with a 5/4 K/BB ratio. Obviously, command is going to be the last thing to return after Tommy John surgery, but Phillips looks close to returning to the Dodgers’ bullpen.

Holmes fractured his fibula on May 15th when he was hit by a comebacker. The original timeline was that he would miss three months, and that appears to be holding. If Holmes begins throwing in July, he could conceivably return to the Mets in the early part of August.

Báez, who put together an unreal four-homer performance earlier this week, is arguably the most intriguing power/speed combo fantasy prospect on the doorstep of the majors, which makes him worthy of a speculative roster spot in all fantasy formats. The 22-year-old leads the entire International League with 24 round-trippers through 64 games. He’s also chipped in 12 stolen bases during that span. There are some lingering concerns in the contact department since he’s struck out nearly 31 percent of the time at the Triple-A level this season. Still, he offers enough fantasy-relevant skills that fantasy managers should be willing to overlook the contact issues. He figures to get his opportunity with the Cardinals at some point soon.

The central question for fantasy managers is how Ingle fits into Cleveland’s lineup since they swung a trade for defensive-oriented backstop Patrick Bailey last month. The 24-year-old slugging prospect has homered 12 times in 47 games this season and could fill a multi-position role with the Guardians, splitting time between catcher, DH and left field. He’s an interesting prospect that fantasy managers need to have on their radar screens this summer.