MLB Player News

Jeff Passan of ESPN adds that the contract includes a $15 million option for a fourth season, a $23 million signing bonus and more than $23 million in deferred money. The 32-year-old outfielder took to Instagram to announce that he was officially returning to the Dodgers. Hernández was outstanding in his lone season with the World Champions, slashing .272/.339/.501 with 33 long balls, 99 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 652 plate appearances. He’ll return to one of the deepest and most talented lineups in all of baseball and should be a force in fantasy leagues once again in 2025. Hernández is currently going just outside the top 75 players overall in early fantasy drafts.

It’s the first ever IL trip for De La Cruz, who played in 162 games last season and started the Reds’ first 58 games this season. The hope is that this will be a short stay for the shortstop, who is hitting .280/.346/.509 on the season. It’s definitely a blow to the Reds, but it is an opportunity to give Edwin Arroyo a look and see if he might be a starting second base option after De La Cruz returns.

There was an argument for giving the 22-year-old Arroyo a try before Elly De La Cruz got hurt, and now he will get a look with De La Cruz sidelined for at least 10 days. He will be making his major league debut after hitting .323/.383/.562 with 11 homers and nine steals in 53 games for Louisville. If he thrives, then he could stick around and play second base after De La Cruz returns (maybe Matt McLain will finally get that crash course in center). That makes him worth a speculative pickup in a great situation for hitters in Cincinnati.

Ullola threw just 11 pitches in his last outing for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday, which raised some eyebrows. Apparently, the Astros believe that he can help the team more in the short-term as a right-handed reliever. Ullola has plus raw stuff but has struggled with command in the high minors, so this move does make some sense. As Rome noted, “No call-up is believed to be imminent,” but it does seem like, if one does come, “it will be out of the bullpen.”

Milbrandt was the 85th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and is a top 100 prospect in baseball, according to Baseball America. The 22-year-old posted a 1.34 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 70/17 K/BB ratio in 47 innings at Double-A to start the season. With Robbie Snelling (elbow) now out for the season, and Thomas White struggling, Milbrandt could be an option for the Marlins towards the end of the summer if he adjusts to Triple-A quickly.

Graterol had been on the injured list as he recovers from shoulder surgery. However, his velocity dipped during his last appearance in mid-May, and now we know why. As of now, the type of surgery and his exact timeline are unclear, but he will require a months-long recovery process and is at risk of missing the entire 2026 season.

The veteran struck out four and walked two, while throwing 24 of his 41 pitches for strikes. Scherzer also sat 93.3 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is right in line with where he’s been when healthy the last few seasons. His slider got four whiffs on six swings, and was his best swing and miss pitch on the day. Overall, it was a pretty solid outing for Scherzer, who has been out since late April.

Burleson was hitting fifth against a lefty in Jordan Wicks tonight. The Cardinals first tried that on Friday after batting Burleson exclusively third and fourth previously. Burleson’s RBI in the first came on a little infield flare that dropped over the pitcher’s head but still turned into a groundout. His RBI single in the third was also pretty light; he dropped a ball down the line in shallow left that Ian Happ might have made a diving attempt on but decided against it at the last second. So, he got his runs batted in on balls hit 38 mph and 77 mph, respectively. He’s driven in 38 runs on the season, which is tied for 15th in MLB.

Liberatore allowed three hits, walked one and struck out five. That’s just half as many strikeouts as the career-high 10 he had last time out, but it is a fifth straight start with at least five strikeouts. He reached that mark just once in his first seven starts. Last year, he struck out five in 13 of his 29 starts (and went 6-4 when he did, compared to 2-10 the rest of the time.) Liberatore has a 4.35 ERA and a 58/24 K/BB in 62 innings on the season. He’ll face the Reds next weekend.

Dobbins, who was called up in the afternoon, came into a 5-0 game in the sixth and threw 61 pitches to finish it, allowing only an Alex Bregman homer along the way. That’s the good news. The bad is that because he threw 61 pitches, he’s probably looking at being swapped out for a fresh arm on Monday.

The Cubs have Monday off, so they were aggressive in going to the bullpen tonight. Wicks gave up three straight singles to start the game in a two-run first. He followed with a perfect second, but as soon as he allowed an infield single to JJ Wetherholt to begin the third, he was lifted. Wicks has a 15.63 ERA in his two starts, and it’s unclear if he’ll stick around after this. Edward Cabrera will be eligible to come off the IL on Friday and could be ready to step into the rotation in Wicks’ place.