MLB Player News

Sharma noted that “the list of relievers the Cubs have seriously evaluated easily reaches double digits,” but those are the more high-profile pitchers who the Cubs are considering. Jansen and Robertson are both free agents with closing experience, but they are also in their late 30s. Stanek is a free agent but has been more of a setup guy for his career. Pressly is entering the final year of his contract with the Houston Astros, which includes a no-trade clause and a $14 million salary. The Astros have been looking to trade Pressly since they have Josh Hader entrenched as their closer, but it remains to be seen if any team will give up the prospects necessary to acquire Pressly or if the Astros will pay down any of his salary.

Naylor was down on all fours and in considerable pain for a minute but talked his way into staying in the game to finish the at-bat. He was ultimately removed with the M’s took the field for the sixth inning. He’ll head for X-rays to see if there’s any structural damage. Stay tuned.

Mack was ready for a 1-1 changeup from Paul Skenes in the second inning and blasted it for a 424-foot (102.3-mph EV) solo shot to center that increased the Marlins’ early lead to 2-0. The 23-year-old catcher also drew a walk in the ninth inning. His offensive production has picked up over the past couple of weeks, but he’s still slashing just .240/.291/.344 with two homers and 14 RBI over 105 plate appearances with the Marlins this season.

The 26-year-old outfielder opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 403-foot (104.4-mph EV) solo shot off of Paul Skenes to open the second inning. That would be his lone hit in four at-bats on the afternoon. For the season, Hernández is now hitting .237/.308/.397 with six homers, 26 RBI and five stolen bases across 146 plate appearances.

Fairbanks came on with a three-run advantage to protect in the ninth inning. He started out strong, striking out Spencer Horwitz and Brandon Lowe to start the inning before surrendering a solo homer to Bryan Reynolds. He then rebounded to get Ryan O’Hearn on a line drive to center to end it. For the season, the 32-year-old closer now sports a 6.75 ERA and 29/11 K/BB ratio over 20 innings of work while recording eight saves for the Marlins.

Meyer punched out nine batters on the afternoon while scattering six hits and three walks. The lone tally against him came on an RBI single off the bat of Jake Mangum in the fourth inning. Meyer got 15 swings and misses on 105 pitches on the day, seven of those on his sweeper, while registering a strong CSW of 34 percent. He’ll look to replicate this fine effort as he carries a 7-0 record, 2.75 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and a 95/32 K/BB ratio (85 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Giants.

Mangum got the Pirates on the board in the fourth inning with an RBI single off of Max Meyer that plated Nick Gonzales and pulled them to within a run at 2-1. That would be as close as they would get. With his two-hit attack. the 30-year-old outfielder is now slashing a healthy .302/.355/.360 with one homer, 11 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 155 plate appearances on the season.

Skenes racked up 10 strikeouts on the day while allowing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came on a pair of solo home runs in the second inning by Heriberto Hernandez and Joe Mack. Aside from that, Skenes was brilliant, he just didn’t get the necessary run support. The 24-year-old hurler got a whopping 23 swings and misses on 104 pitches in the game — 12 on his fastball — while posting an elite CSW of 35 percent. Now 6-6 on the season, he’ll bring a stellar 2.85 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a 99/16 K/BB ratio (82 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Rockies in Colorado.

Verlander continues to make strides toward a return to the Tigers’ rotation. If all goes well with Monday’s outing, there’s a chance that he could return for next weekend’s series against the White Sox. It’s unclear if the Tigers plan to go to a six-man rotation or if they’ll work out a piggyback situation with a pair of their starters upon Verlander’s return.

With Joey Estes getting optioned out on Sunday, Basso will add a fresh arm to the A’s bullpen for at least a few days. The 28-year-old southpaw has registered a 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP and a 1/1 K/BB ratio over 2 2/3 innings in three appearances with the big league club this season.

Estes made his 2026 debut against the Rockies on Saturday, giving up four runs over 4 1/3 innings of work. With Aaron Civale set to return from the injured list this week though, he became expendable. Brady Basso was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move to add a fresh arm to the Athletics’ bullpen.