MLB Player News

McMillon was a threat to become the Royals’ long-term closer when he arrived in 2023, but he hurt his elbow and lost four mph off his fastball last season, causing Kansas City to give up on him. Today, he was back up to 98.6 mph on average, putting him barely behind his 99.0 mark from his four appearances before he got hurt two years ago. He could prove to be a big help to the Phillies if he stays there, though he’ll probably open up in Triple-A even if he seems deserving of a spot.

Valdez had to be removed from the game and appeared to be in clear pain. However, the X-rays revealed no fracture, so the 22-year-old will simply wait for the pain and swelling to go down before re-entering the lineup. Both the Pirates and fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief.

The game will be made up as a split doubleheader on Wednesday. We should likely get the same pitching matchups for both games, but we’ll know for sure on Wednesday. The Braves were hoping to leave New York early because they have a game against the Nationals on Thursday, but luckily it’s not a long trip between the two cities.

Jeffers is a free agent after this season and is, according to Passan, “unlikely to re-sign in Minnesota,” which makes it likely he will be moved at the deadline. Passan notes that the Yankees seem to line up best, but the Red Sox and Rays are also in the market for a catcher and could be possible landing spots for Jeffers. Landing in Fenway Park could provide an intriguing boost for Jeffers with the Green Monster in left field, but the Twins are the highest-scoring offense in the American League, so you’re not actually going to get a massive value boost for Jeffers no matter where he goes. He will remain a rock-solid fantasy contributor though.

Donovan has gone 3-for-34 in nine games during this rehab assignment. That comes with a 10/3 K/BB ratio and just one extra-base hit. Minor league results won’t impact how quickly the Mariners want to bring Donovan up, but they could impact how much fantasy managers want to stash Donovan. With the Mariners also looking to add hitters at the trade deadline, it’s unclear what kind of role Donovan will return to, but he could be back with the Mariners by next week.

Lagrange was sidelined with a capsular sprain in his right shoulder on July 3rd, and the Yankees said he would be shut down from all throwing for six weeks. After a little over three weeks, the 23-year-old was able to begin playing catch. Lagrange is still early on in his rehab, but there is a chance that he could help the Yankees’ bullpen in September if he continues to progress without setbacks.

According to Passan, the Mariners are looking to trade a starting pitcher to try and land a right-handed hitter. Since Luis Castillo is owed almost $23 million next season, it’s less likely that he will be traded. Hancock is under team control through the 2030 season and has had a breakout season with a 3.16 ERA in his first 19 starts, with 97 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings. Of course, he has been less impactful of late as his fastball has lost vertical movement, but he has remained a solid source of ratios and innings. He would likely lose some fantasy value if he leaves his pitching-friendly home ballpark.

The bigger question, according to Passan, is “can they trade Tarik Skubal?” The Tigers want to remain competitive and are not looking for prospects who may take a long time to join the MLB roster, which could make finding a trade partner a bit more complicated. Plenty of teams are interested in Skubal, and it seems that the Tigers are motivated to get a deal done, but some team is going to have to present the perfect combination of players that Detroit simply can’t turn down.

Expressing an interest and being willing to meet the likely high asking prices are two separate things, but it’s interesting to note that the Rays are looking to be aggressive, especially when it comes to pitching. According to Murray, any additional starter the Rays bring in wouldn’t necessarily mean Griffin Jax or Ian Seymour are out of the rotation. Instead, the Rays are looking for pitching depth to help offset innings and injury concerns surrounding Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen. The team could decide to use a six man rotation or occasionally skip starts in order to keep those guys healthy for the playoffs. Considering Peralta is a free agent at the end of the season, he would be the most likely target of the trio.

Singer was originally supposed to start on Tuesday, so when it was announced that he would not be starting, there was speculation that he was involved in a potential trade. While that may still come to fruition, it appears that he’s just being given an extra day of rest.

Wheeler allowed five runs in three innings, and his health was the subject of many overnight rumors after the training staff and coaches huddled in the dugout before removing Wheeler from the game. The veteran averaged 93.5 mph on his four-seamer and 93.1 mph on his sinker, both of which were down almost two mph from his season average. Considering Wheeler had a potentially career-ending blood clot injury last season, there was some concern that the 36-year-old was injured; however, Wheeler shot down those concerns after the game: “The ball just wasn’t coming out like I wanted to. My body wasn’t moving like I wanted it to. I was trying to get through it. Some games I can. Just today, I couldn’t.” We’ll see how his bullpen and arm maintenance sessions go during the week, but it seems like this may be just a one-game blip.