MLB Player News

Encarnacion-Strand has been out since April 17 with inflammation in his lower back. The 25-year-old was hitting just .158/.183/.298 in 60 plate appearances this season, so the Reds aren’t likely to rush him back. He’ll take a few weeks to work his way back up to Triple-A and then hopefully the big leagues by something in the middle of June.

Tiedemann allowed one run over one inning on June 16th in a minor league rehab appearance in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League and was set to make his affiliate debut on Tuesday. As of now, there is no set plan for when he will pitch next. The 23-year-old missed all of the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and then felt renewed elbow soreness during spring training. He can’t quite seem to shake the injury bug.

With Spencer Horwitz (hamstring) sidelined, Ryan O’Hearn is likely to be the primary first baseman for the Pirates, which could open up right field at-bats for Valdez. The 22-year-old has gone just 5-for-30 in his 11 MLB games with two doubles, two home runs, and six RBI. He was hitting .255/.388/.526 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in 56 games at Triple-A and has some intriguing power potential. He remains only an option in NL-only formats in the short-term.

With Spencer Horwitz (hamstring) landing on the injured list, it will be Brannigan coming up to join the Pirates. The 25-year-old was hitting .235/.333/.522 with eight home runs and 18 RBI in 31 games at Double-A with a 37.9 percent strikeout rate. He will just be a bench bat for the Pirates until Horwitz returns or Konnor Griffin comes off the injured list.

Horwitz left Wednesday’s game with hamstring discomfort and now finds himself on the injured list; although, there is no set timeline for his return right now. The 28-year-old is hitting .280/.386/.455 with 10 home runs, 36 runs scored, and 33 RBI in 74 games this season as a key member of the Pirates lineup. Ryan O’Hearn should play a lot of first base with Horwitz sidelined.

DeLuca has started four straight games and appears to have emerged as a regular starter in center field or right field. Since coming off the injured list earlier in June, he has gone 5-for-18 (.278) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, and one steal in six games. He’s slashing .270/.301/.453 in 47 games for the Rays this season and is an option in deeper formats even though he will sit one or two games a week. Victor Mesa Jr. will start in right field and bat eighth on Thursday.

This is now the sixth straight game that Witt Jr. is not in the lineup. He has been available off the bench for the last two games, but has not entered into either one of them. The Royals also had two players pinch hit in the eighth and ninth innings in Wednesday’s loss to the Rays, but neither of them was Witt Jr. Tyler Tolbert will continue to play shortstop and bat ninth as the Royals maintain a holding pattern with their star shortstop.

Grove hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2024 with the Dodgers. The 29-year-old had a 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 16/4 K/BB ratio in 12 2/3 minor league innings for the Rays this season. He will operate out of middle relief.

After a strong start to the season, Matz has struggled of late and was moved to the bullpen, where he has posted a 14.54 ERA in 8 2/3 innings in June. There’s no word yet on how long he will be out, but perhaps a reset would be beneficial.

Despite his usual heroics, Ohtani is on a bit of a cold streak on the mound – relative to his own greatness of course. This is now three consecutive starts where he’s allowed at least three earned runs after not doing so a single time before this stretch. Three runs, the horror. He also had some tense moments with catcher Dalton Rushing including a miscommunication regarding an ABS challenge and stern mound visit thereafter. Still, he forced 20 total swings-and-misses with 13 coming on his sweeper alone as his velocity was up about three ticks across the board. He threw 16 fastballs that reached 100 mph and topped out at 102. On top of that, he was in the middle of a Dodgers’ rally in the third inning with an RBI knock and came around to score shortly thereafter. He also had three hard-hit balls including a 111 mph lineout. Even in the games where it feels clunky he’s still so ridiculously impactful.

Scott was able to work around a lead-off single by Austin Martin in a one run game to secure the save. That was his fifth consecutive converted save over the past two weeks and he’s cruising as the Dodgers’ closer with a 2.18 ERA on the season. Expect elite production out of him until Edwin Díaz eventually returns.