MLB Player News

Houser’s unexpected success continued Monday afternoon with a remarkable outing against his former club. The 32-year-old righty, who posted a bloated 5.84 ERA across 69 1/3 innings (23 appearances, seven starts) last year for New York, kept the Mets scoreless over six frames and finished with six punchouts. He’s reeled off 12 consecutive scoreless frames to open his White Sox debut and will aim to keep the momentum going on Sunday when he faces the struggling Orioles. Houser’s track record suggests that the music is going to stop relatively soon, but it’s hard to deny how well he’s pitching at the moment. He’s not a recommended option for fantasy purposes outside of extremely deep mixed leagues and AL-only formats, but we’re definitely watching him closely this weekend.

Naylor will get a rare day off with left-hander Noah Cameron toeing the slab for the Royals. The 28-year-old slugger has picked up the pace offensively after a sluggish start and is now hitting .250/.317/.356 on the season with five homers, 22 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Patrick Wisdom will start in his place at the cold corner on Friday night and will bat fifth for the M’s.

Ross, 33, made three appearances in the big leagues with the Diamondbacks this season, posting a cringe-inducing 19.64 ERA, 3.00 WHIP and a 2/4 K/BB ratio over 3 2/3 innings of work. He’ll add extra pitching depth for the Rangers at the Triple-A level.

The 34-year-old right-hander opted out of his minor league contract with the Mets last week. Jackson has really struggled in his limited minor league action this season, posting a 7.04 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and a 7/8 K/BB ratio over 7 2/3 innings in eight appearances. He’ll add extra bullpen depth for the Royals.

It looks to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 27-year-old infielder. Lopez is having a strong season at the dish, slashing .342/.373/.487 with four homers, 21 RBI and eight stolen bases in 212 plate appearances. Javier Sanoja will start in his place at shortstop and will bat ninth against Tobias Myers and the Mets on Friday night in Miami.

Grisham was pulled from Wednesday’s contest due to discomfort in his left knee and the was held out of the lineup on Thursday as a precautionary measure. He’s back atop the Yankees’ lineup on Friday and starting in center field against Rays’ right-hander Nick Martinez.

The 28-year-old outfielder was pulled from Thursday’s contest with a bone bruise in his left thumb, but X-rays came back negative for any fractures. He’s right back in there in his customary leadoff spot on Friday night against Richard Lovelady and the Nationals.

Heuer was up with the big league club for a couple of days while Peyton Pallette was away on paternity leave, now he’ll head back with Pallette rejoining the bullpen on Friday. The 29-year-old right-hander holds a 3.38 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and a 3/1 K/BB ratio across 2 2/3 innings in two appearances for the Guardians this season. He should get another opportunity at some point this summer.

The 25-year-old right-hander was away from the club for a couple of days as he welcomed a new addition to the family. The Rule-5 pick has registered a 5.49 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and a 21/13 K/BB ratio over 19 2/3 innings during his time with the Guardians this season.

Tolbert will get a spot on the Royals’ bench with Elias Díaz getting designated for assignment on Friday. The 28-year-old has been used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement during his time with the Royals this season, and that’s likely to be the same case over the weekend against the Mariners.

The Royals needed to clear a spot on their active roster for the addition of Tyler Tolbert on Friday, so the club’s luxury third catcher winds up getting the boot. There’s always a need for viable catching depth around the league, so there’s a chance that the 35-year-old backstop attracts some interest on waivers.