MLB Player News

Brzykcy returns to the minors with Mason Thompson coming off the injured list to rejoin Washington’s relief mix. The 25-year-old righty has struggled to a bloated 7.40 ERA across 20 2/3 innings (23 appearances) this season at the big-league level.

That’s three of Cincinnati’s last five games that Friedl has sat in as the Reds are riding hot hand JJ Bleday, including two games against right-handed starters. If you were holding on to hope in medium-sized leagues that he could turn around a .184/.268/.270 start in his first 39 games, the Reds aren’t going to make it easy for you to hold him.

LHP Ian Seymour will begin the game for the Rays. Scholtens will have a better chance of snagging a win with the move, since he’s proved unable to cover five innings, and he’s best approached as a deep-league streamer for the occasion.

Piñango has batted second in all three of his starts so far since returning from Triple-A Buffalo, and while it looks like he’ll be platooned early on, he is hitting .361/.410/.417 in the early going. With the combination of hitting high in the Jays order and a good batting average, Piñango could be a deep-league thought for the desperate in the outfield.

This is the third team so far this year to DFA Roa, who had a 5.19 ERA with the Astros in a small sample before being jettisoned to the Twins and then Orioles. The league seems to have a lot of interest in fixing him, so perhaps he’ll be claimed or acquired yet again.

Núñez, who had been DFA’d, was an up-down reliever for the Athletics and Padres last year, compiling a 7.11 ERA in 10 appearances over 12 2/3 innings while walking 11. He had a 5.56 ERA in nine appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas so far this year, and the 26-year-old will likely report to Triple-A Norfolk for the Orioles.

While it’s not explicitly said in the report, it’s likely that Westburg is undergoing Tommy John or an internal brace surgery as those were among the options presented earlier in May after he was shut down. Westburg will enter his age-28 season in 2027 looking to re-establish himself as a cornerstone for the Orioles. His absence means there is no playing time threat to Jeremiah Jackson and Blaze Alexander at second and third base for the remainder of the season.

Alvarez worked 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball in relief of Miles Mikolas in his brief stint in the majors during April. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was again asked to go a distance at some point over the weekend, though he’s not currently slated as a bulk pitcher in any of those contests.

Brooks managed an 81.00 ERA in one appearance in which he got one out while allowing four runs (three earned) and took a loss. Assuming he clears waivers, the 36-year-old will be able to opt out of an outright assignment to Durham should he so desire.

Martin has a 6.23 ERA in three appearances for the Rays this year, as well as a 2.40 ERA in 12 appearances for Durham. He’ll remain part of the low-leverage shuffle in Tampa Bay.

Peter reported that social media posts show Díaz and the Ortiz brothers posing for photos advertising the cockfighting tournaments. Díaz appears in his Dodgers jersey in one of the photographs, and one of the advertisements specifically says one of the tournaments is “A Tribute to the Puerto Rican Star and Cockfighter Edwin ‘Sugar’ Díaz.” There’s another story from March 10th, which shows Díaz in the middle of a cockfighting arena. While cockfighting is historic and culturally significant in Puerto Rico, a federal ban on cockfighting in all 50 states and U.S. territories took effect in 2019. Neither Díaz nor the Dodgers has commented on the report, and there is no indication right now whether the reliever, who is on the injured list after elbow surgery, will face any sort of consequences.