MLB Player News

Lavender was the Rays’ Rule 5 draft pick and missed 2025 while recovering from an internal brace procedure. He’ll provide some depth — assuming good health — for the Mets’ minor-league staff to open 2026.

Rodriguez looked sharp while piling up 11 punchouts over 4 2/3 innings last weekend in a rehab start for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga. The oft-injured 26-year-old appears likely to make his Angels debut after missing the first seven weeks of the year recovering from a shoulder ailment. He’s certainly talented enough to make a fantasy impact, but a wait-and-see approach makes sense since he hasn’t thrown a pitch in the big leagues since July 31, 2024.

Braves manager Walt Weiss told reporters they’e hoping Schwellenbach is cleared to start a throwing program soon. The dynamic 25-year-old righty has been on the shelf since undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from his pitching elbow back in mid-February. He likely won’t be an option for Atlanta’s rotation until after the All-Star break.

Jiménez hasn’t pitched in the majors since the 2024 season and remains without a timeline to return. The 31-year-old reliever missed all of last year recovering from knee surgery and underwent a cleanup procedure last November. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the year.

Crochet progressed to throwing off a bullpen mound for the first time since hitting the injured list back on April 29. The 26-year-old fantasy ace will throw another bullpen session later this week before he’s ready to face hitters again. He told reporters that he doesn’t plan on making a minor league rehab start. The original expectation was that he would be ready to jump back into Boston’s rotation when first eligible to return, but that doesn’t appear to be happening anymore. Still, there’s a chance he’s ready to return by the end of May or early June.

Senga remains pretty far off from making it back to New York’s pitching mix as he recovers from lumbar spine inflammation. The fact that he’s made it through a couple bullpen sessions is encouraging. The 33-year-old’s role upon returning also remains a complete mystery since there doesn’t appear to be an open rotation spot for him.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz offered a positive update after Beavers hit the injured list prior to Wednesday’s game against the Yankees with an oblique strain. The 24-year-old rookie outfielder is facing a multi-week absence, but it sounds like there’s optimism it won’t be a lengthy stint on the injured list.

Peña was involved in a frightening-looking collision at second base where he was upended and landed on his back during his first rehab contest on Tuesday night at Double-A Corpus Christi. Amazingly, he managed to stay in the contest afterwards. He’ll continue participating in baseball activities, but he’s going to get some time off to rest and recover following the incident. It doesn’t sound like he’ll make it back to Houston’s lineup this week.

Nationals manager Blake Butera told reporters Beeter won’t require a lengthy rehab assignment, which seems to signal that he’ll return to the club’s closing role before the end of May. The 27-year-old stopper hit the shelf with forearm soreness back in late April.

Ryan will be making his first start in the minors since April 11 when he suffered a hamstring injury. The 27-year-old top pitching prospect looked sharp in spring training coming off Tommy John surgery and figures to get a shot in Los Angeles’ rotation mix at some point later this summer.

Teoscar Hernández is at DH with Alex Call taking over in left field. Ohtani had been scuffling at the plate, hitting .200/.321/.300 with one home run over his previous 26 games before going deep off Giants starter Adrian Houser during Tuesday’s contest. The Dodgers are making a concerted effort to reduce the 31-year-old two-way sensation’s workload to keep him fresher at the plate moving forward. He’ll get a full day off Thursday before returning for Friday’s series opener against the Angels.