MLB Player News

The Cubs could have kept Imanaga for $57 million over three years, but they decided against that. It was kind of surprising they offered him the QO afterwards, but having him back for one year doesn’t seem like a bad thing. It just complicates the idea of making a run at Dylan Cease, Michael King or another top starter. As is, the Cubs’ rotation consists of Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Imanaga, with Colin Rea likely filling in until Justin Steele returns from elbow surgery.

The Rockies will go with an entire line shift with left-hander Jesus Luzardo toeing the slab for the Phillies, with Edouard Julien, Troy Johnston and Jake McCarthy joining Moniak on the bench for this one. We could see a similar lineup against Cristopher Sanchez on Sunday, which makes the 27-year-old slugger a tough start in leagues that utilize bi-weekly moves for hitters.

D’Arnaud joins Logan O’Hoppe on the IL, leaving Sebastián Rivero as the Angels’ primary catcher for now. The 37-year-old d’Arnaud was hitting .200/.300/.314 in 40 plate appearances.

Gibson was just optioned back to Triple-A on Monday, but he’ll get another opportunity to work out of the Orioles’ rotation with Cade Povich (elbow) landing on the injured list. Gibson gave up three runs over 4 2/3 innings against the Yankees in his MLB debut last weekend.

We have yet to hear the results of the MRI exam that Povich underwent on Thursday, but him landing on the injured list was always the most likely scenario. No word yet on how long the Orioles expect him to be shelved for. Trey Gibson was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take his spot in the Orioles’ rotation for the time being.

The Dodgers originally said that Snell would make one more rehab start, but perhaps Tyler Glasnow’s back problem changed their thinking. If Glasnow avoids the IL, then Roki Sasaki, who was penciled in for Saturday, is probably going to be bumped from the rotation.

The 20-year-old Chourio had just arrived in Double-A, going 0-for-6 in two games following his promotion Sunday. He hit .321/.433/.487 with 10 steals in 21 games for High-A Lake County previously.

It seems like a rehab assignment following offseason elbow and shoulder surgeries should consist of more than three games in the Complex League and one in Triple-A, but activating Locklear now and sending him down saves the organization a little money. He’ll probably spend at least the next month in Triple-A before being considered for a callup.

It’s understandable that the D-backs were frustrated with Thomas, but they might regret jettisoning him instead of Jorge Barrosa to make room for Ryan Waldschmidt. Thomas was hitting .181/.222/.340 as Arizona’s center fielder against right-handers, but Statcast thinks he was pretty unlucky in the process. He had a lower strikeout rate (23 percent) and a higher hard-hit rate (43 percent) in the majors than Waldschmidt did in Triple-A. With a $1.962 million salary and two years of control after this one, Thomas should draw interest as a trade candidate.

Alek Thomas goes to make room. Waldschmidt, 23, will get his chance after just 34 games in Triple-A in which he hit .289/.400/.477 with three homers and six steals. His strikeout rate was 24.4 percent, which is big jump from his mark of 17.6 percent between High-A and Double-A last year. He’s pretty interesting for fantasy purposes right away, but odds are that he’s not ready just yet. His hard-hit rate in Triple-A was a modest 33 percent.

Ragans, who left Wednesday’s game after three innings, was hoping to avoid the IL stint, but he’ll miss at least two starts now. Stephen Kolek will take his rotation spot. Ragans is 1-4 with a 4.84 ERA this season.