MLB Player News

With the Cardinals in a full rebuild, moving Romero for anything they can get before he enters his final arbitration season makes plenty of sense. The Mariners have also checked in on Romero at some point this offseason. The 29-year-old southpaw posted a 2.07 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a 55/29 K/BB ratio over 61 innings while notching eight saves for the Cardinals in 2025.

Vilade put Tampa Bay on the scoreboard with a run-scoring single against Guardians starter Parker Messick in the sixth inning before adding a go-ahead single in the eighth inning. The 27-year-old has seen action consistently against left-handed pitching and continues to take advantage of those opportunities.

Aranda’s clutch homer came against Guardians reliever Hunter Gaddis to open the eighth inning as Tampa Bay managed to rally late for a comeback win. The 27-year-old first baseman has gone deep four times in his last six games and is up to seven round-trippers on the year.

Schneemann supplied Cleveland’s lone runs of the contest with a two-run shot off Rays starter Steven Matz in the fifth inning. It was his fourth long ball of the season. The 29-year-old stepped to the plate with a chance to deliver a walk-off hit with the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but wound up striking out to end the contest.

Baker was summoned to protect a one-run lead in the final frame and immediately found himself in hot water following back-to-back hits by Kyle Manzardo and Chase DeLauter that put the potential tying and winning run in scoring position with one out. He managed to wriggle out of the jam and preserve the victory by striking out George Valera and Daniel Schneemann to end it. The 31-year-old has notched four saves in the last four days alone and appears firmly entrenched as Tampa Bay’s primary closer.

Matz failed to record a strikeout until the seventh inning and managed to avoid any serious damage besides a fifth-inning homer by light-hitting Guardians infielder Daniel Schneemann. He finished with a pair of strikeouts while only issuing one walk and only giving up four hits across seven frames. The well-traveled 34-year-old lefty has allowed two runs or fewer in four of six starts to kick off his Rays debut. He’ll bring a respectable 4.31 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 27/11 K/BB ratio across 31 1/3 innings into a home matchup against the Giants on Sunday to finish a two-start week.

Messick struck out the side in the opening frame and continued rolling from there, scattering three baserunners over five frames and carrying a shutout into the sixth inning before finally meeting some pushback. He issued a leadoff walk to veteran Yandy Díaz before lefty-masher Ryan Vilade delivered a run-scoring single with two outs that chased him from the contest after 95 pitches (58 strikes). The unheralded 25-year-old rookie isn’t overpowering, but he manages to keep hitters off balance by changing speeds and mixing locations. He’s been a revelation this season with a sparkling 1.73 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 38/10 K/BB ratio across 36 1/3 innings over six starts. He’ll close out a two-start week with a challenging road matchup against the Athletics on Sunday.

Morgan heads back to the minors ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Athletics after posting a solid 2.61 ERA and 9/6 K/BB ratio across 10 1/3 innings over seven appearances. The 29-year-old righty figures to be back at some point in a couple weeks.

Kingery will stick around as quality organizational depth after being removed from Chicago’s active roster last week. The 31-year-old’s defensive versatility is a bonus, but he doesn’t offer much at the plate. He went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in eight games for the Cubs.

Romano lost his grip on the closer’s role for Los Angeles a couple weeks ago and the club decided to move on entirely after he struggled to a bloated 10.13 ERA across eight innings over 11 appearances. The 33-year-old’s previous high-leverage experience ensures that there will be an organization out there willing to bring him in on as a low-risk dice roll, but his days as a legitimate closing option are probably finished.

No surprise here. McGuire went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment over the weekend. The 31-year-old journeyman backstop went 5-for-29 with three RBI in 11 games for the White Sox this season. He’ll probably be able to latch on somewhere rather quickly as emergency catching depth at the Triple-A level.