MLB Player News

Misiewicz fortifies Cincinnati’s left-handed relief depth chart entering spring training. The 31-year-old southpaw made just five appearances for the Twins last season but holds a respectable 4.12 FIP and 22.7 percent strikeout rate across 120 1/3 innings at the highest level since 2020.

Sogard figures to see action all over the diamond for the Red Sox after logging time at five different positions last year. The versatile 28-year-old doesn’t offer much from an offensive standpoint. He’ll likely see some time at shortstop with Trevor Story on the injured list, but most of those opportunities figure to go to Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Varland struck out pinch-hitter Colt Keith to extinguish a ninth-inning threat and send a tie ballgame to extra innings before coming back out to protect a one-run lead. The hard-throwing 28-year-old coaxed ground balls from Jake Rogers and Kevin McGonigle before striking out Dillon Dingler to end it. It doesn’t go down as a save, but fantasy managers will take the win, his second of the season. He’s been phenomenal this season, converting five saves to go along with a microscopic 0.38 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 34/9 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. He certainly looks like Toronto’s primary closer right now.

Miles took over after opener Mason Fluharty and threw 56 pitches (36 strikes) during a strong bulk relief outing on the road at Comerica Park. It’s a bit challenging to forecast whether Miles makes sense as a traditional starter for the remainder of the year, but he’s certainly shown an ability to excel in a multi-inning relief role. He’ll help fill the void left in Toronto’s rotation left by José Berríos undergoing elbow surgery. Despite his recent success, he’s not a recommended streaming option in an extremely challenging road matchup against the Yankees on Thursday.

Mize looked extremely impressive in his return to Detroit’s rotation, limiting Toronto’s formidable lineup to just a pair of hits while inducing some ugly looking swings. He generated 10 swinging strikes, with half of those coming on his slider, and needed an economical 71 pitches (51 strikes) to navigate six innings. Clearly, the Tigers didn’t want to push him from a workload and stamina perspective in his return from the injured list, which is why he didn’t work deeper into this contest. He’s compiled an impressive 2.43 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 39/11 K/BB ratio across 37 innings over seven starts this season. He’ll face the Guardians his next time out on Thursday.

Strzelecki fortifies Milwaukee’s relief corps heading into Saturday’s game against the Twins. The well-traveled 31-year-old has bounced around between a couple different organizations, making 77 appearances between the Brewers, Diamondbacks and Guardians since 2022. He’ll operate in middle relief situations and can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Crow returns to the minors after allowing one run over five innings on Friday in a spot start against the Twins. The 25-year-old pitching prospect has allowed just three runs with a 7/1 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings across a pair of starts in the majors this season. He figures to get a more permanent look in Milwaukee’s rotation at some point down the road, but that seems unlikely to happen this summer, barring something unexpected. He’ll continue to be up-and-down as an emergency spot starter moving forward.

Perez was one of the players the Athletics protected from last offseason’s Rule 5 Draft, but ultimately decided to move on a couple months later. The 24-year-old heads to Chicago’s system after hitting .210/.273/.384 across 154 plate appearances for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Nove is the equivalent of a scratch lottery ticket as a 23-year-old with a 1.96 ERA and 41/10 K/BB ratio across 23 innings at Low-A Kannapolis in his professional debut. He went undrafted after pitching in relief in college at Kentucky.