MLB Player News

Montero, who tossed three scoreless innings against the Panama on Wednesday, has proven an invaluable stopgap option for Detroit’s rotation, piling up 189 innings over the last two seasons and recording a respectable 4.57 ERA — 5.06 xERA — during that span. His demotion always seemed inevitable after the Tigers brought in Framber Valdez and reunited with Justin Verlander in the offseason, and while the timing seems weird, he’s just one of a number of players getting demoted in advance of leaving to join WBC teams.

No surprise here. Buxton will get some extra time off to rest and recover this weekend after being suffering a forearm contusion when he was hit by a pitch during the seventh inning of Friday’s showdown against the Rays. The encouraging news for the Twins, and fantasy managers, is that initial X-rays came back negative for any fractures. The 32-year-old fantasy stalwart is presumably day-to-day heading into Sunday’s series finale. It’ll be James Outman patrolling center field in his absence.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has flipped Carroll and Ketel Marte in the batting order with the latter off to a dismal 5-for-30 start at the plate through eight games. The move hopefully is able to jump-start Marte with the added benefit of getting Carroll a few additional plate appearances to do some damage.

Fitzgerald bolsters Toronto’s middle infield depth behind Ernie Clement and Andrés Giménez after being removed from San Francisco’s 40-man roster earlier this week. The 28-year-old second baseman posted a lackluster .606 OPS with four homers and nine steals in 72 games for the Giants last year on the heels of a breakout campaign the previous season where he compiled an .831 OPS with 15 big flies and 17 thefts in 96 contests. He’s a worthwhile low-risk addition for the Blue Jays in the event that injuries strike later this season.

Sousa was a key component of Houston’s high-leverage mix last year and appears to be getting close to returning after opening the season on the shelf with an oblique strain. The 30-year-old southpaw should be cleared for a minor league rehab assignment at some point soon.

Steele continues to make gradual progress in his recovery from last season’s Tommy John surgery. He’s nearly a calendar year removed from the procedure at this juncture and should be ready for a minor league rehab assignment at some point later this month. He’s on track to return to Chicago’s rotation at some point in May or June, barring any setbacks.

There are some technical hurdles the Orioles will need to navigate in the coming days, but it seems logical that Povich will be an option to start Monday’s series opener against the White Sox in place of an injured Zach Eflin (elbow). The assumption was that Dean Kremer would get the call, but it sounds like Povich is going to get the first shot here.

Peralta will head to Triple-A as organizational relief depth for Colorado after being removed from Milwaukee’s 40-man roster earlier this week to make room for Luis Matos. The 27-year-old lefty has posted a serviceable 5.12 ERA across 45 2/3 innings in the big leagues since 2023.

Brown hit the shelf with shoulder inflammation at the end of spring training. The 25-year-old posted an underwhelming 7.36 ERA across seven starts for the Rockies last year. He’ll be out until at least late May.

Griffin went 1-for-4 with an 106-mph RBI double to left-center field on Friday during one of the most highly anticipated major-league debuts in years. The Pirates don’t want to put too much pressure on him as he acclimates to everyday life in the big leagues as a teenager, but it feels like only a matter of time before he’s hitting near the top of the lineup. There will be some ebbs and flows production-wise, but Griffin projects as an extremely impactful all-around fantasy contributor during his rookie campaign.

Basallo continues rotating between catcher and DH for the Orioles as he takes a seat following three consecutive starts between both spots. The 21-year-old prodigy hasn’t torn the cover off the ball yet at the highest level, but it tends to take longer for catchers to hit their stride at the highest level since they have so many additional responsibilities to focus on besides hitting.