MLB Player News

Schmidt said that he and the Yankees’ pitching department worked together to break his one sweeper up into two distinct breaking balls, including a new one that was “designed to give him more horizontal break and a better weapon against righties.” The pitch did that, but it also required Schmidt to “grip it really hard” and “torque it,” which caused the 30-year-old to have a tough time recovering in between his starts. He was then forced to undergo elbow surgery in July. He likely won’t return until the end of the summer, but he claims that he will stick to “his old sweeper grip and will definitely ditch the newer one.” That could lead to fewer strikeouts for Schmidt but more long-term health.

Gonzalez, who is recovering from left shoulder surgery, cleared an important hurdle in his swing progression, releasing his top hand on his follow-through during batting practice swings. His surgically repaired shoulder has been able to withstand the force of those one-handed releases, which was one of the final steps before Gonzalez was deemed ready to play in games. He will likely need a lengthy rehab stint since he didn’t get any spring training at-bats, but there’s a chance he returns to Boston by the end of June.

There has been some speculation that the Astros could look to trade Alvarez at the deadline this year if they continue to fall out of playoff contention. The idea behind the speculation was that Alvarez would bring in a huge influx of talent for a roster that seems to lack depth, and it would rid the Astros of a defensive logjam created by Alvarez’s being a designated hitter. However, as Brown mentioned, Alvarez is in the fourth year of a six-year, $115 million extension, so there is no pressure on the Astros to trade him. They traded Kyle Tucker when he was heading into his final season, so there may be more reason to trade Alvarez after the 2027 season, if they followed the same path, but he’s not going anywhere for now.

Vaughn is sitting against the majority of righties while waiting for an opening in Milwaukee, but he’s batting an exceptional .364/.417/.557 with 17 RBI in 96 plate appearances when he gets to play. Tonight’s game was the first of his career with three extra-base hits and 10th with four RBI. He’d be a fine mixed-league first baseman as a regular, but things still need to work themselves out for that to happen.

Harrison has been brilliant in major league parks, but Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom and Zack Gelof all took him deep in Las Vegas tonight, and his ERA jumped from 1.57 to 2.72 as a result. There are unlikely to be any lingering effects, and he’s a fine play at home against the Phillies on Sunday.

This one should have been over in 10 and earned Aaron Ashby his 10th victory in relief, but Las Vegas Ballpark said no to that, as Ashby gave up two homers in his second inning of work. Abner Uribe then worked a scoreless 11th for the win, and Patrick notched his 12th save. Trevor Megill will likely be back in the closer’s role on Tuesday.

Springs allowed a pair of homers and six other hard-hit balls in an outing that might have been a little better in neutral park, but probably not by overly much. He should fare better against the Rockies on Sunday, but he’s not a mixed-league option at the moment.

Harris entered with a 10-8 lead in the eighth and immediately got a double play ball to escape a jam. However, he went on to allow two runs in the ninth to take a blown save. Nothing that happens in Vegas this week should be taken too seriously, so we’re not going to ding Harris for giving up two runs in what turned out to be a 15-14 loss. He still looks like the favorite for saves in Sacramento.

Kurtz homered in the sixth and 10th innings before the A’s eventually fell in 12. The walk was an intentional pass in the final inning of the contest. Kurtz now has 14 homers and is tied for third in the majors with 48 RBI. He’s first with a .434 OBP ahead of Yordan Alvarez at .427 and Shohei Ohtani at .417.

A series in Las Vegas was just what the doctor ordered for Soderstrom, who hasn’t had much luck while already playing his home games in a very friendly ballpark for offense. He hit homers on 99- and 104-mph flies tonight, bringing his season total to 10. He’s 19-for-47 with five homers and 11 walks in his last 14 games, raising his OPS from .655 to .790.

The go-ahead run scored on a popup behind second after Jose Altuve tagged from third and Logan O’Hoppe whiffed on the throw home. Hader got five missed swings on his 12 pitches in a tie game tonight. In three appearances since coming off the IL, he has one win, one save and seven strikeouts in three hitless innings.