MLB Player News

The 27-year-old hurler didn’t walk a batter or record a strikeout in the ballgame. The Dodgers jumped on him in the opening inning with consecutive RBI knocks from Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernandez pushing three runs across. Spence then settled in and worked a pair of scoreless innings to end his day. He got three swings and misses on 42 pitches on the night, registering an uninspiring CSW of only 17 percent. The expectation is that Spence will begin the season in a long relief role for the Royals, which saps him of any late-round fantasy appeal that he may have had if he were in the rotation.

Doval has had a rough year, posting a 4.54 ERA to date, but he’s still throwing 97-100 mph with plenty of movement and keeping the ball on the ground for the most part. The Pirates figure to have him mostly set up for now, but if he gets off to a nice start, save chances would become a possibility. Doval did, after all, save 89 games from the Giants from 2022-24.

A year after acquiring a catching prospect (Rafael Flores Jr.) from the Yankees for David Bednar, the Pirates are giving up one up to the same team for Doval. Alfonzo, 22, was hitting .239/.338/.420 in 60 games for Double-A Altoona. He’s yet another lefty-hitting catcher for an organization that loves them, but he doesn’t really project as a major leaguer either offensively or defensively right now. Cruz is an 18-year-old outfielder who has yet to make his U.S. debut. He was hitting .313/.460/.396 in 17 games in the Dominican Summer League.

This makes room on the 40-man for Camilo Doval. The Pirates reacquired Stratton from the Braves for Joey Bart in June and gave him a brief callup last month, during which time he allowed two runs in 2 1/3 innings. He’s set to wind up back on waivers.

It’s the first major league stint for the 29-year-old Kingham, a University of Texas product who was drafted by the Braves in 2018 and who spent parts of three years in Mexico before joining the Rangers organization earlier this year. He had a 6.99 ERA as a starter at Round Rock, but he’s gotten better as the year has gone along. He’ll apparently pitch in middle relief for now.

Curvelo have up four runs in two innings in his one day back in the majors. He has a 9.58 ERA in 10 1/3 innings on the season.

Correa underwent what was supposed to be season-ending ankle surgery to repair a torn tendon back in mid-May. He’s due for a followup appointment on Tuesday, after which he hopes to start hitting. It’d be interesting to see how the Astros would fit Correa in if he’s able to make it back. Jose Altuve seems like their weak link in the infield right now, but none of the alternatives are experienced at second. If Christian Walker is still struggling, perhaps he could do some sitting, with Isaac Paredes moving to first. Of course, Correa still have a few hurdles to clear before it’s worth giving this serious thought.

Quero’s difficulties were part of the Brewers’ motivation for acquiring Bo Naylor today. Quero last caught on June 26, but he has at least managed to stay in the lineup since. He’s hit .264/.339/.419 in 88 games for Nashville.

That would have been Tatsuya Imai’s start, but he’s slated to work in relief for now. It was then thought Cristian Javier would start Sunday, but the Astros are pushing back that call for a day. Javier still seems likely to get the ball, but maybe the Astros will acquire another option before then.

The 23-year-old Ingrassia, a 2023 14th-round pick, has a 3.27 ERA and a 59/22 K/BB in 44 innings over 11 starts and two relief appearances for High-A Greenville this year. He was a reliever in college and probably will head back to the pen at some point, but there’s a chance he’ll surface in the majors in a couple of years.

O’Hearn is expected to miss 6-8 weeks, according to the team. The 33-year-old suffered the injury during Friday’s loss to the Reds while running to first base in the ninth inning. It’s a massive hit for the Pirates as they’ll be without one of their key middle-of-the-order run producers until at least mid-September. The encouraging news here is that there’s a chance O’Hearn is back for the home stretch, and a potential postseason run.