MLB Player News

thought he had given Nicaragua the lead earlier in the game, launching a towering drive to left that died just short of the wall. A couple innings later, he removed the ambiguity, crushing a 397-foot blast that left no doubt and put Nicaragua ahead. Unfortunately, the lead wouldn’t hold up as the Netherlands rallied for a walk-off victory. The 27-year-old former top prospect — one of the centerpiece returns in the Mookie Betts trade earlier this decade — hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2023, spending the last two seasons with the SoftBank Hawks in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Careers rarely unfold in straight lines, and Downs’ path has bent more than most — but for one swing on Saturday, the narrative felt momentarily uncomplicated.

It’s possible that due to travel Waldschmidt wasn’t going to be there in time on Friday or that the Diamondbacks didn’t want him to debut against Mets’ right-hander Nolan McLean, but either way it’s a surprise that the 23-year-old isn’t in there for his debut after being promoted from Triple-A Reno on Friday. Jorge Barrosa will start in center field and bat ninth for the Diamondbacks on Friday evening.

The 29-year-old southpaw played catch from a distance of 80 feet on Friday. He’s still got plenty of hurdles to clear before he’s able to rejoin the Rangers’ bullpen. It would be surprising to see him back in the mix before the end of May.

It’s unclear exactly what that entails, but Vogt noted that Arias is going to be sidelined a bit longer than his original estimate of 4-to-8 weeks. The 26-year-old infielder has been shelved since April 9.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 22-year-old slugger. Ballesteros has been an integral cog in the Cubs’ lineup this season, slashing .280/.343/.527 with six homers and 19 RBI across 105 plate appearances. Michael Conforto will function as the team’s designated hitter and will bat second against right-hander Kumar Rocker.

Jung has had a couple of stints with the big league club in the past week, but he’ll take the shuttle back to Toledo with Zack Short returning on Friday. Jung, 25, has hit just .167 (1-for-6) with zero RBI and one run scored in his limited action with the Tigers this season.

Short had been designated for assignment earlier in the week and elected free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo. He’ll head right back to the Tigers though and will start at shortstop on Friday evening against Kris Bubic and the Royals.

The 26-year-old backstop is progressing nicely in his recovery from a fracture in his left wrist. O’Hoppe noted that the real test will be catching full bullpen sessions and hitting off of velocity. If all continues to go well, he could be looking at a return to the Angels before the end of May.

The dynamic 24-year-old finally gets his shot to put his power and speed on display at the big league level. He draws a tough first assignment though, having to take on Brewers’ right-hander Jacob Misiorowski. He’ll need to make a very strong initial impression, or he’ll be at risk of a return trip to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre once Giancarlo Stanton (calf) is ready to return.

It sounds like the 43-year-old right-hander is finally making tangible strides towards a potential return. If all goes well with Saturday’s session, he could be cleared for a minor league rehab start. Given the plethora of injuries that the Tigers are battling in their rotation at the moment, they could use Verlander back as soon as possible.

If all goes well there, the 28-year-old infielder will then be cleared to begin a minor league rehab assignment. Peña has been sidelined since early April due to a hamstring strain. He should only need a couple of games to get his timing back, with the expectation that he could potentially be ready to rejoin the Astros’ lineup next weekend.