MLB Player News

Wicks could be ready to return to Chicago’s bullpen mix by mid-April after progressing to throwing bullpen sessions last week. He made eight relief appearances last year for the Cubs, finishing with an underwhelming 6.28 ERA — 3.98 xERA — and 13/1 K/BB ratio across 14 1/3 innings.

Pederson’s first homer, hit 418 feet to left center, led off the bottom of the first. The second, a three-run shot, made it just out to right despite a 48-degree launch angle. It gave him his 22nd career two-homer game. He’s batting .254/.343/.513, which would place him 20th in the majors with an .856 OPS if he weren’t four plate appearances shy of qualifying.

Rocker leaned on his slider today, recording all seven of his strikeouts with the pitch. He got 12 whiffs on 22 swings at that offering and just two on 24 swings when he threw anything else. He’s won back-to-back starts to move to 4-8 with a 4.03 ERA on the season. That’s good enough for him to continue to stick as a starter, but with just the one truly above average pitch at his disposal, it’s still hard not to wonder if he’d be better utilized as a short reliever. He’ll go for three wins in a row Sunday in Houston.

Kirby’s velocity dipped quickly today; he averaged 96.9 mph in the first but was down to 95.7 mph in the second and 94.9 mph in the fourth. That’s well off his season average of 96.6 mph, and he gave up more runs today than in his previous four starts combined. It’s the third time in his career that he’s given up four homers; it also happened once in 2022 and once in 2023. Oddly enough, in all three of those starts, he gave up exactly seven runs in between four and 4 2/3 innings. He fell to 8-9 with a 3.98 ERA in advance of a start against the Twins.

Duran has homered in back-to-back games, and he collected five RBI in the four-game series win over the Mariners. Most Rangers fans surely would have been happy to see him go at any point during 2024 or ’25, but in 2026, he’s currently the team’s bWAR leader, at 2.6 entering today, and he’s second in RBI with 56.

Nootbaar is back in left field and hitting eighth after coming off the bench during Sunday’s series finale against the Reds. He made an early exit from Saturday’s contest due to dehydration after feeling lightheaded. The 28-year-old outfielder has hit .241 (32-for-133) with three homers, 15 RBI and one steal in 41 games since making his season debut back on June 5.

Francona added that they want McLain to continue getting at-bats in the minors for a few additional games. The 26-year-old middle infielder has been out with a calf strain since mid-July. He generated a ton of hype with a stellar performance in spring training, but has really struggled at the dish this season, hitting .190 with eight homers and 11 steals in 309 plate appearances.

Basallo was spotted fielding grounders at first base prior to Monday’s series opener in Detroit. The 21-year-old backstop still hasn’t been cleared to throw after being shut down with shoulder inflammation last week. He’s probably going to miss a couple weeks since the Orioles don’t really want to rush him back and risk a setback that could lead to a more serious issue.

Sure, why not. Schuemann has posted a respectable .378 on-base percentage through 36 games this season, which earns him the opportunity to face White Sox starter Noah Schultz with Trent Grisham on the bench and Paul Goldschmidt hitting third. It’s unclear whether this is a one-game outlier or the start of a larger trend for Yankees manager Aaron Boone. We’ll see.

It’s been a nightmare of a season for the Blue Jays from an injury standpoint with García continuing to experience nerve-related symptoms in his neck. There should be some clarity on his status and next steps in the coming days, but it seems highly unlikely he’ll make it back with roughly two months left in the season.

Toronto manager John Schneider told reporters Barger didn’t require a full Tommy John ligament replacement procedure and is only facing a six-month recovery, which means he should be a full-go for spring training. The 26-year-old figures to be a popular late-round sleeper target in fantasy drafts next spring after a lost season where he was limited to just nine games due to ankle and elbow injuries.