MLB Player News

Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters Crawford will head out on a minor league rehab assignment after his next throwing session and figures to be an option for Boston’s pitching staff as either a traditional starter or long reliever by early May. The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since the 2024 season after missing all of last year due to knee and wrist issues.

Blanco heads to free agency after hitting .230/.324/.295 with seven steals in 73 plate appearances over 33 games for Triple-A Round Rock this season. The 33-year-old veteran outfielder hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since getting into nine games for the Royals last year. He should attract some interest as emergency outfield depth and a potential late-inning speed and defensive replacement on a postseason roster.

It’s a tough spot, especially in hitter-friendly Daikin Park, but Crow will get a chance to replace an injured Logan Henderson in Milwaukee’s rotation. The 25-year-old rookie has done a nice job in a pair of spot starts this season, posting a strong 2.61 ERA and 7/1 K/BB ratio across 10 1/3 innings of work. He’s a name to watch as a potential streaming option in deeper mixed leagues.

Funderburk gets the call to fortify Minnesota’ bullpen heading into Friday’s series opener against the Pirates. The 29-year-old southpaw has posted a solid 2.81 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 10/13 K/BB ratio over 16 innings in the big leagues this season.

Laweryson returns to Minnesota’s relief corps following a seven-week absence recovering from a forearm strain. The 28-year-old righty has posted a serviceable 4.26 ERA and 8/2 K/BB ratio across 6 1/3 innings for the Twins this season.

No surprise after Rojas was scratched from Wednesday’s start against the White Sox due to soreness on the outer side of his elbow. The 23-year-old southpaw will undergo imaging to rule out any potential structural damage. There should be a definitive return timeline at some in early June.

It’ll be Tyler Samaniego taking the ball as Boston’s opener before turning things over the Bello for a multi-inning outing. It’s the fourth time he’s followed an opener in his last five starts. The strategy has seemingly worked for the Red Sox as Bello has been much more effective in those relief outings than as a traditional starter. His odds of factoring into the decision are also exponentially higher when entering the contest later, which is a bonus for fantasy managers.

Brandon Eisert will get the ball to kick off the contest before Fedde makes a bulk relief appearance. The 33-year-old veteran was roughed up for eight runs over 3 1/3 innings his previous time out against the Giants last week. He’s not a recommended fantasy option.

Tiedemann will get a couple sessions under his belt before he’s cleared to start a rehab assignment at some point next month. The 23-year-old southpaw was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball just a couple years ago before injuries derailed his promising career. There’s a chance he makes it to the majors at some point later this year.

Macko gets the ball for his first career start after tossing four scoreless innings out of Toronto’s bullpen since being called up from Triple-A Buffalo earlier this month. The 25-year-old lefty is not a recommended streaming option for fantasy purposes, especially in a tough road matchup at hitter-friendly Camden Yards.

Castillo expressed some frustration with the piggyback situation following his last outing against the Athletics where he threw 68 pitches over four shutout frames. Miller has voiced similar displeasure with the situation as well. However, the bizarre arrangement has worked for the Mariners from a results standpoint with Castillo and Miller combining to limit the Athletics to just a pair of runs over nine innings their last time out. It’s possible the pair’s reluctance to pitch in relief will lead to Seattle changing their roles. It’ll be Miller opening the contest with Castillo following on Sunday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.