MLB Player News

The Giants are now 1-7 at home. That’s not good. Houser was solid over the first four innings, but he gave up a pair of runs in the fifth and two more in the seventh — the latter without getting an out in that frame — while striking out three and walking two in the contest. This is a pretty typical Houser start, and without the win, it doesn’t offer much fantasy value. He’s a risky option Sunday when he faces the Orioles or any other lineup.

Harrison suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s start against the Nationals. While Harrison noted on Sunday that he was cautiously optimistic about how he was feeling, the team will wait to get the results on that exam before making a determination on his status going forward. Stay tuned.

O’Neill winds up missing all three games of the weekend series against the Giants. He’s still considered day-to-day, so expect that he’ll return to action early next week. Leody Taveras will draw another start in his place on Sunday and will bat sixth against Giants’ right-hander Adrian Houser.

Barnes will add a fresh arm and length to the Cubs’ bullpen with Hunter Harvey (triceps) landing on the injured list on Sunday. The 30-year-old right-hander hasn’t appeared in a big league game since way back in the 2021 season with the Twins.

Harvey has struggled through his first four outings out of the Cubs’ bullpen, posting a 6.75 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and a 4/1 K/BB ratio over four innings and it sounds like the triceps issue could be partially to blame. No word yet on how long he’ll be sidelined for. Charlie Barnes was promoted from Triple-A Iowa to take his place in the Cubs’ bullpen.

That explains why Heineman didn’t play at all over the weekend while rookie Brandon Valenzuela draws his third consecutive start. Heineman is considered day-to-day and should return to action early next week.

It sounds like his placement on the injured list was done more so out of a cautious approach than an absolute necessity and had it been later in the season Springer may have attempted to play through the injury. Look for him to return before the end of April barring any setbacks.

The 29-year-old southpaw opted to explore the free agent market rather than accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, but ultimately, he made the decision that a return to the Blue Jays made the most sense for him. He’ll continue to function as extra pitching depth at Triple-A Buffalo.

The Orioles have announced Trevor Rogers as Tuesday’s starter, even though the southpaw was supposed to work on Monday, which leaves that spot open for Kremer’s potential return. He last worked at Wednesday at Triple-A Norfolk and would be on regular rest. The question now is whether they’ll move to a six-man rotation or if Cade Povich will get bumped upon Kremer’s return. Kremer is now lined up for two starts next week (vs. Diamondbacks, at Guardians) and is worth a look as a streaming option in all leagues.

It had been assumed that Kelly would slot into the Diamondbacks’ rotation at some point next week and now we have official word that it’ll be on Tuesday. Fantasy managers may want to take a wait-and-see approach before inserting him right into lineups.

Busch has been slumping badly at the dish, slashing a woeful .118/.220/.157 with zero homers, two RBI and a 12/7 K/BB ratio through his first 59 plate appearances. Hopefully a day off to clear his head will do him some good. Matt Shaw will start in his place at first base and will bat ninth for the Cubs against Brayan Bello and the Red Sox on Sunday.