MLB Player News

Pretty shocking to option your Opening Day starter after three starts, but Smith has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) on 12 hits in 8 1/3 innings this year with an 11/9 K/BB ratio. White Sox manager Will Venable said the move was made to allow Smith to work on command, particularly of his four-seamer, while pitching in an lower-stakes environment: “As he continues to work through the things that he needs to do to get there, we can’t have that happen here where it comes with the cost of wins, at the cost of our bullpen. Give him a chance to go down to Charlotte with a very clear, structured plan and really get back to dominating with the four-seam fastball. It’s what we’ve seen from him and part of his superpower, what makes him great. That will be the focus for him.” Smith should not be on fantasy rosters.

Cam Sanders is taking Urquidy’s spot in the bullpen. Urquidy had allowed runs in each of his last three appearances, including a four-spot against the Nationals on Monday, to put his ERA at 8.53 on the season. He’ll try to get back on track at Indianapolis.

Yates is trending towards a return as Jordan Romano has given up five earned runs in his last two outings. There’s no guarantee that Yates will see closer work, but he’s certainly got a cleaner recent track record than Romano despite 2025’s 5.23 ERA in 50 games out of the Dodgers pen. He may be worth stashing in deeper leagues for those looking for saves.

It’s unclear when Palencia suffered the injury as he hadn’t pitched since last Sunday. In the topsy turvy world of the Cubs bullpen, which somehow carries five left-handed relievers at the moment, our best guess is that Ben Brown would be in line for saves if the Cubs choose to use a traditional closer going forward. It’s possible this becomes a full-blown committee in Palencia’s absence. It’s great news that it’s not an arm injury — at least for the long-term — but the 15-day placement tells us this is serious for Palencia and something that could stretch well into May.

Yesavage threw 71 pitches in his third rehab start. Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the outing “was everything the Jays expected from a workload and velocity perspective.” He’ll make one more rehab start and could join the Jays in Anaheim next week if the team decides he is ready to go.

In theory it gets Lauer a better chance of a win, but it’s hard to recommend Lauer against the Diamondbacks in fantasy leagues considering the 9/12 BB:K ratio and 7.82 ERA.

Buried in that positive news is the somewhat-ominous “the Mets will want to do a supplemental MRI to ensure he’s OK before activating him.” Soto’s progression to return from his calf injury has appeared normal from the outside. Assuming things check out, he’ll be back at some point next week.

His ankle is “better today,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. Polanco remains out of the lineup for the Mets on Friday after a Thursday off-day. If only there were some sort of “injured list” where a player like this could be stashed.

The DFA -> elect free agency -> sign a minor-league contract -> get called up cycle took Pérez exactly five days. He’ll get the ball on Friday against the Phillies. It’s not a great spot for fantasy managers, but we’re very proud of Pérez for speedrunning the veteran live arm free agency experience.

A cause wasn’t formally announced. Angels owner Arte Moreno issued a statement saying that the organization is “mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons.” The team plans to wear a jersey patch saying “GA, 1972-2026" for the rest of the season. Anderson got one Hall of Fame vote after finishing his 17-year career with 2,529 hits, 287 homers, and a .293/.324/.461 triple-slash line. He helped lead the Angels to a World Series in 2002, a year in which he finished fourth in MVP voting. and made three All-Star teams.

In other words, the next time we’ll see Horton on an MLB field is likely either at the end of the 2027 season or the start of 2028. It’s a devastating blow for the Cubs, who haven’t gotten much good out of replacements Colin Rea and Javier Assad so far. They may be a team watching the trade market as we get closer to the middle of the summer for rotation reinforcements.