MLB Player News

Kuhnel, a 31-year-old journeyman with a lifetime 5.78 ERA, recorded his previous save with the Reds in 2022. He had the good fortune to face J.C. Escarra, Amed Rosario and Ryan McMahon in the ninth tonight, as the Yankees didn’t even try calling on Austin Wells or Paul Goldschmidt off the bench. Kuhnel had a nice spring and probably would have made the A’s on merit if not for the fact that he was on a minor league deal with no out clause. Consider him part of the ugly mix for saves in Sacramento, but we still wouldn’t suggest rushing to pick him up.

Crochet struggled with his command in the first and his fastball velocity was down about 1.5 mph tonight, but that still hardly seemed to explain all of this. His final pitch was scorched 438 feet by career .135 hitter Ryan Kriedler. It was the hardest-hit ball of Kriedler’s career by two mph. Just before that, Josh Bell crushed a double on the first pitch he saw, an outside sinker. Victor Caratini homered on the next pitch, which seemed like a perfectly fine cutter. It certainly gave the sense that the Twins knew what was coming. Maybe something isn’t quite right with Crochet, too, but we’ll see.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed Holmes made it through Monday’s bullpen session without any issues and has been cleared to take the ball this week. The 33-year-old was lifted from Friday’s start against the Athletics in the sixth inning with hamstring tightness. It’s an extremely challenging road matchup out in Los Angeles so fantasy managers outside of extremely deep mixed leagues might want to consider alternatives.

The Yankees have promising top prospect George Lombard Jr. still working his way towards the big leagues which means that Volpe will be their shortstop of the present once he’s ready for his season debut. The 24-year-old will need a couple weeks of at-bats to get back up to speed but could be ready to return to New York by the end of April or early May.

Díaz hasn’t pitched since last Friday when he surrendered three runs during an ugly blown save against the Rangers. The 32-year-old elite closer didn’t wind up requiring an MRI but did receive treatment over the weekend to address an undisclosed physical issue, which seems to be leading to some diminished velocity. It’s a bit of a strange situation, but it sounds like Díaz will be available if a save situation arises during Monday’s series opener against the Mets.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki told reporters Johnson will undergo further evaluation and testing after feeling a tweak in his hamstring. The 23-year-old threw just two pitches prior to departing the contest. Johnson has been on the shelf since early April recovering from a viral infection.

Gordon takes the ball in place of an injured Cristian Javier (shoulder) as Houston attempts to snap a surreal eight-game losing streak. The 27-year-old will be making his season debut at Daikin Park with a pretty favorable matchup since the Rockies historically tend to struggle away from Coors Field for a variety of reasons. He’s a risky streaming option after posting a pedestrian 5.34 ERA across 86 innings at the highest level last year, but there’s some appeal in extremely deep mixed leagues.

Langford remains on the bench for the third consecutive game since being diagnosed with a minor right quad strain that he suffered last Friday against the Dodgers. The encouraging news for fantasy managers is that he’s managed to avoid a trip to the injured list, which seems to indicate there’s a possibility he’s ready to return at some point later this week. Ezequiel Duran will patrol left field out in West Sacramento on Monday night.

Hurt hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2024 and holds a 1.04 ERA across 8 2/3 innings over four appearances. The 27-year-old righty will operate in middle relief situations for the Dodgers after Ben Casparius (shoulder) hit the injured list ahead of Monday’s game against the Mets.

No word yet on how long Casparius will be sidelined, but shoulder issues tend to result in lengthy absences. The 27-year-old righty has struggled to a bloated 9.64 ERA across 4 2/3 innings over five appearances this season in middle relief work.

Miller has been cleared to begin “rotational exercises” but isn’t swinging yet. It’s a confusing situation since Phillies president Dave Dombrowski told reporters last week that Miller had resumed swinging a bat. The 21-year-old top prospect is one of the more intriguing power/speed combo shortstops in the entire minors but he’s been ostensibly on the shelf since early on in spring training due to a mysterious back issue. It doesn’t sound like he’s close to returning to game action.