MLB Player News

Young was hit by a pitch during Thursday’s game. Fortunately, additional testing revealed no structural damage and the 26-year-old outfielder should be able to return to action in a day or two. Joey Wiemer will draw a start in his place in center field and will bat fifth for the Nationals against Giants’ right-hander Logan Webb on Friday night.

Gray gets the nod to replace an injured Byron Buxton (hip) on Minnesota’s active roster. The versatile 30-year-old has hit .232/.271/.333 with four homers and two steals in 182 plate appearances over a career-high 63 games in the big leagues this season.

Buxton has been battling a lingering hip ailment for the last couple months and didn’t look right at the dish after coming off the injured list last week, hitting just .160 (4-for-25) with zero extra-base hits in seven games. It’s challenging to forecast exactly when Buxton will return since the Twins would probably prefer that he finally put the hip issue to bed once and for all. Fantasy managers should anticipate a multi-week absence. There should be a definitive return timetable at some point in the near future.

Cotillo elaborates that it’s a tentative return timetable, which leaves open the possibility that Mead could make it back at some point in mid-September. The encouraging news is that he won’t require season-ending surgery after suffering a fractured left wrist when he was hit by a pitch during his Red Sox debut earlier this week. There should be a clearer return timeline once he’s cleared to resume baseball activities at some point in August.

Garcia is slated to undergo further evaluation and testing after experiencing renewed hand pain during his first rehab contest with Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday night. The 26-year-old third baseman has been out with a muscle strain in his left hand since late June. It’s an unfortunate setback for fantasy managers hoping to have him back relatively soon. There should be an update on his status at some point later this week.

O’Brien felt fine coming out of a bullpen session earlier this week after being unavailable for a couple games due to soreness in his back and oblique. The 31-year-old stopper should be ready if a save situation comes up at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night.

The move is now official. Wesneski takes the ball against a pedestrian Angels offense for his first start back in the majors since undergoing Tommy John surgery last May. He struck out seven over four shutout innings during his final minor league rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land last week. The 28-year-old offers some streaming appeal in deeper mixed leagues and is at least worthy of a speculative pickup based on the matchup alone.

Ullola has been jettisoned from Houston’s pitching staff with starter Hayden Wesneski coming off the injured list. The 24-year-old rookie has allowed three runs with a 7/1 K/BB ratio across five innings over three appearances for the Astros this season.

Vierling was lifted for a pinch-runner following a leadoff triple in the fifth inning. He’ll undergo further evaluation to determine whether he’ll require a trip to the injured list prior to Friday’s series opener against the Athletics.

Schultz earns a ticket back to the minors after allowing three runs on four hits and recording only two outs in relief against the Blue Jays on Wednesday. The 28-year-old boasts an underwhelming 6.40 ERA across 32 1/3 innings of work this season.

Krook refused an outright assignment to Triple-A and became a free agent after passing through waivers unclaimed earlier this week. The 31-year-old allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings during a pair of brief stints with the Nationals.