MLB Player News

Nico Hoerner won the game on a sac fly in the 10th. The Cubs never gave Conforto a start against his former team in the sweep of the Mets. In fact, he hasn’t been in the lineup for any of the team’s last seven games. Still, he came through nicely today against Devin Williams, and he’s hitting .304/.448/.435 in 29 plate appearances this season. He probably should be starting regularly against righties for some team right now, but the Cubs aren’t that team and no one else seemed interested in making it happen over the winter.

Grichuk cleared waivers. Instead of becoming a RailRider, he will search for a new home. The 34-year-old was off to a .194/.212/.323 start for the Yankees in 33 plate appearances as a lefty-masher. A career .268/.318/.498 hitter against left-handed pitchers, Grichuk should be able to find work elsewhere.

He’ll start today’s game against the Astros for Boston. We wouldn’t send him into 12-team league lineups for his major league debut, but he has an 0.86 ERA in five starts for the Worcester so far this year, with only 12 hits allowed in 21 innings. He’s certainly a plausible play in deeper leagues.

Estrada will head back to the middle innings mix for the Padres after a short break with elbow tendonitis. Hopefully his velocity is recovered after his four-seamer fell from an average of 97.9 mph in 2025 to 95.0 mph at the outset of 2026.

“We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told MLB.com. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com notes that “Stearns and owner Steve Cohen have had no serious conversations about firing Mendoza even as two other prominent managers, Alex Cora of the Red Sox and Rob Thomson of the Phillies, were dismissed last month.” We doubt this will cool the temperature much on Carlos Mendoza’s hot seat — only wins can do that — but it’s noteworthy that Mendoza has the backing of his owner and general manager despite a 10-21 start.

Schumaker added the caveat “depending on the lane,” suggesting Latz might not get an opportunity in a clear stretch of right-handed hitters. Still, Latz seems to be emerging as the lead candidate for Texas’ closer role at this point and is worth rostering if you’re chasing saves.

He was outrighted off St. Louis’ 40-man roster on April 16 and returns after a stint in the minors. The 27-year-old is back in a low leverage role for the Cardinals as the calendar flips to May.

It’s Peralta’s second DFA in two weeks as he was jettisoned from the Rockies and claimed by the Cardinals in April. Peralta did not officially get into a game for any of the Cardinals affiliates. He had a 17.18 ERA for Triple-A Albuquerque in six appearances in 2026 before the Rockies designated him for assignment.

Marte missed Tuesday with lower back tightness, but we’re unsure if that’s what is happening here as well. Updates to come when we have them. Ildemaro Vargas, he of the 26-game hitting streak, is playing second base for the Diamondbacks this afternoon. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is also getting the day game off.

Cleavinger only threw five pitches in this outing, all strikes, but it also marked his second night of back-to-back appearances. That was allegedly the final hurdle he needed to clear before rejoining the Rays’ bullpen, so that could happen as early as this weekend.

After posting good results in a small sample last season, Suarez has a 6.61 ERA in 16 1/3 innings this year. He could rejoin the Braves on a minor league deal if/when he clears waivers.