MLB Player News

This was another poor showing by Luzardo who really needs to find his way back to form. Only allowing the one run is a massive step in the right direction, but his command is not where it should be. Too often he missed glove-side with his fastball and continued to fall behind the Cubs’ hitters. Then, when he managed to get ahead, his changeup floated away and his sweeper missed by too much. His 6.91 ERA is higher than every qualified pitcher besides Garrett Crochet and Luzardo has a tall task ahead of him with the Braves up next.

Weird to sit someone who just hit a grand slam last night, but so be it. José Tena is DHing for the Nationals — his first start since April 15 — and Jorbit Vivas is manning third base against RHP Freddy Peralta as the Nats look to continue the misery for New York.

It is against LHP Andrew Abbott, and while the Rockies haven’t strictly platooned Moniak against left-handers, they did drop him to ninth in the order against Brandon Williamson yesterday. On the season, Moniak is hitting .361/.413/.736 against right-handers and .067/.067/.267 against lefties. He probably would be platooned more aggressively on a team with better options.

Weird to finally get him a rest coming off a rare two-hit effort, but Edmundo Sosa will slide in against RHP Logan Webb in the first game of the doubleheader. Bohm had been hitting .128/.205/.179 as of April 21, but over the past week or so has boosted his overall line to .157/.228/.216. Baby steps.

He had started the five previous games, but he’ll grab a little rest ahead of game two of the doubleheader with Jerar Encarnacion taking his first start in six days. Gilbert’s off to a .243/.282/.405 start with two homers in his first 40 plate appearances. It’s about what you’d expect, as Gilbert showcased some power in his 39-game sample last year but also struggled with contact.

He’ll likely catch the second game, with Adley Rutschman behind the plate in game one. Basallo is losing workload with Rutschman back, as he’s started four of the last six games. But as long as he keeps socking dingers — he enters play today with five in 87 plate appearances — he’ll continue to get plenty of playing time.

He’ll likely start the second game. Smith has seen his OPS nosedive over the past week — he was at .868 on April 15, and he enters play on Thursday at .670, with just one steal or homer over that timespan.

White is the Athletics’ 9th-ranked prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The 40th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft was slashing .301/.372/.398 in 21 games at Double-A with one home run, 17 RBI, and one steal. He’s a high-contact rate hitter who has not produced elite power in the minor league, but did hit 48 home runs over two years at LSU en route to signing for $3 million after being drafted in the second round. That power should show up eventually.

Bolton missed the minimum amount of time with mid-back inflammation. It remains to be seen if he takes his spot back in the rotation or works in some kind of tandem with Kai-Wei Teng. Both pitchers remain off the fantasy radar.

Congrats to Ryan and his growing family. After a strong spring training, Weiss has struggled in his first season back in MLB, posting a 6.65 ERA in 21 2/3 innings across eight appearances (two starts). He should be back by the end of this weekend’s series.

Stewart has made five appearances at third base this season, but this is his first start. He started four games for the Reds there last year and plenty in the minor leagues, so we know he can play the position. What’s most interesting is that this allows the Reds to get Nathaniel Lowe in the lineup at first base and could open up a path to play both Stewart and Lowe when Eugenio Suarez (oblique) is off the IL and back at DH. This could be bad news for Ke’Bryan Hayes’ playing time.