MLB Player News

Junk retired the first two batters he faced on the day, but walked Jonathan Aranda to set up Yandy Díaz for a two-run homer that gave the Rays an early lead in the first frame. Junk would give up two more runs in the second inning, allowing Richie Palacios to score on a sacrifice fly and Cedric Mullins to be driven home on a fielder’s choice. After keeping the rays off the board in the third inning, Junk would allow two more runs in the fourth on an RBI double by Taylor Walls, but bounced back to pitch a scoreless fifth inning before being pulled with two outs in the sixth. Junk has had a rough two-game stretch, allowing 11 earned runs in his last two outings while also letting 22 runners reach base. He’ll look to bounce back in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday against a tough Braves team.

Wagner is up with Xander Bogaerts on the paternity list. Wagner will provide some depth in the infield for the three days Bogaerts is away from the club.

Bogaerts will be away from the Padres for up to three days. The 33-year-old will be replaced on the roster by Will Wagner.

As expected, Scott will head to Triple-A with Nathan Church expected to come off the injured list. The 25-year-old outfielder has hit just 194/.276/.258 in 184 plate appearances. While his speed makes him someone that fantasy managers should track, the lack of offensive upside makes it hard to imagine he’ll ever be a relevant player.

Diaz has been sidelined since May 4th with an oblique strain, and Javier has been out since April 8th with a shoulder strain. Diaz will likely need to make a handful of starts behind the plate before being activated, but that could come by early next week. Javier will likely need until at least early July before he becomes an option for the Astros’ rotation.

Matt Snyder of CBS Sports was the first to report the promotion, and it’s since been confirmed by every White Sox writer since. Montgomery is the 31st-ranked prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, and the 23-year-old hit .313/.429/.606 in 27 games at Double-A this season with six home runs and two steals before getting promoted to Triple-A, where he has hit .315/.417/.495 with four home runs, 32 runs scored, 19 RBI, and three steals in 29 games. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so the White Sox will need to make a few roster moves to call him up, but Montgomery could be added over guys like Henry Bolte and Ryan Waldschmidt if he were to be called up.

With Lamonte Wade Junior landing on the injured list, the Astros will turn back to Loperfido to fill the role as a left-handed bat in the outfield. Loperfido was put on the injured list with a strained quad back on April 17th and then was sent to the minors once he was activated.

Wade made an immediate impact on the Astros, going 4-for-12 with a home run in his first four games with the team before injurint his hamstring while running the bases. He will likely miss a few weeks and could return to a regular role in the outfield provided the Astros don’t trade for another hitter between now and his return.

Gonzalez, who is recovering from left shoulder surgery, cleared an important hurdle in his swing progression, releasing his top hand on his follow-through during batting practice swings. His surgically repaired shoulder has been able to withstand the force of those one-handed releases, which was one of the final steps before Gonzalez was deemed ready to play in games. He will likely need a lengthy rehab stint since he didn’t get any spring training at-bats, but there’s a chance he returns to Boston by the end of June.

There has been some speculation that the Astros could look to trade Alvarez at the deadline this year if they continue to fall out of playoff contention. The idea behind the speculation was that Alvarez would bring in a huge influx of talent for a roster that seems to lack depth, and it would rid the Astros of a defensive logjam created by Alvarez’s being a designated hitter. However, as Brown mentioned, Alvarez is in the fourth year of a six-year, $115 million extension, so there is no pressure on the Astros to trade him. They traded Kyle Tucker when he was heading into his final season, so there may be more reason to trade Alvarez after the 2027 season, if they followed the same path, but he’s not going anywhere for now.

Vaughn is sitting against the majority of righties while waiting for an opening in Milwaukee, but he’s batting an exceptional .364/.417/.557 with 17 RBI in 96 plate appearances when he gets to play. Tonight’s game was the first of his career with three extra-base hits and 10th with four RBI. He’d be a fine mixed-league first baseman as a regular, but things still need to work themselves out for that to happen.