MLB Player News

Blevins posted a 3.90 ERA and 37/16 K/BB ratio over 32 1/3 innings for the Braves last season. It’s fair to question how useful the 36-year-old can be with the three-batter minimum being instituted, but on a minor league deal there’s no risk.

Baddoo heads back to the minors to make room for Casey Mize to come off the injured list for Saturday’s start against the Guardians. The 26-year-old outfielder has struggled to carve out a role at the highest level in recent years.

Kriske gets the call to join Chicago’s bullpen after compiling a strong 3.38 ERA and 28/8 K/BB ratio across 18 2/3 innings (13 appearances) this season for Triple-A Iowa. The 31-year-old journeyman last pitched in the majors during the 2023 season when he made four relief appearances for the Royals.

Merryweather has been jettisoned from Chicago’s bullpen after struggling to a bloated 5.79 ERA and 15/11 K/BB ratio across 18 2/3 innings (21 appearances) this season. The hard-throwing 33-year-old has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career, but he’s made 152 appearances in the big leagues since 2020.

It’s happening. Mayer will arrive at Fenway Park prior to the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Orioles with veteran third baseman Alex Bregman (quad) likely heading to the injured list. The 22-year-old top prospect, who was the fourth-overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, is capable of handling multiple infield spots defensively and has put together a strong season at the plate for Triple-A Worcester, batting .271/.347/.471 with nine homers and two steals in 43 games. He doesn’t offer astronomical upside from a fantasy standpoint, but there are no glaring deficiencies in his offensive profile and he figures to contribute across all five standard categories. Mayer figures to take over at the hot corner during Bregman’s absence and is worthy of a speculative roster spot, especially in deeper fantasy formats.

Mayer, who went 2-for-4 with his ninth home run of the season on Friday night, is out of the lineup for precautionary reasons, according to Triple-A manager Chad Tracey, in case he’s needed in Boston at some point this weekend with veteran Alex Bregman potentially hitting the injured list with a quad issue. The 22-year-old top prospect is worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues, even if he doesn’t possess stratospheric offensive upside.

Shaw has collected at least one hit in three of the four games he’s started since returning to the majors earlier this week. The Cubs are going to let him continue to figure things out towards the bottom of the order for now. It’s an encouraging development that he’s looking a bit more comfortable at the dish in his second go-around in the big leagues.

Semien has been mired in one of the worst prolonged stretches of his entire career, hitting .177/.267/.232 with three homers and two steals through 51 games this season. There are no easy answers here since virtually every underlying metric suggests he’s not close to turning things around and he’s striking out at a career-worst 22.3 percent clip. It’s possible his days as a fantasy-relevant contributor are over especially since he’ll turn 35 years old in September.

Bellinger is back after sitting out Friday’s series opener in Colorado. The 29-year-old center fielder has been on an absolute tear recently, hitting .361 (22-for-61) with five homers and 13 RBI over his last 15 games.

This certainly qualifies as a shakeup. Baldwin has been on fire in recent weeks, hitting .442 (19-for-43) with three homers over his last 15 games, and Atlanta is going to give him a shot hitting behind top-of-the-order igniter Ronald Acuña Jr. and move Austin Riley, who is hitting .233 (14-for-60) with zero homers over his last 15 games, down to the fifth spot in the order. We’ll see if it’s a temporary move or more of a permanent decision in the coming days.