MLB Player News

Mathis requested his release and it was granted. The veteran catcher signed a minor league contract with Philly in February, but it had become clear that he would not be part of the Opening Day roster out of camp. This is generally a good sign for the status of J.T. Realmuto, who’s working back from a small thumb fracture.

Allen will sit for the second straight contest after being hit by a pitch on the hand during Thursday’s game against the Phillies. The 26-year-old middle infielder is a non-factor for fantasy purposes, but he’s played almost everyday this season for Atlanta as a result of his defensive prowess at shortstop. It’ll be Luke Williams filling in on Saturday against the Red Sox.

It’s unclear how long New York will stick with a six-man rotation, but the extra rest can only be a positive for the rest of the starters. The move became necessary with Blackburn’s rehab assignment over after a handful of strong outings at the Triple-A level. Monday’s original scheduled starter, Tylor Megill, will take the ball on Tuesday instead.

Hiura joins Colorado’s roster prior to Saturday’s game against the Mets in the wake of Michael Toglia’s demotion. The 28-year-old former top prospect has bounced around the past few years, putting up big-time numbers in the high-octane Pacific Coast League environments at the Triple-A level, but never really hitting in the majors. We’ll never write someone off completely, but the odds of Hiura excelling in the majors feel extremely long at this stage of his career.

This one felt inevitable after Toglia struck out in 39.1 percent of 207 plate appearances over 54 games to open the season, which resulted in a calamitous .194/.266/.349 triple-slash line. The 26-year-old all-or-nothing slugger will retreat to the minors and attempt to iron things out away from the spotlight. There was legitimate reason for optimism for fantasy purposes after last year’s 25-homer, 10-steal breakthrough campaign. Unfortunately, his plate skills have cratered to the point that he became unplayable for the Rockies and fantasy managers.

Schunk loses his spot on Colorado’s 40-man roster to make room for Keston Hiura to come up from Triple-A Albuquerque ahead of Saturday’s game against the Mets. The 27-year-old hit .214 in 11 games earlier this season in the big leagues.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters Harper will attempt to swing a bat this weekend and they don’t anticipate him requiring a trip to the injured list. The 32-year-old fantasy superstar will sit out his fourth straight contest on Saturday after being hit by a pitch earlier this week on his surgically-repaired elbow. He’ll presumably get a couple additional days off to let the pain and inflammation subside, but we’re not dismissing the possibility that he might need a trip to the injured list.

García will get some extra time off in an effort to reset mentally after hitting .208 with seven homers and five steals over 56 games to open the season. The 32-year-old slugger figures to be back in right field later this weekend, but it’s possible Rangers manager Bruce Bochy gives him the entire series off to get away from the game.

Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters Saturday that Alvarez is 60 percent healed now and added that the fracture wasn’t found until inflammation subsided to the point it showed up on imaging. He continued that the 27-year-old superstar has been shut down from swinging for a while, but is expected to return in the “near future.” It’s an alarming development, but it certainly explains why Alvarez’s recovery seemingly plateaued in recent weeks as he continued to experience discomfort while swinging a bat. There isn’t a definitive timetable for his return at the moment and fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back for at least another few weeks, even in a best-case scenario.

Wallner returns to Minnesota’s lineup after homering five times in six minor league rehab contests fro Triple-A St. Paul. The 27-year-old slugging outfielder has been out since mid-April recovering from a hamstring strain. His return gives the Twins their Opening Day lineup fully healthy for the first time in nearly two months.

Keirsey returns to the minors after hitting .109 (7-for-64) with one homer and five steals over 45 games in a reserve role off Minnesota’s bench. He projects as a fourth outfielder moving forward.