MLB Player News

The 28-year-old infielder returns to the Cubs, where he made his big league debut during the 2019 season. He spent the 2021 campaign with the Astros where he slashed a paltry .151/.216/.208 with one homer, eight RBI and a 42/8 K/BB ratio over 117 plate appearances. He’ll need a strong spring to have any shot at securing a bench spot on the Cubs Opening Day roster.

Smith is getting an extra day off to rest and recover after banging his left wrist on a play at the plate during Tuesday’s back-and-forth shootout at Wrigley Field when he also launched a solo homer against Cubs ace Shota Imanaga. It’ll be Austin Barnes handling the catching duties on Wednesday night in Chicago. He should be ready for Friday’s series opener against the Pirates.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza downplayed concern about the issue following Wednesday’s dramatic walk-off victory. Díaz tossed a scoreless ninth inning in a tie ballgame before leaving with a trainer in the ensuing frame. It doesn’t appear to be a serious issue, but it’s a situation fantasy managers should monitor in the coming days. He’ll presumably undergo further evaluation and testing to determine the severity of the issue. It would likely be some combination of Ryne Stanek, A.J. Minter, Reed Garrett or Max Kranick handling the closing duties if he needs some time off.

Hensley has been cut loose after getting off to a rough start this season at Triple-A Toledo, going 4-for-47 in 15 games. The versatile 29-year-old, who has gotten into 69 games in the majors over the last four years, will search for a new opportunity elsewhere.

Goldschmidt’s RBI double in the first should have been caught, but Angel Martínez misjudged it at the wall. It was a barrel anyway, leaving his bat at 104.2 mph. It’s already Goldschmidt’s fifth three-hit game of the year. He totaled nine of those in 154 games last season. He’s been stuck on one homer since March 29, but no one should be complaining about that.

The run came right away in the first and probably should have been earned, but Gabriel Arias stopped at third on a hit he could have scored on anyway and that ended up skipping past Cody Bellinger in center, resulting in an error. Rodón was pretty much unthreatened the rest of the way and finished up with eight strikeouts for a fourth consecutive outing. He’s third in the majors with 45 strikeouts, though he’s also tied with Robbie Ray for the most walks with 18 (he’s one of just three pitchers to have made six starts already). Rodón will face the Orioles next.

It looked like this could be a very early exit for Ortiz, but he managed to quiet the Yankees after giving up four runs in the first two frames, and he wound up with eight strikeouts. That brings his total to 26 over 15 innings in his last three starts. He’s 2-3 with a 5.96 ERA overall, so this isn’t yet the time to pick him up in mixed leagues. Still, if he keeps missing bats like this, the results will come. He’ll face the Twins next.

Volpe hit four homers in his first five games and had a few more nice games immediately afterwards. Since Apr. 7, though, he just 7-for-53 with two doubles and a 22/9 K/BB in 16 games, dropping his overall average to .198. More contact is a must.

This was better than some of the other 0-fors, as he did have two well-hit balls today. His ninth-inning flyout might have been a homer, rather than a flyout, had this game been played in New York, instead of Cleveland. Santana, who has started every game for the Guardians this season, is batting .204/.272/.209 in 103 plate appearances. With his strikeout rate up and his exit velocity numbers down, it seems like age might finally be taking a toll on the 39-year-old.

Justice went unclaimed on waivers after being removed from Colorado’s 40-man roster over the weekend. The 26-year-old southpaw will remains with the club as extra organizational depth. He’s made 10 relief appearances for the Rockies over the last three years.

Abrams is heading back to Washington to be re-evaluated after getting into a pair of rehab contests. The 24-year-old speedster might be ready to return later this week, but that’s not official yet.