MLB Player News

Villalobos heads back to the minors to make room for Jesús Luzardo to return from the injured list ahead of Saturday’s showdown against th Philies after allowing one run over 4 1/3 innings in three appearances for the Marlins.

Zastryzny continues his tour of the NL Central by joining Milwaukee’s bullpen mix ahead of Saturday’s game against the Cubs with fellow southpaw Jared Koenig headed to the injured list due to left forearm tendinitis. The 32-year-old journeyman lefty has made 45 appearances (two starts) in the big leagues dating back to 2016.

Koenig has been an unexpected revelation this season for Milwaukee, recording seven victories in relief to accompany a sparkling 1.66 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 36/11 K/BB ratio across 38 innings (29 appearances, five starts). No word yet on how long he’ll wind up sidelined.

Roller got into one game earlier this season for Milwaukee and finds himself off the club’s 40-man roster to make room for veteran reliever Rob Zastryzny in advance of Saturday’s game against the Cubs. The 27-year-old outfielder has batted just .198 with two homers and six steals in 43 games this season in the minors.

Hamilton has hit a bit of a rough patch over the last few days with just four hits in 20 at-bats over his last seven games. He does have one homer and three steals during that span. The 26-year-old speedster has been one of the more unexpected first-half breakout performers from a fantasy standpoint with five homers and 21 steals in 55 games after batting .121 in a brief 15-game cameo last year in Boston.

This certainly qualifies as a welcome surprise for fantasy managers following Springer’s early exit from Friday’s game against the Yankees after being hit on his left hand by a 93.5 mph fastball. The positive news here is that precautionary X-rays came back negative for any fractures and the fact that he’s already back in the lineup means that the swelling isn’t bad enough that it’s preventing him from gripping a bat. It’s been a down year offensively for the 34-year-old veteran outfielder, but the Blue Jays need his bat in the lineup if they’re going to have any shot at turning things around before the trade deadline.

Fraley is back in right field and batting cleanup on Saturday afternoon following a three-game absence due to a right calf issue. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to wind up missing any additional time, but we’ll see.

As expected, Candelario is sitting out Saturday’s contest due to right knee tendinitis, but there’s optimism he’ll be ready to return for Sunday’s series finale.

Blackmon returns following a minimum stay on the injured list recovering from a mild right hamstring strain. The 37-year-old outfielder was one of the premier five-category impact contributors in the entire fantasy landscape earlier in his career, but has remained a decent plug-in streaming option for fantasy managers during Coors Field homestands. He’s batting .266/.337/.410 with three homers and five steals in 246 plate appearances this season, splitting time between right field and designated hitter.

Bouchard’s latest stint with the Rockies resulted in just two hits over four contests as he heads back to the minors with veteran Charlie Blackmon back from the injured list prior to Saturday’s game against the White Sox.

Talk about finishing strong. All indications are that Wood is headed to the majors on Monday for his big-league debut when the Nationals kick off a series against the division-rival Mets, but he’s not quite done mashing in the minors just yet. The 21-year-old showed why he’s one of the most exciting prospects in the fantasy landscape in this one by scalding a season-high three doubles on Friday evening to raise his triple-slash line to a sublime .353/.463/.595 with 10 homers and 10 steals across 52 games this season for Triple-A Rochester. He’s ready.