MLB Player News

Watson heads to the Tigers in a rare post trade deadline deal as extra organizational depth. The 27-year-old righty holds an inflated 8.61 ERA, 2.09 WHIP and 48/30 K/BB ratio across 46 innings (26 appearances, seven starts) this season at the Triple-A level.

Lee was a breakout star in spring training and has gotten off to a slow-ish start in Triple-A. However, he’s been hitting in the middle of the lineup every day and slashing .255/.349/.400 with one home run, nine RBI, and two steals. He has also been playing some third base recently, and his numbers are better than Jace Jung’s at Triple-A, so it’s not out of the question that Lee could get a shot to fill any infield vacancy in Detroit this summer.

The veteran was playing in his first rehab game as he works his way back from his abductor strain. He’ll likely continue to play out the weekend in Omaha, but could return to the big league team as early as next week

The team needed to make room for Spencer Strider, so Thompson was sent back to Triple-A. The 31-year-old has thrown 3 3/2 shutout innings in the Braves’ bullpen without allowing a hit and while striking out three batters. He’ll get another shot in the coming weeks.

This move was long-awaited and is now official. Strider has dominated in his three rehab starts, allowing two runs on five hits in 13 2/3 innings with 27 strikeouts and just five walks. Obviously, Strider should do that to minor league hitters, and he hasn’t had to worry about being precise with the command of his pitches, just throwing them over the plate and dominating minor league hitters. We have to see how he looks against MLB bats, but Strider remains an elite talent and should be started against the Blue Jays in most fantasy leagues today. Zach Thompson was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the active roster.

Carlson has continued to produce at Triple-A, slashing .300/.462/.425 with one home run and three steals in 12 games. Meanwhile, Heston Kjerstad is slashing .216/.231/.351 in 39 plate appearances at the MLB level with 11 strikeouts and no walks. Kjerstad is going to need to start producing soon, or the Orioles could give Carlson another chance.

Devers is a former Marlins prospect who elected minor league free agency this offseason and joined the Braves. So far, he’s hitting .385/.393/.654 in seven games with two home runs, six RBI, and seven runs scored. It’s a small sample size, and Devers is just a .263/.325/.367 career minor league hitter, but the Braves have Nick Allen and Orlando Arcia as their two shortstops on the MLB roster, so Devers could certainly push one of those guys if he continues to swing ahot bat over the next month or so.

The 25-year-old has gotten off to a scorching hot start in Triple-A, slashing .311/.411/.672 with five home runs, 14 RBI, and two steals in 16 games. He also had a solid minor league season last year, hitting .285/.392/.489 across four levels with 16 home runs and 20 steals in 123 games. He also had a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League this year, hitting six home runs with a 1.194 OPS in 15 games. Alec Bohm is still locked in as the Phillies’ third baseman, despite his early struggles, and Edmundo Sosa would likely get the next opportunity if they gave Bohm a break, but Kemp is a name to keep an eye on this season.

Perhaps more importantly, Neto played nine innings at shortstop again. He’s scheduled to play nine innings at shortstop on Wednesday as well and then could be activated for this weekend’s series. However, Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher says it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Angels waited until next week to bring Neto back. Regardless, the time is coming, so you’ll need to stash Neto now if he’s available in your league.

Bobby Miller is set to start on Wednesday against the Rockies, so the Dodgers will clear space by moving Knack down. Knack looked better in his second start of the season on Tuesday night, but his spot in the rotation won’t come up until next week, and the Dodgers are hopeful that Blake Snell may be ready to return by then. If not, the Dodgers could still call Knack back up, but it’s interesting to note that, once this move is processed, Knack will only have one more minor league option remaining, so the Dodgers are getting close to the point where they can’t keep bringing him up and down.

Smith extended the Dodgers lead in the third inning with a three-run blast off Ryan Feltner for his second home run of the season. He later added a single in the eighth. The 30-year-old backstop is hot at the dish through the first three weeks, slashing .367/.475/.551 with the two homers and 12 RBI across 61 plate appearances.