MLB Player News

Nunez heads to San Diego after spending the last eight years in the Cubs’ minor-league system. The hard-throwing 25-year-old righty struggled in 19 late-season appearances for Triple-A Iowa, but was virtually untouchable at Double-A Tennessee, posting a microscopic 0.98 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 42/12 K/BB ratio across 36 2/3 innings (27 appearances). He’ll presumably compete for a spot in the Padres’ season-opening bullpen.

Fuentes also struck out nine and walked only one while throwing 50 of his 82 pitches for strikes. It’s important to remember that Fuentes just turned 20 years old in June, so even though he looked overmatched in his first big league innings, his career arc is far from written. He may get another shot in Atlanta later this summer.

Mountcastle has gone 6-for-12 with a home run and three RBI on his rehab assignment and may be close to getting activated. The 28-year-old has one year of arbitration left, so it remains unclear if Baltimore will try to shop him at the deadline or keep him as their starting first baseman if/when they trade Ryan O’Hearn.

The 23-year-old is hitting .284/.448/.567 in July with five home runs, 12 RBI, three steals, and a 13/18 K/BB ratio. He has 21 steals on the season to go along with a .303 average and .912 OPS. There is a good chance he’ll be starting in the outfield for Baltimore by next week.

This is Blackburn’s second straight solid start in Triple-A, striking out six, walking one, and throwing 56 of his 87 pitches for strikes. There is no clear spot for him in the Mets’ rotation right now, and the team is reportedly looking to add starting pitching at the deadline, so it’s unclear what role Blackburn may have for the remainder of the season. Perhaps the Mets could trade him to a team in need of back-end rotation depth.

The 25-year-old is hitting just .232/.259/.464 in July with four home runs, 13 RBI, and a 15/1 K/BB ratio. With no clear spot for him at the big league level, you have to wonder if the Reds would be willing to trade Encarnacion-Strand at the deadline to land a player like Luis Robert Jr. or other outfielders they have been linked to.

Fedde was acquired from the Cardinals on Sunday night after being designated for assignment following a 5.22 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in 20 starts this season. It had been thought that Braves pitching prospect Hurston Waldrep would be called up to start on Tuesday, but that does not appear to be the plan as of now.

Campbell has been working on his swing at Triple-A, in addition to learning how to play first base, and it appears that things may be starting to click of late. The 23-year-old is now riding an eight-game hitting streak and is slashing .407/.484/.667 since July 19th. It’s unlikely that the Red Sox use Campbell at second base with Marcelo Mayer (wrist) sidelined, so there may not be an immediate opening for him at the big league level, but the team would love to get his bat going regardless.

Grissom has been on fire at the plate in Triple-A with hits in 10 of his last 12 games and home runs in each of his last three. He has an .890 OPS since the start of June and is hitting .281 on the season with 12 home runs, 46 RBI, and nine steals. He doesn’t bring the base-running ability that David Hamilton does, but Grissom might be better at everything else and deserves a shot to play for Boston if Marcelo Mayer (wrist) is out for a while. Or Boston could use him as a trade chip at the deadline.

Sandlin moves up, along with his teammate Connelly Early, after posting a 3.61 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 86/27 K/BB ratio in 82 1/3 innings for Double-A Portland this season. Sandlin came to Boston before the 2024 season in a trade for reliever John Schreiber. The 24-year-old packs a high-velocity fastball that can hit 100 mph, a tight slider, a big-breaking sweeper, and a splitter. He has taken a big step forward this year and is part of an emerging crop of intriguing starting pitchers in Boston’s system.

It’s a long-overdue move for Early, who has recorded a 2.51 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 96/29 K/BB ratio in 71 2/3 innings at Double-A Portland this season. The left-hander has a mid-90s fastball that he released from a low three-quarters arm slot. He pairs that with an elite changeup that he has tremendous feel for, an 82 mph sweeper he uses primarily to lefties, a harder slider that he can pound the zone with, and a little-used curveball. The former fifth-round pick has emerged as one of the top pitching prospects in the Red Sox organization and could push for big league starts in 2026.