MLB Player News

The eight-time All-Star finally nets his first career Cy Young Award, receiving 26 of 30 first-place votes, after finishing among the top six in balloting a whopping seven times since 2012. The 35-year-old southpaw finished last season with a league-best 2.38 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 225/39 K/BB ratio across 177 2/3 innings (29 starts) in his remarkable Braves debut. Despite his omnipresent durability concerns, Sale will enter next season as a consensus top 10 starting pitcher in fantasy drafts. Phillies ace Zack Wheeler received the other four first-place votes in balloting to come in second, while Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes followed with a distant third-place finish.

McKinstry will get a breather with left-hander Eric Lauer toeing the slab for the Blue Jays on Thursday evening. Colt Keith will draw a rare start against a southpaw in his place and will bat eighth as the Tigers attempt to snap a three-game losing streak.

It’s nothing more than a routine night off for the 26-year-old backstop after starting each of the team’s last four games behind the dish. Tyler Heineman will do the catching for the Blue Jays and will bat eighth against Reese Olson and the Tigers on Thursday evening in Motown.

The 32-year-old hurler will draw a spot start for the Astors on Thursday against the Athletics. Alexander holds an uninspiring 8.40 ERA, 1.80 WHIP and an 11/10 K/BB ratio over 15 innings between the A’s and Astros this season. While he remains an unappealing fantasy option, his familiarity with the Athletics may play to his favor on Thursday.

The 31-year-old hurler was signed to a minor league deal over the All-Star break. Hartlieb holds a 3.86 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and a 42/10 K/BB ratio across 37 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season. He’ll add a fresh arm to a depleted Tigers’ bullpen for Thursday’s series opener against the Blue Jays.

The 28-year-old hurler has an intriguing arm but has continued to struggle to put it all together when given chances at the big league level. Hernández made 11 appearances during his time with the Tigers, posting a troublesome 10.13 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and a 13/6 K/BB ratio over 10 2/3 innings of work. Geoff Hartlieb was added to the team’s 40-man roster to take Hernández’s place in the Tigers’ bullpen.

Laureano gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first inning off Logan Allen. The 31-year-old has bene one of the few bright spots for Baltimore, and he’s now slugging .521 on the season with 14 homers; four of those off left-handed pitching. With the O’s out of contention, it seems likely Laureano is heading to a new club before the deadline, but likely in a reserve/platoon role.

Henderson came up big with an RBI single in the seventh inning off Erik Sabrowski. The 24-year-old shortstop is now hitting .275 with a .797 OPS over 361 at-bats with 11 homers, 35 RBI and 13 stolen bases. A very solid season for most, but a disappointing campaign considering where Henderson was drafted prior to 2025.

Both homers from Kwan came off Charlie Morton, and both were solo shots. He also drew a walk to improve his slash .287/.353/.410 while upping his homer total to eight with 35 RBI. The 27-year-old has been the subject of trade rumors, but it seems very unlikely he’ll be playing anywhere but Cleveland for the remainder of 2025. One can’t help but wonder what he could do at the top of a better lineup, however.

Soto got the first save chance after Félix Bautista (shoulder) was placed on the injured list. He handled it well, but it’s worth noting he faced the bottom of the order, and also two of the three hitters he faced hit from the left side, so this could have been matchup dependent. Still, Soto does have closing experience, and those desperate saves may want to take a look.

Morton allowed two of his three runs on solo homers to Steven Kwan. The other came on a sac fly from Nolan Jones. He did walk four, but threw 74-of-107 pitches for strikes, which is a weird balance. The right-hander bounced back nicely from the seven-run outing he had Friday against the Rays, and he’s been a solid option for Baltimore after his disastrous first few turns through the rotation. It seems plausible that this was Morton’s last start as a member of the Orioles, but he is scheduled to face the Blue Jays on Tuesday for now.