MLB Player News

All three players might have been non-tendered if they hadn’t agreed to terms today. ESPN’s Jesse Rogers said Merryweather will make $1.225 million next season. Thompson and Thaiss were both due something similar.

It’s a regular day off for Connor Wong, so Narvaez will slide into his spot in the lineup. However, Wong is hitting just 1-for-19 with six strikeouts to start the season and Narvaez is the superior defensive catcher. If Narvaez can bring enough value with the bat, he could easily push for more playing time. Both catchers remain off fantasy radars for now.

Jacob Stallings will catch so the Rockies are moving Hunter Goodman to DH and giving Bryant the day off. The veteran has started the year just 1-for-14 with six strikeouts; however, he’s unlikely to lose his starting job while he’s healthy. Fantasy managers should expect regular days off though.

Kyle Farmer has started four of the last five games at second base and has gone 3-for-13 to start the season. Freeman has the versatility to play all over the field but second base is his best chance to break into the lineup regularly.

Palacios was recently designated for assignment by the Pirates. He went unclaimed on waivers and opted to test free agency. The White Sox will add him to their glut of veteran outfielders who have operated on the fringes of MLB rosters like Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater, Michael A. Taylor, Corey Julks and Cal Mitchell.

The performance came against a solid Louisville team, the Triple-A affiliate of the Reds. Cameron had a strong spring training and made a good case for the fifth starter job in Kansas City before being sent to the minors. He remains the likely choice to be next-man-up should an injury happen in the Royals’ rotation.

Petty turned heads in his few spring outings in the Cactus League, but the former first-round pick is still just 21 years old, so a bit of a learning curve is expected. He did strike out four in the outing, but also walked two. Petty averaged 94.5 mph on his four-seam fastball on Tuesday, but he gets below-average extension and very little vertical break on the pitch, so it remains to be seen how it performs at the highest levels.

Kurtz went deep for the third time in his last four games, clobbering a 400-foot opposite-field blast off Keaton Winn in the opening frame. The 22-year-old slugging prospect has gotten off to a sizzling-hot start this season, hitting .476 (10-for-21) with three homers and nine RBI through five games. His combination of top-of-the-scale raw power and strong plate skills are going to lead to some monster numbers in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He figures to arrive in the heart of the Athletics’ lineup by midseason and figures to make an immediate four-category fantasy impact.

Ohtani – on his own bobblehead night no less – put the finishing touches on the Dodgers’ comeback with a monstrous walk-off home run to beat the Braves. Atlanta led 5-0 after the second inning in search of their first win of the season, but the Dodgers chipped away slowly before Ohtani sent them home with their eighth consecutive victory. The Dodgers and Ohtani look unstoppable at the moment and each seem well on their way to another incredible season.

It has not been a fun start to Snell’s Dodgers tenure. Not only did he not have his usual swing-and-miss stuff in this one, he got smacked for eight hard-hit balls against a Braves lineup that hasn’t been able to buy a run this season. However, every run was unearned due to two throwing errors by Max Muncy at third base. His first miscue would’ve ended the first inning without a run scoring and the next set Snell up for trouble by putting Stuart Fairchild on to begin the second inning. Still, it’s hard to be encouraged by Snell at the moment who now has a multi-year problem starting his seasons slowly. He’ll look to get back on track in his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Nationals.

The Braves, staring down an 0-7 start to their season, were in pure desperation mode in this one. That distress forced manager Brian Snitker to call on Iglesias for a five-out save after Daysbel Hernández put two runners on with one out in the eighth and fell behind Will Smith 2-0. That’s right, Snitker brought Iglesias into the game not just with two runners on, but in the middle of an at-bat down 2-0 in the count. Iglesias would then walk Smith, allow a two-run, game-tying double to Max Muncy, and later a walk-off home run to Shohei Ohtani. While he didn’t pitch well, this was a nightmare scenario for Iglesias to enter into as the Braves’ early season spiral only got worse.