MLB Player News

Rasmussen allowed two hits, walked one and struck out three. One would think his rotation spot is clinched at this point. He figured to have one anyway, and he finishes the spring here with a 2.53 ERA and a 9/2 K/BB in 10 2/3 innings. Expect him to be a nice mixed-league starter, at least for the first few months. Fatigue might set in afterwards.

Bowen is in left field and hitting seventh in his big-league debut against the Phillies on Tuesday night. The 25-year-old outfielder gets the call to replace an injured Ramón Laureano (hip) on San Diego’s roster after hitting .292/.362/.600 with 13 homers and seven steals across 49 games in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. There’s some intrigue here in extremely deep mixed leagues, but he’ll need to show he can make enough contact to keep his head above water in the majors.

Laureano heads to the shelf after hitting .203/.286/.374 with seven homers, 21 RBI and seven steals in 53 games. He got off to a hot start before really fading over the last couple weeks. It’s unclear how much time he’s going to miss at this juncture.

It’s merely a procedural move to free up a spot on San Diego’s 40-man roster. Pivetta remains without a return timeline and still hasn’t resumed a throwing progression after hitting the injured list with a flexor strain back on April 15. The Padres are optimistic he’ll pitch again this season, but that’s unlikely to happen until the second half of the year, if at all.

Dalton Rushing will handle the catching duties at Chase Field in this one. Smith has started six of the last eight games behind the plate for Los Angeles. He’s homered twice during that span.

It technically won’t qualify as a setback, but Báez wasn’t progressing as initially hoped from a high-grade ankle sprain. He received the recommendation to take some time off during a visit with a specialist last week. It sounds like he’s going to be out until after next month’s All-Star break based on his current trajectory.

Scherzer will need at least one additional rehab outing to continue building up his pitch count and stamina. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer has been on the shelf recovering from a forearm issue since late April. He should be ready to jump back into Toronto’s lineup sometime around mid-June.

Kirk will be limited to DH at the outset of his extended rehab assignment as he continues to work his way back from a thumb procedure that he underwent back in April. He’s likely going to need at least two weeks of rehab contests to get back up to speed following the extended layoff. Kirk is on track to rejoin Toronto’s lineup at some point in mid-June.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Naylor is available off the bench, if needed. Patrick Wisdom draws the start at the cold corner in his place. The 28-year-old slugging first baseman’s back tightened up on him while crushing a game-tying home run during the seventh inning of Monday’s series opener at T-Mobile Park. It doesn’t sound like a significant concern, but back issues can be complicated matters, so Seattle doesn’t want to take any chances. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day heading into Wednesday’s series finale.

The odds are fairly high that Voth return to Toronto on a new minor league pact after passing through waivers unclaimed over the weekend. The 33-year-old journeyman allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings during a relief appearances against the Orioles last Friday. He’s merely emergency organizational depth at this stage of his career.

Oswald Peraza is at shortstop for the second straight game in his absence. Neto told reporters that he’s feeling better and hopes to be available off the bench after passing concussion protocol. He added that he’s getting an extra day of rest out of an abundance of caution after experiencing whiplash symptoms following a home-plate collision over the weekend. All signs point to Neto being ready to return for Wednesday’s series finale.