MLB Player News

Atlanta plans to promote Munoz from Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, Hector Gomez of Z101Digital.com reports.

Munoz will be added to the 26-man active roster shortly before Tuesday's game against the Mets as a replacement for right-hander Michael Soroka, who was optioned to Gwinnett on Monday. With top pitching prospect AJ Smith-Shawver likely to move from the bullpen to take over Soroka's spot in the rotation, Munoz will fill the opening in Atlanta's relief corps. The 23-year-old right-hander will likely be limited to lower-leverage spots initially in his first taste of the big leagues after he compiled a 4.63 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 21:16 K:BB across 23.1 innings at Gwinnett this season.

Smith-Shawver could make a start for Atlanta on Friday or Saturday versus the Nationals, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Michael Soroka was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett earlier Monday, freeing up a spot in the rotation. Smith-Shawver made his major-league debut in relief Sunday in Arizona after Soroka struggled early on in his start, and the rookie fired 2.1 scoreless frames with three strikeouts. The 20-year-old barely has more than 100 professional innings under his belt, but his upside warrants rostering in most leagues.

Atlanta optioned Soroka to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

After being called up from Gwinnett last week, Soroka made a pair of starts for Atlanta in what marked his first big-league action since 2020 following his recovery from multiple injuries. Over the two outings, the right-hander surrendered nine runs on 12 hits and six walks while hitting two batters and striking out five others over 9.2 innings. With Soroka failing to deliver the sort of results that Atlanta was hoping for from a back-end starter, the team will send the right-hander back to Gwinnett with the hope he gets back on track and potentially rejoins the big club later in 2023. Rookie AJ Smith-Shawver, who tossed 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen in Sunday's win over Arizona, could be the next man up to join the rotation when Soroka's turn comes up again later this week.

Atlanta transferred Fried (forearm) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.

The move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for waiver pickup Luke Williams. Fried is throwing again as he works his way back from a left forearm strain, but it's going to take several weeks for him to complete the ramp-up process. As a result of his move to the 60-day IL, Fried won't be eligible for activation until early July.

The Reds selected Abbott's contract from Triple-A Louisville ahead of his scheduled start Monday versus the Brewers.

Abbott is slated to make his major-league debut Monday and will line up for a two-start week, with Cincinnati already confirming him to make his next turn through the rotation Saturday in St. Louis. The left-hander leads the minor leagues with 90 strikeouts thus far in 2023 to go along with a 2.50 ERA and 0.93 WHIP along the way across 54 innings between Double-A Pensacola and Louisville. Abbott's first matchup is a good one, as the Brewers rank last in baseball as a team with a .281 wOBA versus lefties.

Smith-Shawver walked one and struck out three in 2.1 scoreless, no-hit innings of relief during Sunday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Stepping on the mound in a big-league game for the very first time, Smith-Shawver showed little in the way of nerves and fired 22 of 39 pitches for strikes while topping out at 97.1 mph with his four-seam fastball. The 20-year-old right-hander began the season at High-A before rocketing through Atlanta's system, and while he may be in a low-leverage role at the moment, it's worth noting the team had Spencer Strider in a similar long-relief role for his first 11 appearances in 2022 before shifting him into the rotation. If Atlanta follows a similar plan with Smith-Shawver, he could be on track to take on a much bigger assignment after the All-Star break.

Rogers (biceps) delivered five scoreless innings in his rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Jacksonville, striking out five while ceding just one hit and one walk.

After striking out seven over four scoreless frames for Single-A Jupiter in his first rehab start last Tuesday, Rogers was similarly effective in his second outing while making a two-level jump in competition. The southpaw, who is building back up from a biceps strain that has kept him on the shelf since April 21, tossed 70 pitches (40 strikes) in Sunday's outing. Though Rogers appears to be stretched out enough to offer something close to a normal workload if he's cleared to make his next start with the big club, the Marlins could push his activation from the 15-day injured list back to next week while back-end rotation arms Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Eury Perez have all pitched effectively in their recent outings.

Freeland (4-7) was handed another loss Sunday against the Royals, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out one over seven innings.

Freeland had a perfect game going until MJ Melendez broke it up with a double in the fifth. Michael Massey drove Melendez home two batters later with a base hit to give the Royals a lead they would never relinquish. Freeland continued to move through the order but was eventually pulled after squandering a leadoff home run in the eighth to Maikel Garcia. The 30-year-old tied his season high by going seven innings and showed great control, although he didn't generate a whole lot of whiffs. It was certainly a tough-luck loss for Freeland, who picked up his last win May. 14. He now sits at a 4.06 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 44:17 K:BB over 71 innings and lines up for a home matchup with the Padres next weekend.

Stroman (6-4) allowed an unearned run on four hits across six innings to earn the win Sunday against the Padres. He walked three and struck out six.

After a rough start against Minnesota on May 14, Stroman has been locked in over his last four outings, allowing just three earned runs across 29 innings. That's allowed the righty to lower his season ERA to a sparkling 2.39. Stroman had an ERA of 3.50 or lower each of the last three years, so while he might not be able to keep up this pace, he should remain a strong fantasy contributor the rest of the way. Stroman is tentatively set to start again Friday against the Giants on the road.

Miller allowed one hit and two walks over six shutout frames in Sunday's loss to the Yankees. He struck out seven and did not factor in the decision.

Miller issued a pair of walks in the first inning but didn't allow a hit until the fifth. He forced double-digit whiffs for the first time at the MLB level, collecting 14 on Sunday, including 11 via the slider. Through three career MLB starts, he's registered a 16:4 K:BB and a 1.06 ERA in 17 frames. Miller's next start is currently lined up to be in Philadelphia.