MLB Player News
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Michael Wacha SP | KC
Royals' Michael Wacha: Takes first loss
Wacha (2-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Orioles, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out five.
After giving up a two-run homer to Pete Alonso in the first inning, Wacha would settle in and hold the Orioles scoreless over his next four frames. However, things would unravel in the sixth, when four straight batters reached safely against the right-hander, all of whom would come around to score. Wacha had been stellar prior to Wednesday -- he turned in quality starts in each of his first four outings, allowing just three runs across 27 innings. Wacha will carry a 2.51 ERA with a 0.93 WHIP and 28:10 K:BB into his next start, currently slated to come on the road against the A's.
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Chris Bassitt SP | BAL
Orioles' Chris Bassitt: Grabs first win
Bassitt (1-2) picked up the win Wednesday over the Royals, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out three.
It wasn't Bassitt's best outing, but the right-hander did snag his first win with the Orioles, as Baltimore rallied for six runs in the sixth inning en route to an 8-6 victory. He's yet to complete six frames in any of his five starts this year and sports a subpar 6.75 ERA, 2.06 WHIP and 10:13 K:BB. He's currently slated to face the Astros at home in his next outing.
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Tanner Bibee SP | CLE
Guardians' Tanner Bibee: Saddled with tough loss Wednesday
Bibee (0-3) took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings as the Guardians were downed 2-0 by the Astros. He struck out three.
A two-run home run by Yordan Alvarez on Bibee's ninth pitch of the game proved to be the only offense either team would produce, but the right-hander shook it off and stuck around long enough to record his second straight quality start on 95 pitches (59 strikes). Bibee's ratios are still inflated by an eight-run disaster in Atlanta on April 12, but he's given up three runs or fewer in five of his six starts to begin the season, posting a 4.45 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 26:11 K:BB through 30.1 innings. He'll look for his first win of 2026 in his next trip to the mound, which is set to come at home early next week against the Rays.
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Matthew Boyd SP | CHC
Cubs' Matthew Boyd: Reinstated before Wednesday's start
The Cubs activated Boyd (biceps) from the 15-day injured list Wednesday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
Boyd is set to rejoin the rotation with a start Wednesday against the Phillies after missing the past two-plus weeks with a left biceps strain. The left-hander threw 64 pitches and went 3.2 innings in his lone rehab outing last Thursday, so he might not be ready for a full workload in his first start back from the injured list.
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Brandon Williamson SP | CIN
Reds' Brandon Williamson: Shaky in loss to Tampa
Williamson (2-2) took the loss Wednesday as the Reds were downed 6-1 by the Rays, coughing up five runs on seven hits and three walks over 4.1 innings. He struck out three.
A third-inning solo shot by Junior Caminero marked the only extra-base hit off Williamson, but the southpaw has trouble putting hitters away and tossed 54 strikes among his 87 pitches. He's failed to last five frames in three of his five starts so far this season, producing a 5.40 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 15:16 K:BB over 25 innings, With Nick Lodolo (blister) getting close to making his 2026 debut, Williamson's time in the rotation could be nearing an end.
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Hunter Dobbins SP | STL
Cardinals' Hunter Dobbins: In line to serve as sixth starter
The Cardinals are likely to insert Dobbins (knee) as part of a six-man rotation during their stretch of 17 games without an off day that begins Friday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Coming back from last year's ACL surgery, Dobbins is slated to make a fifth rehab start with Triple-A Memphis on Saturday. That would put him in line to make his Cardinals debut as soon as April 30 in Pittsburgh, and he appears likely to receive multiple turns as the club looks to keep their rotation members rested. Acquired over the offseason from the Red Sox in the Willson Contreras trade, Dobbins holds a 3.86 ERA and 16:4 K:BB over 18.2 frames covering his first four rehab outings with Memphis.
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David Peterson SP | NYM
Mets' David Peterson: Working in bullpen this week
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday that Peterson will have his turn in the rotation skipped this week and will work out of the bullpen, SNY.tv reports.
While starting in each of his first four appearances of the season, Peterson struggled to a 6.41 ERA and 1.83 WHIP, but he delivered better results while working in bulk relief behind opener Tobias Myers in Sunday's loss to the Cubs, tossing 3.2 scoreless innings. Despite the strong showing out of the bullpen, Peterson's grasp on a full-time spot in the rotation still appears to be tenuous, and the Mets will skip his turn this week and instead call up Christian Scott from Triple-A Syracuse to serve as their fifth starter Thursday versus the Twins. The Mets haven't revealed their plans for the rotation beyond this week, but if Scott performs well in his 2026 big-league debut, it's possible that he sticks as a starter over Peterson moving forward.
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James Ellwanger SP | MIN
Twins' James Ellwanger: Out with elbow sprain
Ellwanger was placed on the 60-day injured list at Single-A Fort Myers on Wednesday with a right elbow sprain, Theodore Tollefson of Zone Coverage reports.
A sprain indicates ligament damage, though it's unclear at this point whether Ellwanger might need surgery. A third-round pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Ellwanger turned in a dominant first three starts at Fort Myers, tossing 11.2 shutout innings with a 15:5 K:BB. Now he will be sidelined for at least a couple months, and perhaps much longer.
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Lucas Giolito SP | SD
Padres' Lucas Giolito: Inks one-year deal with Padres
The Padres signed Giolito to a one-year contract Wednesday.
He'll earn a prorated $3 million, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The deal also includes a mutual option for 2027 that could feature a sizable buyout. Giolito posted a 3.41 ERA and 121:56 K:BB over 145 innings for the Red Sox during the 2025 regular season. Elbow soreness prevented Giolito from being available for the postseason, but he had a normal offseason throwing program and said earlier this month that he's been maintaining a pitch count of around 75 during live batting practice sessions. Per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, Giolito will be assigned to Single-A Lake Elsinore, where he will knock off some rust before eventually joining the San Diego rotation.
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Spencer Strider SP | ATL
Braves' Spencer Strider: Notches eight Ks in rehab start
Strider (oblique) struck out eight and permitted one hit and one walk over 4.1 scoreless innings in his rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Gwinnett.
After tossing 3.1 scoreless frames for High-A Rome during his first rehab start last Thursday, Strider moved up a couple levels for his second minor-league outing but was unfazed by the jump in competition. The right-hander pumped in 46 of his 65 pitches for strikes, topping out at 98.1 miles per hour with his fastball and inducing 15 swinging strikes, 10 of which came via his slider. Strider will look to build up to the 80-pitch mark his next time out in what will likely be his final rehab outing in the minors before Atlanta brings him back from the 15-day injured list. He tentatively lines up to make his 2026 MLB debut during Atlanta's three-game series in Colorado next weekend.