MLB Player News

Blanco (elbow) is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery Friday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

It was announced last week that Blanco needed the operation to repair a torn UCL in his right elbow and now the surgery is officially on the calendar. He will be out at least until the second half of the 2026 season.

Athletics general manager David Forst said Tuesday that the target date for Kurtz's (hip) return is June 9 for the start of their series against the Angels, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Kurtz is not expected to resume running until Saturday as he recovers from a strained left hip flexor, so it's a surprise that he might be ready to be activated early next week. The Athletics have moved Tyler Soderstrom from left field back to first base to account for Kurtz's absence.

Walcott is slashing .269/.333/.612 with six home runs, five doubles, four steals and a 17.3 percent strikeout rate over his last 16 games for Double-A Frisco.

The Bahamian phenom is the youngest active player at Double-A and understandably got off to a modest start to the year, but he's accessing his huge raw power with regularity over the past few weeks. Walcott is slashing .249/.341/.449 with eight home runs, 11 steals, an 11.2 percent walk rate and a 22 percent strikeout rate in 47 games for the RoughRiders and he doesn't turn 20 until spring training next year.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed in an appearance on Jomboy Media's "Talkin' Yanks" podcast that Chisholm (oblique) will be activated from the 10-day injured list and will return to the lineup for Tuesday's game versus the Guardians.

Chisholm has been shelved since late April with a strained right oblique but is ready to roll after going 3-for-9 with one stolen base in three rehab games with Double-A Somerset. The 27-year-old had started exclusively at second base prior to landing on the IL, but he played third base during his rehab assignment and is expected to settle in as the Yankees' primary option at the hot corner upon his return.

Cobb (hip) struck out three while allowing one hit and no walks over two scoreless innings in his first rehab start Friday with High-A West Michigan.

Cobb was shut down at the start of spring training due to right hip inflammation and has taken longer than expected to move past the injury, but he's finally reached the last stage of a lengthy recovery process. He was sharp Friday in his first start at any level in 2025, retiring all six batters he faced on 24 pitches. Cobb will likely need close to the full 30-day rehab window to get stretched out for a starting role, so he's not expected to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list until late June.

Sandlin (lat) reported to the Blue Jays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.

Sandlin was given the green light to begin a rehab assignment after he tossed a live batting practice session Friday without incident. The right-hander has been on the shelf since April 20 with a right lat strain and will likely make multiple appearances in the minors before returning from the 15-day injured list. He could be ready to rejoin the Toronto bullpen around the middle of June.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast by Jomboy Media that Dominguez (thumb) will not be in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians.

Dominguez is still dealing with some swelling in his left thumb after injuring the digit when he jammed it into second base during Sunday's game versus the Dodgers. He will be examined by the team's trainers Tuesday before more is known about how much time he might miss.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday in his appearance on Jomboy Media's "Talkin' Yanks" podcast that Williams will be the team's primary closer while Luke Weaver (hamstring) is sidelined.

Weaver is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks after straining his hamstring while warming up during Sunday's game against the Dodgers. Williams was removed from the closer role in late April but has pitched well lately, yielding just two runs with a 15:2 K:BB over his last 10 innings.

Gipson-Long (elbow/hip) rejoined the Tigers over the weekend and is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list to start or serve as a bulk reliever Tuesday or Wednesday against the White Sox, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Jack Flaherty got the ball for Monday's series-opening win and Casey Mize is slated to start Thursday's finale, but the Tigers have yet to name starters for Tuesday and Wednesday. Detroit is expected to go with a bullpen game for one of those contests, while Gipson-Long looks on track to cover the majority of the innings in the other game in some capacity. The 27-year-old missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April and then left hip surgery in July, but he finally looks to be healthy again after completing an extended rehab assignment. Between stops at Single-A Lakeland and Triple-A Toledo, Gipson-Long tossed 16.1 innings over five starts and logged a 2.20 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 16:2 K:BB. He covered 5.1 frames and threw 53 pitches in his final outing with Toledo on Thursday, so Gipson-Long will likely be operating with a restricted workload when he makes his 2025 Tigers debut Tuesday or Wednesday.

Toro started at third base and went 1-for-4 in Monday's 7-6 loss to the Angels.

Toro, who had been the regular starter at first base, shifted to third base while Romy Gonzalez, fresh off the injured list, started at first. Toro is batting .306 with an .822 OPS over 19 games since his contract was selected from Triple-A Worcester. The two could share the position going forward after Red Sox manager Alex Cora scrapped a plan to give Kristian Campbell starts there.