MLB Player News

The Yankees activated Bednar from the paternity leave list Thursday.

Bednar missed all three games of the series against the Tigers as he welcomed a new baby to the family. The Yankees are idle Thursday, but they will have their closer available for this weekend's series versus the Twins.

Culpepper was held out of the lineup Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul's 3-2 loss to Buffalo due to an apparent left hand injury, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

During Tuesday's contest, Culpepper was hit on the hand by a pitch in the first inning. He was able to take his base, but he was then lifted from the game ahead of the second inning. According to Tollefson, Culpepper is still awaiting the results of X-rays on his hand and is being viewed as day-to-day. Culpepper had recently recovered from a left hip strain, which kept him out of action at St. Paul for just over two weeks.

Prielipp isn't listed among the Twins' probable starting pitchers for their three-game weekend series versus the Yankees in New York.

The Twins will end up going with a four-man rotation during their six-game week, with Prielipp having his turn skipped after he struck out a career-high 10 batters over six innings in his last outing Sunday against the Rockies. Prielipp has covered six innings and tossed 90-plus pitches in four of his last five starts, so the Twins may simply be looking to manage the workload of the 25-year-old lefty, who previously underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and a UCL repair with an internal brace in July 2023. If he isn't used out of the bullpen over the weekend, Prielipp will likely re-enter the rotation at some point during the Twins' home series with the Guardians that runs Tuesday through Thursday.

Keys went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's win over the Mets.

Getting the start at DH and batting eighth, Keys gave Toronto a 5-0 lead in the third inning on Canada Day when he took Freddy Peralta deep. It was Keys' first career homer in his third MLB game, but just his second hit in 12 at-bats against five strikeouts. The 23-year-old has a path to sticking around on the big-league roster longer than expected with Addison Barger (back/elbow) struggling to get healthy and not expected back until well after the All-Star break, but Keys will need to make more consistent contact to take advantage of the opportunity.

Miles (4-1) picked up the win in Wednesday's 9-3 rout of the Mets, allowing one hit and one walk over three scoreless relief innings. He struck out five.

Taking over after opener Braydon Fisher had worked a scoreless first frame, Miles fired 34 of 46 pitches for strikes in a dominant performance while the Blue Jays built a 5-0 lead before he left the mound. Miles has been an outstanding find as a Rule 5 pick, and over 54 innings and 24 appearances (two starts) he's produced a 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 55:17 K:BB. Toronto is being very careful with his workload given his checkered injury history in the minors, but Miles has put himself firmly in the team's 2027 rotation plans.

Foscue started at second base and went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's 9-4 loss to the Guardians.

Foscue stepped in at second base with Nicky Lopez moving to shortstop after Texas placed Corey Seager (back) on the injured list. Josh Smith was recalled from the minors and could see work at second base as well. Foscue is on a bit of run, having gone 5-for-13 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI over his last three starts.

Lopez started at shortstop and went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Wednesday's 9-4 loss to Cleveland.

Lopez played shortstop for a third consecutive game and should see time there in the short term after the club placed Corey Seager (back) on the injured list Wednesday. Ezequiel Duran had been the fill-in for Seager during a previous IL stint, but he's neeed in the outfield, which is also dealing with missing bodies due to injury. With Lopez shifting from second base to short, the keystone opens up for Cameron Cauley, Justin Foscue or Josh Smith. Lopez has hit safely in eight consecutive games, going 10-for-24 with two RBI in that stretch.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 9-4 win over the Rangers.

Hedges plated one run on a sacrifice bunt in the second inning and then gave the Guardians breathing room with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth. It was his second homer of the season and first since May 2. He's batting a career-high .270 this season and hasn't finished a season with an average above .200 since 2018. While Cleveland has four players capable of catching, Hedges and Patrick Bailey are the team's primary backstops.

Fry started in left field, batted leadoff and went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 9-4 win over Texas.

Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt inserted Fry at leadoff for just the second time this season in hopes of giving the offense a jolt, and it paid off when the latter belted a three-run homer as part of a five-run second inning. It was his fifth homer of the season. Fry, who batted .091 during June, entered the contest having gone 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position. The utility player will continue to move around the diamond while getting two or three starts per week.

Early has been diagnosed with left posterior elbow inflammation following an MRI, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

It appears to be a best-case scenario after Early was forced to depart Tuesday's start against the Nationals after four innings and then landed on the 15-day injured list Wednesday. The Red Sox have not yet officially determined next steps for the young hurler, but the hope is Early will be able to resume throwing soon. If that happens, it's possible the left-hander could rejoin the rotation not long after the All-Star break.