MLB Player News

Astros manager Joe Espada said Sunday that Altuve (oblique) is expected to resume swinging a bat "in the next day or two," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve traveled with the Astros to Chicago for their series versus the Cubs but is slated to fly to Florida later Sunday as he begins his rehab program for the moderate left oblique strain that recently sent him to the injured list. He's already started playing catch again, but swinging the bat will represent a more meaningful step forward in his recovery from the oblique injury. Altuve still has multiple checkpoints to hit before being deemed ready for game action, but he seems to be making quicker progress than the Astros may have initially anticipated.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Sunday's loss to the Pirates that Guerrero (elbow) is "definitely a possibility" to play Monday against the Marlins, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Guerrero was lifted from Sunday's game immediately after being hit on the inside of the right elbow by a pitch during his fifth-inning plate appearance, but X-rays conducted afterward returned negative. Though Guerrero avoided a fracture and was diagnosed with a contusion, Schneider acknowledged that the 27-year-old was experiencing some numbness in his middle and pinky fingers because he was hit on the nerve of his elbow, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports. The Blue Jays will wait and see how Guerrero's elbow responds to treatment overnight before likely reassessing his condition during a pregame workout Monday. If Guerrero is able to take batting practice without too much discomfort, he could be given the green light to start in the series opener against Miami.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said after Sunday's 4-1 loss to the Pirates that Cease will undergo an MRI on his left hamstring, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Cease (3-3) was dealt the loss after striking out eight batters and yielding two earned runs on four hits and one walk over 4.2 innings before exiting due to what the Blue Jays described as hamstring discomfort. Though Schneider said that early testing on Cease's hamstring has been positive, the Blue Jays will send the right-hander in for further imaging to get a better understanding of the severity of his injury. Once the results of the MRI are available, Toronto will decide if Cease will be able to make his next start or if he requires a stint on the injured list. Cease is tentatively lined up to make his next turn through the rotation Friday in Baltimore.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said that Castillo will start Monday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento and will be used as part of a tandem with Bryce Miller, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

In his last appearance Tuesday against the White Sox, Castillo pitched in relief for the first time in his 10-year big-league career, covering 2.1 frames and allowing two earned runs behind Miller, who started and worked the first 5.2 innings. The two will be deployed in the opposite order for the upcoming turn through the rotation, and while Castillo should have a higher innings floor as a starter, his poor form of late could result in Wilson leaning on Miller to handle the larger share of the pitching workload. Though the Mariners are taking a fluid approach to the back end of the rotation, Castillo may need a positive showing against the Athletics to avoid a demotion into a more traditional bullpen role. He'll head into Monday's start with a 6.41 ERA and 1.55 WHIP on the season, with both ratios being the worst marks of his career by a considerable margin.

Seager (back) isn't slated to be re-evaluated for "probably another week," Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Seager hasn't played since May 13 and currently resides on Texas' 10-day IL. He had been tabbed for live BP on Sunday, but that session was postponed. There had been some hope that Seager could return during the Rangers' upcoming homestand, which begins Monday, but that now seems to be off the table. His timeframe for resuming game action is hazy and probably won't gain clarity until he's re-evaluated.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson said that Miller will pitch out of the bullpen behind starter Luis Castillo in Monday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Since being activated May 13 following a season-opening stint on the injured list, Miller has looked sharp over his first two starts, covering 5.1 and 5.2 innings in those outings while posting a collective 1.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 10:2 K:BB. The Mariners used Castillo for 2.1 innings out of the bullpen in Miller's latter start, and while the two will work in tandem once again Monday, the order that they pitch will be reversed. Seattle will likely let Castillo work a little bit longer in a starting role than he did as a reliever his last time out, but Miller could still end up covering the bulk of the innings, given that he's been the better performer of the two thus far. Pitching out of the bullpen may also increase Miller's odds of earning his first win of the season, after the Mariners held him to fewer than 85 pitches as a starter in both of his previous two starts.

Pearson collected the save in Sunday's 8-5 win over the Cubs, issuing one walk in a scoreless ninth inning.

Bryan King pitched out of the bullpen both Friday and Saturday and Bryan Abreu was deployed in the eighth inning of Sunday's game, so the Astros turned to Pearson to close things out. Pearson issued a walk to Pete Crow-Armstrong but got out of the inning unscathed after retiring the next three batters, needing 20 pitches (11 strikes) to get out of the frame. It was the first save of the season for Pearson and his first since the 2024 season. With King, Abreu and a soon-to-return Josh Hader (biceps) all ahead of him in the ninth-inning pecking order, Pearson is unlikely to see many more save opportunities this season.

Yoshida went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Twins.

Yoshida got the Red Sox on the board with a solo shot in the second inning, his first homer of the campaign. It also marked the 34-year-old's first multi-hit effort dating back to May 6, as he entered Sunday just 5-for-33 over his previous 13 games since that date. For the year, he's slashing .263/.355/.379 with one home run, seven RBI, 10 runs scored and one steal across 110 plate appearances while starting against most right-handed pitchers.

Walker went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer during the Astros' 8-5 win over the Cubs on Sunday.

Walker gave the Astros the lead for good in the fifth inning by taking Shota Imanaga's splitter deep to left-center field for a three-run homer. Walker has gone deep three times over his last two games and is up to 14 home runs on the season, which is second on the Astros behind Yordan Alvarez (15) and tied for eighth-most in the majors this season. Walker is slashing .265/.338/.531 with 37 RBI and 31 runs scored across 219 plate appearances in 2026.

Allen went 3-for-3 with a solo home run, an RBI single and an additional run scored during the Astros' 8-5 win over the Cubs on Sunday.

Allen blasted his first long ball of the season in the third inning when he took Shota Imanaga deep to left field. Allen came home to score again in the fifth before giving the Astros an insurance run in the ninth after his single to right field brought Cam Smith home. Allen has mostly operated in a utility role this season, but he should see some more spot starts in the infield for as long as Jose Altuve (oblique) is on the 10-day injured list.