MLB Player News

The Rangers selected Leiter's contract from Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Leiter is set to start Thursday's game in Detroit in his MLB debut after posting a 3.77 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 25:3 K:BB across 14.1 innings with Round Rock to begin the season. The Rangers are seemingly planning for Leiter to make just one start before heading back to the minors, but he could change minds if he pitches well, particularly with Andrew Heaney's struggles.

Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two runs scored Wednesday against Atlanta.

Alvarez took lefty Max Fried deep in the first inning to tally his fifth homer of the season. He had been quiet with the bat in seven games prior, during which he tallied no extra-base hits and batted just .136. Overall, Alvarez's line looks quite similar to expectations, as he's maintained a .289 average and .526 slugging percentage across the first 88 plate appearances of the campaign.

Pivetta (elbow) continues to play catch but hasn't yet advanced to mound work, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Pivetta was placed on the 15-day injured list and is first eligible to return Sunday, but he's not yet ready to help a Red Sox rotation that has been hit by the injury bug of late, as Garrett Whitlock (oblique) joined him on the IL this week. It's likely Pivetta will need at least one rehab start before rejoining the club.

Swanson (0-1) took the loss Wednesday against the Yankees, allowing three runs on three hits in one-third of an inning.

Jordan Romano had pitched Tuesday, Yimi Garcia had worked three of the past four days and Chad Green was unavailable due to shoulder soreness, so Swanson was brought in to protect a two-run lead in the ninth in his 2024 debut. The right-hander gave up a leadoff homer to Giancarlo Stanton followed by two more hits. Swanson would coax a groundout from Oswaldo Cabrera before he was replaced by Tim Mayza, who allowed both inherited runners to score. Swanson pitched to a 2.97 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 75:12 K:BB across 66.2 innings last season, and while the Blue Jays likely would have preferred not to thrust him into a high-leverage spot so soon after his return from a forearm issue, he would have been in the late-inning mix eventually.

Abreu started in right field and went 0-for-2 with a walk and stolen base in Wednesday's 2-0 win over Cleveland.

Abreu swiped a bag for the third consecutive game and fourth consecutive start; he ranks second on the team with four stolen bases. He has a history of high-volume attempted steals in the minors, so this flurry is not out of character. Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated earlier in the week that Abreu will be in the lineup against right-handers for the time being, which puts him on the fantasy radar. The outfielder has reached base safely over the last six appearances (five starts), adding five runs scored to his four steals during that stretch.

Gipson-Long is receiving multiple medical opinions on his injured right elbow before the next step in his rehab program is decided, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

He was examined by Dr. Tim Griffith in Atlanta last week and Dr. Keith Meister in Texas on Tuesday, and Gipson-Long may get a few more doctors to check out his elbow in the days to come. While receiving multiple consultations on his pitching elbow isn't a promising sign for his long-term outlook, Gipson-Long and the Tigers haven't determined a treatment plan just yet. He initially opened the season on the 15-day injured list with a groin strain, but clearly the elbow is the bigger concern now.

Arozarena is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Angels.

Arozarena will get just his second day off this season while he's stuck in a 2-for-23 rut at the plate that has dropped his slash line to .174/.240/.275 for the season. While Arozarena rests, Harold Ramirez will pick up a start in left field.

Paredes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.

Paredes will get his second day off of the season after starting in 18 of the Rays' first 19 contests. With Paredes on the bench Thursday, Curtis Mead will pick up a start at third base.

Altuve went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to Atlanta.

The veteran second baseman racked up his fifth multi-hit performance over the last seven games, a stretch in which Altuve is batting a blistering .467 (14-for-30). He was hardly cold before that though, and he's failed to collect a hit in only one of his first 20 games. On the season, Altuve is slashing .388/.462/.675 with five homers, two steals, seven RBI and 15 runs scored.

Yoshida is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

The lefty-hitting Yoshida now finds himself out of the lineup for the second day in a row, with both absences coming against right-handed pitchers. While the Red Sox haven't indicated that Yoshida is dealing with an injury, the consecutive absences as Boston has played shorthanded in Cleveland with both Tyler O'Neill (forehead) and Rafael Devers (knee) missing time suggests the 30-year-old might be banged up to some degree. Even if the Red Sox don't provide an update on Yoshida following Thursday's game, fantasy managers will still want to keep tabs on his status heading into this weekend's series in Pittsburgh.