MLB Player News

Megill might be the odd man out of the Mets' rotation when Frankie Montas (lat) and Sean Manaea (oblique) are ready to come off the injured list.

Both veteran pitchers are currently on rehab assignments, with Montas on target for a late-June season debut and Manaea tracking to join the 26-man roster in early July. Even if the Mets stick with a six-man rotation at that point, they'll have seven starting pitchers available. Megill and David Peterson both have a minor-league option remaining, but the latter has been the more consistent pitcher this season with a 2.80 ERA and 1.26 WHIP through 12 starts and 70.2 innings, compared to Megill's 3.76 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 13 starts and 64.2 innings. A trade would also solve the logjam, but as things stand, Megill might get bumped to Triple-A Syracuse in a few weeks despite being on pace for the best season of his career.

White will start in left field and bat eighth in Wednesday's contest in Milwaukee.

The right-handed-hitting White has now started three of the last four games in left field over Alex Verdugo, even as Atlanta has faced a righty each time. In the one game White didn't start during that stretch, he received three plate appearances off the bench and homered. At least for the time being, White seems to have supplanted Verdugo as Atlanta's preferred option in left.

Verdugo is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game in Milwaukee.

For the third time over the past four contests, the left-handed-hitting Verdugo finds himself out of the lineup, even though all four games have come against right-handers. Eli White is again starting in left field and might be re-emerging as Atlanta's primary starter at the position. Verdugo has produced a lowly .247/.301/.312 slash line over 166 plate appearances since being promoted to the majors April 17.

Manaea (oblique) struck out four while giving up two hits and a walk over 2.2 scoreless innings for High-A Brooklyn on Tuesday.

The veteran southpaw built up to 46 pitches (31 strikes) in his second start for the Cyclones, and he's put together a 6:1 K:BB through 4.1 innings for Brooklyn to begin his rehab stint. Per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Manaea is set for at least three more rehab starts before the Mets will consider activating him from the injured list, a timeline which could have him joining the big-league rotation as soon as July 1 against the Brewers.

Wrobleski is expected to serve as a bulk reliever in Wednesday's game against the Padres, Sammy Levitt of 97.3 The Fan San Diego reports.

Ben Casparius will open the contest and likely to work a couple of innings before turning the game over to Wrobleski. The left-handed Wrobleski has made two starts and one bulk-relief appearance for the Dodgers this season, posting a 7.20 ERA and 13:6 K:BB across 15 innings.

Double-A Knoxville placed McCullough (forearm) on its full-season injured list Friday after the right-hander opted for season-ending surgery, Greg Huss of NorthSideBound.com reports.

The Cubs haven't relayed whether McCullough's procedure was a Tommy John surgery or a flexor tendon repair surgery, but the right-hander won't pitch this season, and his availability for the start of the 2026 season would seem to be in jeopardy. McCullough will turn 25 years old later this month and has tossed just 14.2 total innings in the minors since the beginning of the 2024 season.

Casparius will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher in Wednesday's game against the Padres, Sammy Levitt of 97.3 The Fan San Diego reports.

Casparius is stretched out enough to provide multiple innings if that's the route manager Dave Roberts wants to take, but Justin Wrobleski is expected to absorb the bulk of the innings Wednesday once he enters the game out of the bullpen. The right-handed Casparius has been excellent for Los Angeles this season, collecting a 2.93 ERA and 44:7 K:BB over 40 innings.

Busch is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Busch went 3-for-17 with a pair of home runs while starting in each of the Cubs' last four games, but as per usual, he'll take a seat with a lefty (Jesus Luzardo) starting for the opposition. Justin Turner will spell Busch at first base.

Bender worked a scoreless seventh inning without a walk or a strikeout to record his eighth hold of the season in Tuesday's win over the Pirates.

The right-hander entered the game to protect a 3-0 lead and needed only nine pitches (seven strikes) to dispatch Pittsburgh's 5-6-7 hitters. Bender has a career-low 20.0 percent strikeout rate through 27.1 innings this season and a 10.0 percent walk rate that's just a tick below the career-worst 10.3 percent mark he posted in 2022, but he's generating enough weak contact to make it work, posting a 1.98 ERA and 1.02 WHIP. He hasn't recorded a save since April 1, however, and seems stuck in a setup role ahead of current top closing option Calvin Faucher.

Canario is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Canario will be on the bench for the third game in a row, with all of his absences from the lineup coming against right-handed pitchers. Though Canario appeared to usurp Tommy Pham as the Pirates' preferred option in left field in early May, both players now look to be behind the hot-hitting Adam Frazier on the depth chart. Frazier is a left-handed hitter, so Canario or Pham will likely spell him in left field when the Pirates face southpaws.