MLB Player News

Asigen (hamstring) was cleared to make his season debut with the Mets' Dominican Summer League affiliate Monday and has gone 0-for-3 with two walks through his first two games.

The 16-year-old shortstop was viewed as one of the top prospects in the international signing class this past January and received a $3.9 million signing bonus. Asigen missed the first month of the DSL campaign while recovering from a hamstring strain but should get plenty of at-bats under his belt before the season wraps up in mid-August.

Cairone (undisclosed) made his professional debut Thursday, tossing an inning for the Brewers' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate while allowing one earned run on one hit.

Selected out of high school with the No. 68 overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, Cairone was involved in a serious car accident near his home in New Jersey on Jan 2. Per JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 18-year-old left-hander was hospitalized for nearly a month and required an arduous rehab in which he had to relearn everyday tasks, but he began working out at the Brewers' facility in Arizona just over two months ago. Cairone is expected to stick around in rookie ball until the Complex League season ends in late July.

Triple-A Oklahoma City placed Eder on its 7-day injured list Wednesday due to an unspecified injury.

Eder hasn't made an appearance at the big-league level since May 2. The left-hander has spent most of the campaign at Oklahoma City, turning in a 4.29 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 20:11 K:BB over 21 innings.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Thursday's loss to the Cardinals.

The 31-year-old journeyman came to the plate with the bases loaded in the first inning and cleared them with a comebacker that deflected off Dustin May's ankle and went into shallow right field. Smith continues to see consistent playing time at DH against right-handed pitchers, but he's gone 19 straight games without a home run, managing just a .196/.259/.235 slash line over that stretch with two doubles and seven RBI. His declining production could prompt Atlanta to look for a more reliable left-handed power source at the trade deadline.

The Cubs optioned Wicks to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday.

Wicks logged a save in each of his two appearances during this stint with the Cubs, though they were both unconventional, with one coming in extra innings and the other being of the three-inning variety in a blowout win. The Cubs will announced a corresponding roster move prior to Friday's game against the Cardinals.

The Phillies will recall Banks from Triple-A Lehigh Valley prior to Saturday's game in Kansas City, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

The Phillies have a rare Friday off day because of the World Cup going on in Kansas City, so the Banks transaction will become official Saturday. Banks has posted a 5.86 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and 31:13 K:BB across 27.2 frames with the big club this season.

Atlanta designated Hamilton for assignment Friday.

Hamilton has allowed four runs with a 4:3 K:BB over 4.2 innings in low-leverage appearances out of the Atlanta bullpen this season. The 31-year-old accepted a previous outright assignment to Triple-A, so he could remain in the organization again if he passes through waivers.

Atlanta activated Young (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

Coming back from Tommy John surgery, Young was sharp in five rehab outings, posting an 8:4 K:BB while yielding just one hit and one unearned run over 5.1 innings. With a career 78:25 K:BB over 60.2 frames, Young could provide a nice boost to the Atlanta bullpen in a low-leverage role.

Atlanta optioned Karinchak to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday.

Karinchak was unscored upon in six straight outings before giving up one run in each of his last two appearances. He's being replaced with a fresh bullpen arm.

Castano (pectoral) is expected to begin a throwing program next week, MLB.com reports.

Castano will need more than a week to build up as he works his way back from a right pectoral strain, so he doesn't appear to be in line to return from the 15-day injured list until after the All-Star break. Before landing on the shelf June 21, Castano turned in a 3.92 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 17:6 K:BB in 20.2 innings over 10 appearances out of the Colorado bullpen.