MLB Player News

Littell is slated to follow an opener in Monday's game against the Guardians, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

Left-hander PJ Poulin will open things for the Nationals before Littell carries the bulk of the workload. Littell had a rough April but has settled in in May, posting a 2.55 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 7:4 K:BB over 17.2 frames covering two starts and two bulk-relief appearances.

Poulin will be the Nationals' opening pitcher in Monday's game versus the Guardians, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

It will be the sixth opener assignment this season for Poulin, who has permitted only one run with a 5:1 K:BB over 6.1 innings in the first five of those outings. Zack Littell is in line for bulk relief duty for the Nationals on Monday.

The Mets outrighted Kimbrel to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday.

Kimbrel will presumably elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, but he doesn't seem to have officially done that yet. The veteran reliever was booted off the Mets' 40-man roster last week after posting a 6.00 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 15:6 K:BB over 15 innings.

Kelly went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Astros.

Kelly and Michael Busch were the only Chicago hitters with multiple hits on the day as the Cubs lost their eighth straight contest. Despite the team's struggles recently, Kelly has remained a bright spot with a .296/.380/.392 slash line across 39 games. The batting average and on-base percentage would be new career bests for the veteran catcher, who has held onto his role as Chicago's top backstop ahead of Miguel Amaya due to his strong play.

The Reds optioned Petty to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday.

Petty was up as the 27th man during Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals, getting charged with four runs over five frames as a spot starter in the night cap of the twin bill. He's permitted seven earned runs across 10.2 frames during his brief time with the Reds this season. Petty will now rejoin the rotation at Louisville.

Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Cruz entered Sunday's game having hit only .179 across his last 10 games, while having gone homerless in his last 11 contests. He ended the latter drought with a solo home run to lead off the second inning, his 11th long ball of the year. Cruz was also moved out of the leadoff spot against a right-handed pitcher for only the third time this season, instead hitting fifth.

Horwitz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Horwitz went yard on the first pitch of the game, tallying his fifth homer of the season. He served as Pittsburgh's leadoff hitter for the second time this season, displacing Oneil Cruz. Horwitz has been solid in May, tallying two home runs, 13 RBI and seven runs scored while hitting .306 across 19 games.

Troy started in left field and went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored in Sunday's 9-1 win over Colorado.

Troy, who made his MLB debut Sunday, doubled and scored in the second and sixth innings. He was called up from Triple-A Reno when the Diamondbacks placed left fielder Lourdes Gurriel (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list. Troy joins a group of potential fill-ins that includes Jorge Barrosa and Tim Tawa, but manager Torey Lovullo indicated that Troy will get plenty of opportunities while Gurriel is out, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Waldschmidt went 2-for-4 with an RBI triple, a run scored and a stolen base in Sunday's win over Colorado.

Waldschmidt got in on the offensive onslaught, sending a rocket past center fielder Jake McCarthy for an RBI triple, the first three-bagger of the rookie's big-league career. While Waldschmidt is still searching for his first homer, the top prospect has been fantastic since being promoted May 8. Across 57 plate appearances, the 23-year-old is slashing .353/.411/.471 with four doubles, seven RBI, nine runs and five stolen bases.

Pages went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Brewers.

After racking up 86 RBI in 581 regular-season at-bats during a breakout 2025 campaign, Pages is on pace for even better numbers in 2026. The 25-year-old center fielder is tied with CJ Abrams for the top mark in the major leagues in RBI (45), putting him well within striking distance of his first career 100-RBI season if he stays healthy. With 11 long balls through 195 at-bats thus far, Pages also has a decent chance at his first 30-homer year.