MLB Player News

The Brewers recalled Martin from Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Martin was claimed off waivers from the Diamondbacks last month. The 28-year-old missed the 2023 season following lat surgery and had spent all of 2024 at the Triple-A level, holding a 6.14 ERA and 8:7 K:BB over 7.1 frames. Martin had mostly been a starter in the past but has made a full-time move to relief this season.

Rosario has remained a regular in the Nationals' lineup despite his early-season struggles, and manager Dave Martinez hasn't given up on the 32-year-old, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports. "It's early," Martinez said Thursday. "You've got to give him a chance, you really do. I'm not going to sit him down yet right now. He's got to go out there and play. ... I've seen him play before. This kid can hit. He can put you on his shoulders."

At the moment, Rosario is handling the strong side of a platoon in right field while Lane Thomas (knee) is injured, but he's mired in an 0-for-27 slump that has sunk his slash line on the season to .086/.133/.157. Rosario has a history of slow starts, but even his xBA and xwOBA are in the bottom one percent of qualified hitters. Once Thomas gets healthy, the Nats may not be able to afford to stay patient with Rosario, especially with top prospect James Wood also making a strong case for a promotion to the majors.

Smyly (hip) has been cleared to begin playing catch, Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Smyly hasn't pitched in nearly two weeks because of a right hip impingement but is ready to begin ramping things back up. The left-hander seems likely to require a rehab assignment before rejoining the Cubs' bullpen.

Ortiz is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

It's the second straight game on the bench for Ortiz after making five consecutive starts, and he went 5-for-15 with five walks, three doubles, a homer and five RBI during that stretch. Oliver Dunn will receive another start at the hot corner Friday in Chicago.

Myers went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's extra-inning win over the Rockies.

Getting the start in left field and batting seventh against right-hander Peter Lambert, Myers led off the bottom of the fourth inning by drawing a walk and promptly swiping second base, coming around to score on a Nick Fortes single. Myers has seen regular action between all three outfield positions since being promoted in late April and has gone 5-for-11 at the plate with a steal, three runs and five RBI. If he keeps producing, Myers represents a threat to the playing time of the struggling Nick Gordon (.516 OPS) and Jesus Sanchez (.614 OPS).

Wicks (forearm) has been cleared to begin playing catch, Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Wicks just landed on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a left forearm strain, so it would seem to be a good sign that he's already throwing again. A potential timeline for his return, however, remains up in the air. Hayden Wesneski is occupying Wicks' spot in the Cubs' rotation.

Bell went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Thursday's extra-inning win over the Rockies.

The first baseman lofted a Peter Lambert curveball over the right-field fence in the third inning, tying the game at 3-3. Bell has struggled out of the gate this season, slashing .185/.273/.306 through 33 contests with four homers, 11 RBI and 16 runs, but the streaky slugger may be heating up -- he went 4-for-12 in the three-game sweep of Colorado.

Chourio is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

It's the first time this season that he's been held out of the lineup in consecutive games. Since April 16, Chourio is slashing just .140/.196/.233 while striking out at a 38.3 percent rate. Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick are in the corner outfield spots for Milwaukee on Friday.

Steele (hamstring) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Saturday, after which he will be reevaluated to determine whether he's ready to rejoin the big-league rotation, Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.

The left-hander felt good after he allowed three runs on six hits over 3.1 innings during a rehab start with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, and the Cubs are now determining if another rehab start is necessary. Steele could step back into Chicago's rotation early next week if all goes well during Saturday's bullpen session.

Smith (1-0) picked up the win Thursday, striking out two in a perfect 10th inning during the Marlins' victory over the Rockies.

Brenton Doyle led off the frame with a sacrifice bunt to put the phantom runner on third base, but Smith fanned Ryan McMahon and Elehuris Montero to deny Colorado a run. The right-hander then got rewarded when Miami walked it off in the bottom of the inning. Smith has seen little high-leverage work this season, adding only one hold to his ledger in 14 appearances, and he sports a 3.31 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 12:7 K:BB through 16.1 innings.