MLB Player News

Walters (lat) was returned from his rehab assignment due to a viral illness, MLB.com reports.

Walters hasn't pitched since April 24. Once he returns to full strength, the right-hander will commence a new rehab stint.

Assad (3-1) tossed 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in Friday's 7-1 victory over the Rangers. He allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one.

Ben Brown started for the Cubs and gave them four strong innings before turning things over to the bullpen. Assad stepped up with some important length and earned his third win of the year and second in relief. The righty has a subpar 6.00 ERA across 24 innings so far, but that figure is inflated by the nine runs he allowed on April 13 and the six runs he gave up on April 25. Outside of those two bad outings, Assad has a sharp 0.52 ERA.

Murakami went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and two runs scored Friday against the Mariners.

Murakami got the White Sox on the board in the first inning and tied Aaron Judge for the league lead in home runs with 15. Murakami continues to showcase his prodigious power, tallying four homers in his last 10 games. He has also struck out at a 37.2 percent clip in that span, and he continues to have an extreme three-true-outcomes skills profile.

Sasaki is no longer lined up to make a start during this weekend's series versus Atlanta and is now on track to make his next turn through the rotation Monday versus the Giants at Dodger Stadium, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Blake Snell's (shoulder) impending return from the 15-day injured list had been expected to put Sasaki at risk of being bumped from the Dodgers' six-man rotation, but the latter will end up keeping his spot at least temporarily after Los Angeles placed Tyler Glasnow (back) on the IL on Friday. However, with Snell set to be activated Saturday for his 2026 team debut and with Justin Wrobleski in line to start Sunday, Sasaki will end up being pushed back in the pitching schedule to Monday, when he'll be taking the hill on eight days' rest. Sasaki took a step forward in covering a season-high six innings in his last start May 2 against the Cardinals but has still been the clear weak link in the Los Angeles rotation with a 5.97 ERA and 1.67 WHIP over 28.2 frames on the campaign.

Armstrong (groin) threw a bullpen session Friday, MLB.com reports.

The Guardians will evaluate Armstrong's response to the session before sending him out on a rehab assignment. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 23 and can rejoin the club at any time.

Happ went 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 7-1 win over the Rangers.

Happ extended his on-base streak to 29 games, which dates back to April 5. While the veteran's .243 batting average doesn't jump off the page, his .376 on-base percentage would be a new career high. Happ is buoying that on-base percentage with a nearly 17 percent walk rate, which would also be a new career best. As long as Happ keeps getting on base frequently, he should be able to score plenty of runs for the Cubs.

Waldschmidt entered Friday's game as a pinch hitter and singled in his lone at-bat in a 3-1 extra-inning loss to the Mets.

Waldschmidt drove the second pitch he saw into left field for a single in his first MLB plate appearance. The prospect was called up earlier in the day amid the Diamondbacks' offensive funk. It's unlikely Waldschmidt alone can fix Arizona's third-highest chase rate in MLB, but selectivity is one of his strengths.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-1 extra-inning loss to the Mets.

Arenado collected his first RBI in eight contests when he left the yard in the second inning. It was his sixth homer through 35 games, halfway to the 12 he belted over 107 games in 2025. He's enjoying a nice bounce-back season in the desert with a .769 OPS, the third baseman's highest mark since 2023.

Bubic didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Tigers, allowing three earned runs on four hits and four walks while striking out five batters over 5.2 innings.

Bubic held the Tigers to just one run through five innings, but things began to get away from him in the sixth. After walking the first batter of the inning, Bubic recorded two outs before giving up an RBI double to Wenceel Perez. The southpaw was replaced on the mound immediately afterward by Nick Mears, who gave up another double to Spencer Torkelson, allowing Perez to score. Some late-game heroics from the Royals' offense kept Bubic from taking his second loss of the season, so he'll keep his 3-1 record and take a 3.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP into his start next week against the White Sox. Bubic has gone at least five innings in all but one of his eight starts this season.

Montero took a no-decision against the Royals on Friday, giving up one earned run on three hits and a walk while striking out four batters over six innings.

After allowing a double to Jac Caglianone and a single to Isaac Collins to give Kansas City its first run in the second inning, Montero retired 13 of the next 15 batters he faced and finished the sixth inning with a 3-1 lead. A late-game collapse from Detroit's bullpen forced the 25-year-old to settle for a no-decision, but it was still a very strong start despite the outcome. He's allowed just two earned runs over his last 12.2 innings and will aim to keep the good times rolling during his next start against the struggling Mets.