MLB Player News

The White Sox placed Leasure on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right flexor strain.

Leasure allowed one run on one hit in one inning of work in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Twins and will now miss at least the next couple weeks after posting a 6.27 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 18:8 K:BB across 18.2 innings this season. Lefty Tyler Gilbert was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move.

Walls (hamstring) remains out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

Despite the off day Thursday, Walls still isn't ready to return to the lineup and will miss a third straight start. Ben Williamson, just activated from the injured list Friday, will start at shortstop and bat sixth for Tampa Bay.

The Guardians transferred Arias (hamstring) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Stuart Fairchild, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move. Arias has been sidelined since April 6 due to a hamstring strain that he aggravated last week, but he has been able to resume baseball activities and could still rejoin the Guardians some time in June.

The Guardians selected Fairchild's contract from Triple-A Columbus on Friday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

With Steven Kwan going on the bereavement list, it opened a spot in the outfield for Fairchild, who has been swinging a hot bat at the Triple-A level this season. He's slashing .289/.417/.479 with five homers, 15 RBI, 31 runs scored, nine stolen bases and a 26:32 BB:K across 176 trips to the plate. Fairchild figures to see most of his chances against left-handed pitching with Cleveland.

The Cardinals selected Velazquez's contract from Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Velazquez nearly won an Opening Day roster spot with a big spring but then got off to a slow start at Memphis. However, the 27-year-old earned a promotion after slashing .308/.418/.600 with five home runs for Memphis in May. The right-handed slugger is starting at designated hitter and batting cleanup against Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga on Friday.

The Cardinals optioned Prieto to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Prieto was promoted in early May and didn't play much, going hitless in 17 plate appearances. He'll see more regular reps at Memphis, where he's slashed .311/.357/.566 this season.

The Cardinals recalled Crooks from Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

The 24-year-old will join the big-league roster after posting a .262/.412/.567 slash line with 13 homers in 39 games for Memphis. Yohel Pozo was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. It's not clear how much playing time Crooks will get, as Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages have split most of the starts at catcher this season, but Pages' .622 OPS in 125 plate appearances could make him the odd man out.

The Cardinals optioned Pozo to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

Pozo has played sparingly this season as the team's third catcher, going 8-for-33 at the plate. His spot on the roster is being filled by Jimmy Crooks.

Wicks is slated to start Sunday's game against the Cardinals in St. Louis, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Wicks will be making a second turn through the rotation, but he'll receive the start mainly due to the Cubs' dwindling pitching depth rather than merit. The southpaw made his 2026 debut for the Cubs on Tuesday, taking a loss in Pittsburgh after yielding eight earned runs on nine hits and one walk while striking out five over 4.1 innings. Wicks hadn't pitched especially well at Iowa prior to his promotion either, logging a 4.44 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 20:12 K:BB in 26.1 innings across seven starts.

Melton is slated to start in Friday's game against the White Sox in Chicago, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

As expected, Melton will remain in the rotation for at least one more turn after a serviceable showing in his 2026 MLB debut. The right-hander picked up a win Sunday while striking out three batters and limiting Baltimore to one earned run on two hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. Detroit will eventually get some pitching reinforcements with Justin Verlander (hip) and Tarik Skubal (elbow) due back from the IL within the next few weeks, so Melton could be battling Keider Montero for the final spot in the rotation.