MLB Player News

Cortez has been promoted to Double-A Rocket City and will be used in a relief role moving forward, Taylor Blake Ward of TheSportingTribune.com reports.

A second-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft, Cortez was used primarily as a reliever in college, but the Angels had attempted to develop him as a starting pitcher. However, while Cortez has shown good stuff in the minors, an 18.4 percent walk rate left the Angels little choice but to shift the righty to the bullen. Cortez could move quickly as a reliever, and he's in an organization known for aggressively promoting its prospects.

Berrios (elbow) surrendered seven earned runs on six hits and four walks while striking out one batter across 3.2 innings in his rehab start Sunday with Triple-A Buffalo.

Berrios tossed exactly 70 pitches for the second straight rehab appearance, but he lacked both command and control once again. After beginning his rehab assignment with a pair of starts in the Florida State League, Berrios has posted a 14.09 ERA, 2.22 WHIP and 3:6 K:BB while serving up five home runs over 7.2 innings since shifting to Triple-A. At this point, Berrios looks to be fully stretched out for a starting role, but his poor results in his last two outings with Buffalo don't offer much confidence that he would represent an upgrade over Eric Lauer at the back end of the rotation. The Blue Jays may wait and see how Lauer fares during his upcoming start Monday at Tampa Bay before determining Berrios's next steps.

The Cubs outrighted Cowles to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday.

After being booted off the 40-man roster last week, Cowles has passed through waivers unclaimed. He will remain in the organization as infield depth.

Barger (ankles) went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run home run while serving as the designated hitter in his first rehab game with Single-A Dunedin on Sunday.

The Blue Jays have not revealed their plans for Barger's rehab assignment, but Keegan Matheson of MLB.com suggests the likely plan is for Barger to fly north with the major-league club from Tampa on Wednesday night after he plays in a couple more games with Dunedin. Further, Matheson says Barger should be expected to slide right back into five starts per week for Toronto upon his return from the IL, despite the 26-year-old's 1-for-19 start before the injury.

Donovan (groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Donovan was previously expected to return before the end of the team's current homestand. That's now off the table, but if all goes well during his two-game stint with Arkansas, the 29-year-old will likely return Friday in Chicago. Donovan said recently that his groin issue will need to be monitored moving forward and is likely related to last year's sports hernia surgery.

Caballero appears to have earned himself an extended run as the Yankees' primary shortstop after the team reinstated Anthony Volpe (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

General manager Brian Cashman said April 10 that the Yankees' goal was for Volpe to reclaim the everyday shortstop job once healthy enough to do so, but that plan appears to have shifted with Volpe being optioned to Triple-A at the conclusion of his 20-day rehab window. Caballero has put himself in position to hang onto Volpe's former role with a strong start to the season, as he leads MLB shortstops with seven defensive runs saved while posting a serviceable .259/.306/.405 slash line to go along with four home runs, 15 runs, 12 RBI and 13 stolen bases over 33 games. Manager Aaron Boone acknowledged Caballero's seizing of the lead shortstop role Sunday, noting that the speedy veteran has "played himself into and earned himself more playing time." However, Boone also left the door open for Caballero to move back into a super-utility role down the road, so the 29-year-old may need to maintain his current level of performance to ensure he holds off Volpe for the job for the rest of the season. For now, fantasy managers who have enjoyed Caballero's contributions on the basepaths and his surprising uptick in power should plan on continuing to plug him into lineups with more confidence now that Volpe is at least temporarily out of the picture.

Judge went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, an additional run scored and a walk in an 11-3 victory against Baltimore on Sunday.

Judge broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning with a two-run blast to center field. The reigning AL MVP is establishing himself as an early candidate for the award again in 2026, as he's tied for the league lead with 13 homers while adding 23 RBI, 30 runs, five stolen bases and a .264/.403/.628 slash line. Judge has been particularly hot over his past seven games, batting .400 (10-for-25) with four home runs and six RBI.

Collins went 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI and a walk and was caught stealing in Sunday's victory over the Mariners.

Collins was a productive offensive contributor in the win, tallying a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning before adding an RBI double in the sixth inning. The left fielder owns a .680 OPS across 29 games, which isn't anything special, though he has been trending upward of late. Over his past seven games, the 28-year-old is slashing .292/.379/.500 with three extra-base hits, five RBI, a run and a stolen base with a 4:4 K:BB.

Kilian (1-1) took the loss in Sunday's 2-1 extra-inning defeat to the Rays, allowing one unearned run on two hits and an intentional walk across one relief inning.

Kilian entered in the ninth inning, during which he surrendered a single. He returned for the 10th and intentionally walked the first batter he faced before giving up an RBI single to end the game. He threw 12 of his 15 pitches for strikes while suffering his first loss of the season. Across 14 relief outings in 2026, the right-hander owns a 0.60 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 16:8 K:BB across 15 innings.

Soto (3-0) didn't allow a baserunner while striking out two across 1.1 innings to earn the win Sunday against the Reds.

Soto got the final out of the eighth inning with runners at first and third in a 0-0 game. The Pirates scored the game-winning run in the home half of the frame, while Soto stayed in the contest for the final inning to earn the win. He has had an excellent start to the season in Pittsburgh by allowing only three earned runs across 17 innings, though he hasn't recorded a save since April 3.