MLB Player News

Stephenson is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt versus the Giants.

Stephenson started behind the dish in the first two games of the series, so he'll get a breather for Thursday's matinee. P.J. Higgins will do the catching and bat ninth for the Reds.

Rogers (1-1) was tagged with the loss in relief Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk over an inning.

Rogers had opened the season with a streak of eight scoreless appearances, but he was tagged with both runs in the eighth -- an RBI single from William Contreras and an RBI groundout from Brice Turang. Even though this was far from being Rogers' best outing, he still has a 0.93 ERA across his first 9.2 innings over nine appearances this season. He should remain a trustworthy arm out of the Blue Jays' pen as long as he can continue to limit the damage like he's done in the past, but his 5:4 K:BB is a bit concerning from a fantasy perspective.

Cease didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Brewers, giving up two hits and three walks while fanning six across six scoreless innings.

Cease completed six innings for the first time this season, and the hard-throwing right-hander continues to rack up strikeouts. He has punched out at least six in each of his four starts on his way to 32 strikeouts over 20.2 innings, although he's also walked 12, which is pretty high even by his standards. Cease has a 1.74 ERA in four starts, but he also carries a 1.26 WHIP that's largely the byproduct of the amount of free passes he's handing out. He's slated to make his next start next week on the road against the Angels.

Burke (0-2) was tagged with the loss Wednesday against the Rays after allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks across 5.1 innings. He struck out two.

Burke looked in cruise control early on, but he gave up homers to Junior Caminero and Jake Fraley, as well as an RBI double to Jonathan Aranda, en route to his second loss of the season. The 26-year-old right-hander has completed at least six innings in just one of his four starts and has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in 20.1 frames, so he's far from being a reliable option in most formats, although the 17:6 K:BB does give him some appeal as a low-end starting option. Still, it's hard to trust Burke to pitch deep into games, which limits his upside considerably.

Ramos is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Cincinnati.

Ramos isn't dealing with any known injury, but this will be his second straight game he's been absent from the lineup. He did come off the bench to deliver an RBI single in Wednesday's contest, but Ramos is slashing just .234/.258/.266 with a 2:24 BB:K in his first 17 contests this season. Will Brennan, Drew Gilbert and Jung Hoo Lee will form the Giants' outfield trio again Thursday.

Scholtens (1-0) earned the win in relief against the White Sox on Wednesday, pitching five innings of one-run ball while allowing one hit and two walks. He struck out three.

Scholtens entered the game after Cole Sulser allowed four baserunners in the first two innings. The right-hander cruised through the seventh inning, allowing just three baserunners in the process and tossing 46 of his 77 pitches for strikes. Scholtens has yet to allow a run in his first two outings of the season, giving up five hits and three walks while striking out seven in 9.2 innings.

Atlanta optioned Harris to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Harris was promoted Tuesday but didn't make an appearance during his brief time with the big club. His roster spot will be taken by Martin Perez, who is slated to be called up to start Friday in Philadelphia.

Sulser didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the White Sox, pitching two scoreless innings as the opener, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out one.

Sulser allowed four baserunners in his two innings, but he didn't allow a single run -- that's already a step in the right direction considering his recent performances. He had given up at least a run in five of his six previous outings this season, and as a bullpen arm that's nowhere near pitching in high-leverage situations, he doesn't carry much fantasy upside -- especially since he owns a 4.91 ERA with a 2.00 WHIP across 11.0 innings over his first seven appearances in 2026.

Atlanta selected Hamilton's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Hamilton didn't make the Opening Day roster after inking a split contract over the offseason, but he'll get a look with the big club now after allowing two runs with a 9:1 K:BB over his first 6.1 innings at Gwinnett. The 30-year-old has typically been pretty effective when healthy, authoring a 3.45 ERA and 152:62 K:BB over the last three seasons with the Yankees. He'll work in middle relief.

DeLuca went 1-for-1 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

DeLuca entered the game as a pinch hitter for Jake Fraley in the seventh inning and took Tyler Gilbert deep with a three-run blast to bolster the Rays' lead to 8-0. This was DeLuca's second homer of the season, and it was also the third straight game in which he drove in at least one run. DeLuca has also hit safely in four of his last five games, notching a .824 OPS in 17 at-bats over that stretch.