MLB Player News

Kay is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Jordan Leasure in Thursday's home game against the Rays.

The White Sox have made liberal use of openers through their first 19 games, using Grant Taylor in that capacity on four occasions and now Leasure in what will be his second career start and first of 2026. The arrangement should prove to be a favorable one for Kay, who will have a better chance at qualifying for a win as a bulk reliever than as a starter and will likely enter the game facing the bottom half of the Tampa Bay lineup. Through his first three outings (two starts) of the season, Kay has gone 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 11:8 K:BB in 14.2 innings.

Caminero went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, an additional RBI, an additional run scored and a strikeout in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

Caminero snapped a six-game homer drought with a solo shot in the third inning off Sean Burke to give the Rays a 1-0 lead. Caminero has hit safely in four of his last five games, and while he's seeing the ball well, the drop in power numbers is a bit concerning. He smacked 45 homers in 653 plate appearances in 2025 while posting a .271 ISO, but he has just three long balls with a .172 ISO in 77 plate appearances to open the 2026 campaign. It's too early to draw conclusions, but Caminero has also seen a 30-point drop in batting average to .234 so far this year.

Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer confirmed that Dollander will cover the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen behind opening pitcher Juan Mejia during Thursday's game against the Astros in Houston, Eli Whitney of BlakeStreetBanter.com reports.

After making a one-inning appearance in his most recent outing Sunday against the Padres, Dollander was expected to continue serving in a more traditional relief role this week with the Rockies getting Jose Quintana (hamstring) back from the injured list Wednesday, but Kyle Freeland's (shoulder) move to the IL in a corresponding transaction has left a rotation spot open. The Rockies will turn to Dollander to essentially take Freeland's turn Thursday, but the 24-year-old righty will probably need a strong showing against the Astros to ensure he receives additional bulk-relief appearances or starts. Tanner Gordon struck out four over four scoreless innings of long relief in Wednesday's 3-1 loss, giving the Rockies a viable alternative the next time as a fifth starter is needed if Dollander can't get the job done.

Mejia is listed as the Rockies' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Astros.

The 25-year-old righty will be making his first MLB start Thursday, but because he hasn't covered more than two innings in any of his appearances during the regular season or spring training, he's unlikely to work more than once through the batting order before exiting the game. Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer confirmed that Chase Dollander will work in bulk relief behind Mejia on Thursday, per Eli Whitney of BlakeStreetBanter.com.

Suarez went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Giants.

Suarez took Tyler Mahle deep in the first inning. It was the first home run in 12 games for Suarez, who had just two RBI during his homer drought. Batting in the middle of the order behind Elly De La Cruz (.363 OBP) and Sal Stewart (.434), both of whom cleared the bases with their own home runs Wednesday, should result in plenty of RBI opportunities for Suarez, who has driven in nine runs over 18 games.

Langford served as the designated hitter and went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Langford made a second straight start as the DH since returning from a quad injury that cost him three games. He's 2-for-7 with a walk in his two games back. For the season, Langford is batting just .183 (11-for-60) with one home run, three RBI, one steal and two walks over 15 contests.

Latz retired all three batters faced in a scoreless eighth inning of Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Latz didn't allow a hit or run for the sixth time in eight appearances. Batters were 0-for-29 against him to start the season before Max Muncy took him deep April 10, and they're just 3-for-35 overall off the left-hander. Latz competed for a rotation spot during spring training but struggled, giving up 14 earned runs over 15.2 innings, and eventually began 2026 in the bullpen. He's not yet part of the group that's been given save opportunities, but Latz has emerged as a trusted late-inning arm for manager Skip Schumaker.

Hader (biceps) threw 20 pitches in a live batting practice session Tuesday and said afterward that it was akin to his first live BP of spring training, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

McTaggart notes Hader was sitting 91-to-93 mph with his fastball during the live session, and he says given Hader's quotes about where he is in his recovery the southpaw is "perhaps about a month away from returning, without any setbacks." Hader, who is working his way back slowly from a bout of left biceps tendinitis, added, "I'm feeling good, feeling strong. I got through it throwing relatively hard and commanded the baseball in the zone, commanded the slider, getting good whiffs on it. Ideally, that's what you want." Meanwhile, Bryan Abreu has struggled in the ninth inning for the Astros this season, opening the door for Enyel De Los Santos to earn a couple saves in recent days.

De Los Santos earned the save with a perfect ninth inning in a 3-1 victory over the Rockies on Wednesday. He struck out two.

The 30-year-old right-hander has now earned saves on consecutive days for Houston, career saves No. 4 and 5, as De Los Santos appears to be entering the closer mix in the absence of Josh Hader (biceps) and in light of Bryan Abreu's struggles this season. Abreu pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in Wednesday's victory, setting up the save chance for De Los Santos after Bryan King did as much Tuesday. De Los Santos' fastball velocity is down a couple ticks to around 94 mph this season, but it seems to be by design since he's cut his walk rate by more than half in the early going, an improvement that has helped fuel a 1.35 ERA and 0.75 WHIP through six appearances and 6.2 innings so far in 2026.

Turner went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 11-2 loss to the Cubs.

Turner wasted no time getting Philadelphia on the board, crushing a 423-foot solo homer off Shota Imanaga on the second pitch of the game. It was his second home run of the season and extended his strong stretch at the plate. Turner has now recorded a hit in 14 of his last 15 games, batting .283 with seven RBI and 10 runs scored across 64 plate appearances during that span.