News
Free agent DL Leki Fotu is visiting the Bills, following his visit with the Raiders.
Fotu is just a rotational defensive lineman who is best suited to playing on early downs. He has 57 tackles, 23 quarterback pressures and four sacks in his five-year NFL career. Fotu spent the 2024 season with the Jets after wearing a Cardinals uniform through the four prior seasons.
Yoán Moncada was removed from Friday’s win over the Dodgers with an apparent right thumb injury.
Moncada missed time earlier this season with a right thumb sprain, so this is definitely a massive concern for the Angels. The 29-year-old appeared to re-aggravate the issue on a ninth-inning swing during Friday’s contest at Dodger Stadium. There should be an update on his status at some point this week. It’ll likely be Tim Anderson or Kevin Newman taking over at the hot corner if he hits the injured list.
Ketel Marte (hip) went 0-for-4 with a stolen base on Friday in his return to the lineup.
Marte was back atop Arizona’s fearsome lineup following an early exit from Wednesday’s series finale against the Giants for precautionary reasons due to hip tightness. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo downplayed concern about the issue earlier this week and it didn’t seem to be bothering him at all during Friday’s one-sided win.
George Kirby (shoulder) struck out four and allowed four runs over four innings on Friday in a minor league rehab start for Triple-A Tacoma.
Kirby, who is working his way back from shoulder inflammation, faced some real adversity on Friday evening, surrendering a whopping 10 hits, including two homers, during his – rehab outing. The encouraging news for fantasy managers is that the velocity was there as he topped out at 97.5 mph on his four-seamer and he threw 48 of 64 pitches for strikes. His signature pinpoint control remains firmly intact as he’s yet to issue a walk to any of the 21 batters he’s faced on his rehab assignment. It seems likely he’ll require another tune-up outing to build up his pitch count into the 75-80 range, but there’s a strong possibility the Mariners decide to bring him back later next week for his season debut, especially given the state of their rotation, which took another hit this week with Bryce Miller landing on the shelf with elbow inflammation.
Giants 1B prospect Bryce Eldridge went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBI on Friday for Double-A Richmond.
Eldridge has gone deep in back-to-back games and is now up to five round-trippers in just 20 games this season at the Double-A level. The 20-year-old slugger’s massive frame hasn’t resulted in astronomical strikeout totals and he’s hitting .306/.383/.583 this season for Double-A Richmond after missing time at the outset of the year with a wrist injury. He figures to be a potential late-season call-up option for the Giants in a few months. He’s one of the most promising power-hitting prospects for dynasty purposes and could reach the big leagues in the second half.
Cubs 3B prospect Matt Shaw went 3-for-5 with two homers and three RBI on Friday for Triple-A Iowa.
Shaw flopped in his first opportunity at the highest level earlier this season, but he’s started to really get his groove back recently at the Triple-A level, putting together his second consecutive multi-homer performance on Friday evening. The -year-old top prospect launched a leadoff homer before adding a two-run blast in the sixth inning, just for good measure. He’s gone deep five times in his last 18 at-bats and is now hitting .302/.423/.593 over 23 games since being demoted to Triple-A Iowa. It’s probably time for the Cubs to seriously consider giving him another chance in the big leagues, especially since they’ve been rolling with veteran speedster Jon Berti at the position for the past few weeks.
Red Sox OF prospect Roman Anthony went 2-for-3 with three walks on Friday for Triple-A Worcester.
Is there anything left for Anthony, who reached base safely in five of his six plate appearances on Friday evening, to prove in the minor leagues? It’s abundantly clear that the 21-year-old prodigy would represent an offensive upgrade for Boston’s lineup, but there’s been zero indication that a potential call-up is imminent. He’s reached base safely in 14 consecutive contests and is batting .346 since May 1. It’s only a matter of time before the top-ranked prospect in baseball gets his opportunity with the Red Sox. He’s clearly knocking on the door.