News
Jalen Smith (headache) is questionable for Sunday’s game against the 76ers.
Smith is a late addition to the Bulls’ injury report, which does not bode well for his availability. If he’s unable to play, Zach Collins has the most to gain regarding playing time. Regardless of Sunday’s result, the Bulls are locked into the nine-seed in the East and will host the Heat on Wednesday.
Paul Skenes has announced that he will pitch for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic
Skenes has pitched for Team USA in two other tournaments during his career and actually spent two years at the Air Force Academy. He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now and will partner with arguably the best hitter in baseball right now, Aaron Judge, to lead Team USA in what figures to be an extremely competitive WBC tournament in 2026.
White Sox LHP prospect Hagen Smith (fatigue) will have his workload managed at Double-A Birmingham.
Hagen Smith’s velocity fluctuated in his last outing, and the White Sox were cautious about him showing some signs of fatigue. They shortened his last outing and will skip his next start to help him manage his workload in his first full professional season. Everything is fine with Smith from a medical perspective, but this is a good reminder that Smith is an immense talent, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect a major impact this season as he adjusts to professional baseball.
Paul Blackburn (knee) will make his final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday
Blackburn has already made four rehab starts, so he will need to be reinstated from the injured list after his start on Friday. As of now, there is no room in the Mets’ rotation, so the most likely outcome is that Blackburn would serve as a multi-inning reliever, which could bump Dedniel Nunez back to the minors.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted the team will “take a look at” whether or not to remove Tanner Houck from the starting rotation.
After his brutal start on Monday, Houck admitted this is “probably the most lost [he’s] ever been.” The struggles really began in the second half of last season, but Houck now has an 8.04 ERA and has allowed double-digit runs in less than three innings twice this season already. Houck does have minor league options remaining, so the Red Sox could simply send him to Triple-A and give him time to figure out what’s going out. If they were to do so, that would allow Hunter Dobbins to stay in the rotation even after Walker Buehler returns next week.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy suggests that the Brewers could call up Logan Henderson to start on Wednesday against the Guardians.
Milwaukee has pushed Jose Quintana’s start back to Saturday against the Twins, which means they currently don’t have a starter for Wednesday’s game. Henderson is already on the 40-man roster, so he would make some sense and be an intriguing streamer in deeper formats.
Austin Slater (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.
SLater had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee back on April 16th. He was given a four-to-six week timeline at the time, so he remains on track in his recovery. He could need multiple weeks of rehab games before returning to the White Sox lineup.