MLB 2026 Buzz: Texas Rangers Place Wyatt Langford On IL

The offseason and spring training are behind us, but there’s plenty of MLB news left to cover. Here are the noteworthy transactions, injuries and more from the 2026 season. June 28 The Texas Rangers put outfielder Wyatt Langford on the 10-day injured list Sunday because of a strained left hamstring and activated outfielder Evan Carter off the IL. Langford had homered seven times in 20 games since returning from the IL on June 5 after missing 39 games because of a strained right forearm. This is the sixth IL stint of Langford’s career. He played 134 games each in 2024 and 2025 and has appeared in 40 games this season. Langford is batting .278 with eight homers and 20 RBIs. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Langford will likely be out until after the MLB All-Star break. Langford felt sore after beating out a double in Friday’s 5-4 win and was scratched from the lineup Saturday. Carter went on the IL on June 13 because of a strained right oblique. He entered Sunday’s game batting .176 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 66 games. Cleveland Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter was activated off the injured list before Sunday’s series finale against the Seattle Mariners. The rookie was in the lineup at designated hitter and batted third. DeLauter went on the IL on June 17 after he fractured a rib on his right side when he collided with the outfield wall during a June 13 game against the Detroit Tigers. That was also the same game in which seven-time All-Star third baseman José Ramírez and outfielder Angel Martinez suffered injuries. The Guardians are 4-7 since Ramírez broke a bone in his left hand while fouling off a pitch. He had surgery on June 16 and is expected to miss six more weeks. Martínez (non-displaced left foot fracture) is also on the IL. DeLauter is batting .263 with a .337 on-base percentage, seven homers and 34 RBIs in 66 games. Outfielder Petey Halpin was optioned to Triple-A Columbus to make room for DeLauter. Carlos Santana has found team No. 10. The 40-year-old first baseman/designated hitter has signed a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves, per ESPN. Santana, a 2019 Silver Slugger and 2024 Gold Glover, played eight games with the Arizona Diamondbacks this season before going on the injured list with a right adductor strain and being released on June 26. Santana split the 2025 MLB season with the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago Cubs, totaling 11 home runs and 54 RBIs over a combined 124 regular-season games. The year prior (2024), he blasted 23 home runs with the Minnesota Twins. Should Santana, who has 335 career home runs over 17 MLB seasons, get called up by the Braves, he would join an Atlanta club that stands atop the National League East at 49-32. June 27 Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt underwent facet bone spur removal on his back and could rejoin the team later in the year. Mike Elias, the team’s president of baseball operations and general manager, said Saturday the 37-year-old right-hander opted for surgery after injections to reduce inflammation in his back about a week ago did not work. “It’s a pretty minor procedure and we’ll see where he’s at in a couple weeks and see if and when he can start throwing,” Elias said. “We’re feeling pretty good about things right there. We feel there’s a very strong possibility we get him back in better condition before the end of the season.” Bassitt is 4-4 with a 5.27 ERA in his first year in Baltimore. He has not pitched since June 3. Elias said catcher Adley Rutschman could return to the active roster soon. Rutschman was hit in the head with a throw while running the bases June 18 and was placed on the concussion injured list two days later. “Adley’s doing well,” Elias said. “It’s improved the last couple of days. I think we’re getting close there.” Elias said both outfielder Dylan Beavers (right oblique strain) and pitcher Dean Kremer (right quad strain) are also nearing returns after rehabbing at Triple-A Norfolk this week. Right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo (shoulder inflammation) is expected to begin a rehabilitation assignment Sunday, while first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (fractured left foot) has just started running. Reliever Félix Bautista, an All-Star in 2023 who missed all of 2024 and pitched in only 35 games last season, has made progress in his recovery from right shoulder surgery. The 31-year-old had a torn labrum and torn rotator cuff repaired in August, and Elias did not specify a time frame for his return. “I have to keep my fingers really crossed with Félix because of the nature of the surgery he had and how difficult it is,” Elias said. “But he’s throwing really, really well and we’re pretty excited about where he’s at.” Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans will undergo elbow surgery on Wednesday that will determine the degree of repair needed, manager Matt Quatraro said Saturday. A 2024 All-Star, Ragans went on the 15-day injured list with a left elbow impingement on May 8. He left his May 6 start against the Cleveland Guardians after three innings and was diagnosed with valgus extension overload. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on June 17. “They have read the MRI. They’re not going to be clear on the extent of it until they get in there and understand what they see,” Quatraro said. Neal ElAttrache is scheduled to perform the surgery. A three-time opening day starter for Kansas City and a 2016 first-round draft pick by Texas, Ragans (1-4, 4.84 ERA) missed most of last season due to left groin strain and rotator cuff strains. He underwent Tommy John surgery twice when he was in the Rangers organization. June 26 The Los Angeles Angels announced the hiring of John Mozeliak as a baseball operations consultant. Mozeliak is also serving as the interim general manager as the Angels announced the firing of general manager Perry Minasian on Friday. Mozeliak joined the Angels after a 30-year tenure with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Angels hired Minasian in 2020, and he hasn’t overseen a winning season since, with the highest win total being 77 games in 2021. More details have emerged on the “neck strain” that Cubs’ starter Ben Brown was placed on the 15-day IL with. Chicago’s manager, Craig Counsell, explained to The Score that Brown actually suffered a stress reaction in his neck. Counsell described the injury as similar to one Brown suffered in 2024, when he was okayed on the 15-day IL in June and spent the rest of the season recovering. The Cubs plan to rest Brown for a month, limiting his activity, and then will make a decision on next steps from there. Brown began the season in the bullpen, but worked his way into the rotation and has been dominant in that role: in eight starts, the 6-foot-6 right-hander owns a 1.70 ERA and has struck out just under a batter per inning while punching out 3.7 times as many hitters as he’s walked. General manager Jed Hoyer told The Athletic that, in addition to acquiring David Peterson from the Mets, the Cubs plan to add additional rotation help. Chicago is 44-37, sitting 6.5 games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, but 1.5 up on a wild-card spot. Carlos Mendoza was fired as manager of the underperforming New York Mets on Friday and replaced by Andy Green. New York is 34-47 following a six-game losing streak and a four-game sweep by the Cubs, 15 games behind NL East-leading Atlanta and 9.5 games back of the NL’s last wild-card berth. Mets owner Steve Cohen had high expectations for a team without a World Series title since 1986. New York opened the season with baseball’s highest payroll at $358 million and was projected to pay an additional $124 million in luxury tax. “Our commitment to bringing our fans a championship-caliber team has not changed,’ Cohen said in a statement. ‘There is no sugar-coating it: This season has been a disappointment and our fans deserve better than what we’ve delivered.” A former Yankees assistant coach, Mendoza replaced Buck Showalter after the 2023 season and led the Mets to a 206-199 record. While New York advanced to the NL Championship Series in 2024, the Mets failed to reach the playoffs last year and are among the sport’s biggest disappointments this season. “Carlos has led the organization with passion and grace and is beloved by everyone who works with him on a daily basis,” president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “Carlos’ impact on our players, staff, and culture over the last three seasons has been transformative. Unfortunately, we know we are falling short and change is necessary to move forward.” Green, a former major league infielder, joined the Mets in 2023 as senior vice president of baseball development. He managed San Diego to a 274-366 record from 2016-19. June 25 The Arizona Diamondbacks activated outfielder Max Kepler from the restricted list on Thursday following his completion of an 80-game suspension for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Kepler, who signed a free agent deal with the Diamondbacks on June 7, hit .333 with two home runs in 10 minor league games. He was fifth in the batting order and played left field for the Diamondbacks against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night. Kepler was suspended in January for a positive test for Epitrenbolone, a metabolite of Trenbolone that’s contained in some products used in body-building stores and has been used in products to promote cattle growth. Kepler was the first player suspended by MLB for the substance since public announcements of the penalty details began in 2005. “It’s a great opportunity for him,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said before Thursday’s game. “I’m glad that he’s here. … He’s been working his tail off to get back here as soon as possible, and the fact that he’s in this lineup tonight is not surprising to any of us. He’s going to go out there and help us win a baseball game by impacting it the right way.” Kepler, 33, hit .216 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs with Philadelphia last year after agreeing to a $10 million, one-year contract. He was slowed in 2024 by left patellar tendinitis and had core surgery after the season to repair a sports hernia. He has a .235 average with 179 home runs and 560 RBIs over an 11-year career. “I don’t know what happened, but he paid his penalty,” Lovullo said. “He served it, and he’s here, and he wants to show the world that he can still play this game at a very high level.” To make room for Kepler on the 40 man, the Diamondbacks moved RHP Ryne Nelson (strained right elbow) to the 60-day disabled list. Arizona also optioned OF Tim Tawa and LHP Mitch Bratt to Triple-A Reno and recalled RHP Juan Burgos. Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager was activated from the concussion list on June 25 after the two-time World Series MVP missed 12 games. The Rangers made the move before the opener of their four-game series at the Toronto Blue Jays, when Seager was in the lineup batting third. It came on the eighth of 15 consecutive days that Texas had a scheduled game. Utility player Cody Freeman was placed on the 10-day injured list with a herniated disk. Seager was on MLB’s seven-day IL for the concussion that resulted from a collision with Kansas City Royals catcher Carter Jensen on June 11, though Seager remained in that game and later hit a home run. That was only his fifth game back after missing 19 games from May 15-June 4 with lower back inflammation. In the 47 games he played in this season before Thursday, Seager hit .186 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs. When Seager was activated from the IL the first time, he hit a two-run homer in his first game back that put the Rangers ahead in a 3-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians on June 5. That snapped a career-worst 0-for-29 slump in the five-time All-Star’s 12 big-league seasons. Texas also released infielder Blaine Crim, who had hit .263 in 21 games at Triple-A Round Rock since being acquired May 23 on a waiver claim from the Colorado Rockies. The Pittsburgh Pirates placed first baseman Spencer Horwitz on the 10-day injured list Thursday because of a left hamstring injury. Horwitz was injured Wednesday night in an 11-1 win over the Seattle Mariners. He felt a grabbing sensation in his leg while grounding into a double play in the third inning. He was removed for a pinch-hitter an inning later. In 74 games this season, Horwitz is hitting .280 with 10 home runs and 33 RBIs. Infielder Jack Brannigan was recalled from Double-A Altoona. The 25-year-old has yet to make it in the big leagues after being selected in the third round of the 2012 draft from Notre Dame. The Pirates and Mariners were set to finish a three-game series on Thursday. June 24 Facing a rotation depleted by injuries, the Chicago Cubs acquired left-handed pitcher David Peterson from the New York Mets on Wednesday night, per ESPN. Peterson is set to enter free agency this offseason following a challenging season on the mound for the Mets. Over 68 innings pitched, he struggled to a 3-6 record with a 6.09 ERA, a 1.65 WHIP, and 63 strikeouts. The Cubs acquired Peterson from the Mets in exchange for first baseman Cole Mathis, Chicago’s No. 13 prospect. This deal could kick off an expected fire sale for the Mets, who sit dead last in the NL East at 34-46. Minnesota Twins right-hander Mick Abel has been recommended for arthroscopic elbow surgery after a recent setback in his injury recovery. After an assessment by orthopedic specialist Dr. Keith Meister, the Twins announced Wednesday that Abel will undergo the minor procedure more than two months after he first landed on the injured list. The timetable for Abel’s return won’t be determined until after the surgery. The Twins had Abel lined up to rejoin the rotation Sunday, after he made two smooth rehab starts for Triple-A St. Paul. But he reported soreness after his bullpen session Friday and was shut down from throwing. Abel was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies with minor league catcher Eduardo Tait the day before the trade deadline last season for closer Jhoan Duran. The 24-year-old had a 3.98 ERA in four appearances this year, throwing 14 consecutive scoreless innings before he was sidelined by elbow inflammation following his start on April 14. Minnesota’s starting pitching has been depleted by injuries. Right-hander Pablo López, an All-Star in 2023, is out for the season following elbow surgery. Right-hander Bailey Ober has been sidelined for the last three weeks with elbow inflammation and won’t return until after the All-Star break. Left-hander Kendry Rojas, who started on Tuesday, was sent to Triple-A before the game Wednesday in the latest round of pitching roster moves made by the Twins. Milwaukee Brewers reliever Abner Uribe plans to serve his one-game suspension Wednesday night, nearly a month after Major League Baseball handed down the penalty. The suspension takes effect for Milwaukee’s game against the Cincinnati Reds as the Brewers attempt to complete a three-game sweep. Uribe was suspended and fined an undisclosed amount on May 29, three days after he celebrated an inning-ending strikeout by making three WWE-style crotch chops while facing St. Louis’ dugout during a 6-0 victory over the Cardinals. When the suspension was announced, Uribe said he planned to appeal it. He instead opted to serve the penalty Wednesday as part of a settlement agreement. Uribe has pitched four of the past five days, so he was unlikely to be available to pitch Wednesday anyway. Uribe is 4-2 and 3.38 ERA and five saves in 31 appearances this season. He has struck out 31 in 29 1/3 innings. The New York Yankees put infielder Ryan McMahon on the 10-day injured list due to a throat infection and recalled utility player Oswaldo Cabrera from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York made the moves on Wednesday before wrapping up a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers. McMahon is hitting .210 with eight homers — including five that have pulled the Yankees into a tie or given them the lead — and 23 RBIs in 69 games. Cabrera hit .234 with 20 home runs and 95 RBIs for the Yankees from 2022-25. Ben Brown and Edward Cabrera were placed on the injured list Wednesday, delivering two more blows for the pitching-depleted Chicago Cubs. Cabrera was expected to get imaging Wednesday after straining his left hamstring/adductor stretching for a throw at first base Tuesday during a 9-6 win over the New York Mets. Brown has a neck strain. He is 4-2 with one save and a 1.85 ERA for the Cubs, including being 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA in eight starts since joining the banged-up rotation on May 8. The Cubs have six starters sidelined, though opening day starter Matthew Boyd (left meniscus) is scheduled to come off the injured list and start in Brown’s spot Thursday. “We’re getting a guy that pitched opening day back for us, so that’s a big deal,” Counsell said. “Those are important players to get healthy and get in your rotation.” Jameson Taillon (strained left hamstring) is on the 15-day injured list. Counsell said the 34-year-old is progressing well and could throw off a mound soon. Cade Horton is out for the year after having Tommy John surgery, while Justin Steele is on the 60-day injured list recovering from his 2025 Tommy John surgery and a left flexor strain. General manager Jed Hoyer said this week Steele likely won’t return to the rotation this year. Francisco Lindor is ready to rejoin the New York Mets — just as Juan Soto deals with a back injury that may sideline him beyond Wednesday. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he couldn’t rule out a trip to the injured list for Soto, who exited a 9-6 loss to the Chicago Cubs after the fourth inning Tuesday night because of a tight back. Soto, who was pictured on SNY wearing a wrap around his back in the dugout Tuesday, underwent imaging before Wednesday’s doubleheader. Mendoza said he hoped Soto could be available at some point Wednesday but acknowledged a level of concern for the superstar outfielder, who is in the second season of a 15-year, $765 million deal. “We’ve got to wait,” Mendoza said. “Obviously not ideal when a player like him comes out of a game. Those guys are tough, and they know how important they are, and they take pride in being in the lineup every day and posting. “I just didn’t like how he looked yesterday. We’ve got to wait.” Soto’s injury may delay his reunion with Lindor, who is expected to be activated prior to Wednesday’s nightcap. The 32-year-old shortstop has been sidelined since suffering a strained left calf while running the bases against the Minnesota Twins on April 22 — the same day Soto returned from an 18-day stint on the shelf due to a strained right calf. Lindor played in his third rehab game Tuesday, when he was 2 for 5 while scoring twice for Triple-A Syracuse. He made the four-hour trip back to New York following the game, which factored into the Mets’ decision to hold off on activating him. “Everything checked out well after the game last night, but he got in late, so we told him to kind of recover this morning,” Mendoza said. “We anticipate him being in the lineup.” Mendoza said the Mets will proceed cautiously with Lindor following the longest injured stint of his 12-year career. Lindor, who missed just 15 games the previous four years, will likely sit out Thursday’s game and will also see more time than usual at designated hitter. Lindor and Soto have played just nine games together this season for the last-place Mets, who haven’t recovered from the 12-game losing streak they endured during Soto’s absence. New York, which hasn’t finished in last place since 2003, is seven games out of the final National League playoff spot. “I’m just worried about Soto,” Mendoza said. “I’m not thinking about Lindor back, Soto out. It is what it is, right? Hopefully, we can get those two in the lineup for a long time here for the rest of the season, and we can make a run at it.” Mendoza also announced beleaguered starter Kodai Senga has been shifted to the bullpen. Senga gave up seven runs over 3 2/3 innings Tuesday as his ERA rose to 10.08. He hasn’t earned a win since June 12, 2025, when he suffered a hamstring injury covering first base against the Washington Nationals. Senga, a noted creature of habit, has made just one relief appearance for the Mets. He threw the final 1 2/3 innings of Game 6 of the 2024 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. “We’re going to adjust his routine; he’s going to have to adjust his routine,” Mendoza said. Mets slugger Juan Soto was removed from Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs because of back tightness. Soto appeared to grimace when he flied out in the first inning. He flied out again in the third and was replaced in left field in the top of the fifth with New York trailing 7-2. Jared Young moved from first base to left field, and Mark Vientos entered at first in Soto’s third spot in the batting order. In the bottom of the sixth, the last-place Mets announced Soto left with tightness on the left side of his back. “Back locked up there. So, he’s day-to-day. We’ll see where we’re at. He got treatment during the game, but he got to a point there, you could tell something was off,’ manager Carlos Mendoza said after his team’s 9-6 defeat. ‘He was making some faces there and obviously I checked with him and he got to a point where it was like, it was bothering him to throw and then to just get his A swing on it. So at that point, I thought it was just best to get him out of the game and have the trainers look at him.” Soto, a four-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger award winner, began the night batting .301 with 17 homers, 38 RBIs and a .974 OPS. He spent time on the injured list in April with a calf strain. Mets’ star shortstop Francisco Lindor (left calf strain) had two hits and scored twice in a rehab game with Triple-A Syracuse. A decision is expected Wednesday on whether to reinstate him from the injured list or wait a little longer. Lindor has not suited up for the Mets since April 22; New York is 25-28 in his absence, and in last place in the NL East. In the same game with Syracuse, outfielder Tyrone Taylor (right hip flexor strain) went 3 for 5 with a homer, a double and three runs against Lehigh Valley. Switch-hitting infielder Ronny Mauricio (broken left thumb) had two hits and three RBIs. New York expects right-hander Christian Scott (right hip impingement) to come off the injured list this weekend and start Saturday or Sunday against Philadelphia. New York has leaned on the likes of David Peterson (6.09 ERA in 68 innings) and Kodai Senga (10.08 ERA in seven starts) in the absence of Scott, who managed a 3.10 ERA in nine starts before landing on the IL. June 23 Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera was carted off the field Tuesday night after injuring his left leg stretching for a throw at first base against the New York Mets. With two runners aboard in the fifth inning, Cabrera hustled over to cover the bag when Jared Young hit a two-out grounder wide of first. Second baseman Nico Hoerner made a sliding stop on the outfield grass and threw to Cabrera, who went into a split as he caught the toss for the final out of the inning. The 28-year-old right-hander grabbed the inside of his left thigh, then got to his feet and tried to walk toward the dugout. But he went back down in obvious pain and needed assistance just to stand before a cart arrived and he was driven off the field through an opening in the outfield wall at Citi Field. A few innings later came an announcement in the press box saying Cabrera exited his start with a left hamstring/adductor strain. The Seattle Mariners activated left fielder Randy Arozarena from the injured list on Tuesday night before the opener of a three-game series with Pittsburgh. Arozarena was sidelined since June 13 because of a strained left hamstring. He’s hitting .291/.377/.448 with seven home runs and 19 stolen bases in 71 games. Infielder/outfielder Connor Joe was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Joe hit .179/.289/.308 with one homer in 21 games. Major league home runs leader Kyle Schwarber was scratched with lower back tightness before the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. The announcement that the team’s designated hitter would be out came about five minutes before the game began. Edmundo Sosa replaced him in the Phillies’ lineup. Schwarber leads the majors this season with 29 home runs and is coming off a weekend in which he hit three against the Mets on Saturday and another one on Sunday. Schwarber went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 4-1 loss to the Nationals on Monday night. Elly De La Cruz was back in the Cincinnati Reds’ lineup for Tuesday night’s game against Milwaukee after spending just over three weeks on the injured list. The Reds announced they activated the two-time All-Star shortstop, who strained his right hamstring on May 31, and optioned outfielder Will Benson to Triple-A Louisville. De La Cruz completed a three-game rehab assignment at Louisville over the weekend. He homered and played five innings at shortstop on Friday, was 0 for 3 as the designated hitter Saturday and 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and an error on Sunday. De La Cruz was batting .280 with an .855 OPS and 12 home runs in 58 games before he went on the IL for the first time in his major league career. June 22 Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kyle Tucker was removed from Monday’s game against the Minnesota Twins in the second inning with low back spasms. Tucker walked with one out in the second and ran lightly to second base on Tommy Edman’s single to right field. Then, Tucker was replaced by pinch-runner Alex Call. Tucker stayed in the dugout, standing up next to dugout fence before heading into the clubhouse after the inning was over. After signing a four-year, $240 million contract with Los Angeles in January, Tucker has played in 75 of the Dodgers’ 79 games this season. But he’s hit just .234 with six home runs and four RBIs. The .234 average is his lowest since hitting .141 in 28 games as a rookie in Houston in 2018. He’s hit at least 22 homers in each of the past five seasons. The Dodgers also pulled catcher Dalton Rushing in the bottom of the third to rule out a concussion. Los Angeles was already without catcher Will Smith, who is on the 10-day IL with neck inflammation. Francisco Lindor will play at least one more minor-league rehab game before the New York Mets decide to activate their shortstop from the injured list following a two-month absence because of a strained left calf. Lindor will play his third rehab game on June 22 when he plays for Triple-A Syracuse. He split last weekend playing for Double-A Binghamton and Syracuse and was 1 for 8 while playing shortstop. “We’ll re-assess after the game and see what’s next for him,” manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets were scheduled to open a four-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Lindor was scheduled to take at-bats in a simulated game on the field Monday, but the session was canceled because of heavy rain. Instead, he participated in indoor baseball activities. “We’ll see whether he needs a day off, if he’s ready to come [back],” Mendoza said. “He’s just got to get through tomorrow and we’ll have those discussions.” Lindor strained his calf scoring on a double by Francisco Alvarez against the Minnesota Twins on April 22. His injury was more severe than the strained right calf that sidelined Juan Soto for 15 games in April when the Mets lost 12 in a row. Before getting hurt, Lindor batted .226 with two homers and five RBIs. He had elbow surgery following last season and missed most of spring training after surgery on his left hamate bone. The Mets began Monday 26-27 without Lindor, who is on the injured list for the third time in his 12-year big-league career. Without Lindor, Bo Bichette has received the bulk of the starts at shortstop after being signed to a $126 million, three-year contract to play third base. Cincinnati Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz is expected to be reinstated from the injured list on June 23 after missing 19 games with a strained right hamstring, manager Terry Francona said on June 22. De La Cruz — who has been sidelined since June 1 — took batting practice prior to the Reds’ Monday night series opener against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. He made three rehab starts for Triple-A Louisville, going 2 for 8 with a home run and two RBIs. After homering in his first rehab start on Friday, De La Cruz texted Francona, “Be there tomorrow,” but the Reds didn’t want to rush things. De La Cruz left the May 31 game against the Atlanta Braves with right hamstring tightness after he had a base hit in the fifth inning. He had a streak of appearing in 276 consecutive games snapped, the sixth-longest streak for a Reds player in the expansion era (1961-present). His streak began on July 30, 2024. Before going on the injured list, De La Cruz was batting .280 with 12 home runs. The Chicago White Sox activated Kyle Teel from the 60-day injured list on Monday and optioned fellow catcher Edgar Quero to Triple-A Charlotte. Teel is expected to make his season debut in the opener of a three-game series against AL Central-leading Cleveland. The 24-year-old Teel strained his right hamstring while playing for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Then he hurt his right knee while playing for Charlotte on a rehab assignment. Teel, a first-round pick in the 2023 amateur draft, was acquired by Chicago in the Garrett Crochet trade in December 2024. He hit .273 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 78 games last year in his first action with the White Sox. Teel spent four games with the Knights on his second rehab stint, going 8 for 16 with a homer and four RBIs. The White Sox are back at home after going 1-5 on a six-game trip. They were one game back of the Guardians going into the series. Quero has struggled at the plate in his second major league season, batting just .187 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 55 games. He was acquired in a July 2023 trade with the Los Angeles Angels. June 21 The Texas Rangers placed right-handed starting pitcher Jack Leiter on the 15-day injured list Sunday with an ankle issue the right-hander has been battling most of the season, and star shortstop Corey Seager still isn’t ready to return from a concussion. The Rangers recalled right-hander Jose Corniell from Triple-A Round Rock but didn’t say how they would fill Leiter’s spot in the rotation Tuesday at the Miami Marlins. Six of Corniell’s seven minor-league appearances were starts. President of baseball operations Chris Young said Leiter was trying to pitch through what is being called right ankle posterior impingement, but his mechanics were affected by compensating for the injury. Leiter lost all three of his June starts and had a 9.88 ERA, capped by allowing seven hits and six runs in four innings in a 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins on Thursday. He is 3-7 with a 5.29 ERA in 15 starts this season. “Jack has not made it an issue. That speaks to his level of competitiveness,” Young said. “He’s not made excuses, but the reality is he’s having to change his delivery to compensate for it. We cannot put him in harm’s way. He’s too important to our future.” Young said the 26-year-old Leiter was already dealing with the balky ankle when he aggravated the injury by slipping on an on-deck circle in his fifth start of the season April 22 at home against the New York Yankees. Young said imaging showed the injury was getting worse. “We’ve been trying to monitor it as best we could,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “But the reality is he just wasn’t able to do what he was capable of doing throughout the starts. I think it started showing up more and more. It wasn’t fair to him that we kept sending him out there.” Seager was eligible to return from the seven-day concussion list Friday, but Young said he was still in the protocol. He was participating in meetings and running on the field before the game. Schumaker said the two-time World Series MVP would be on the upcoming 10-game road trip with stops in Miami, Toronto and Cleveland, but couldn’t say when Seager would play. “It’s still day to day,” Schumaker said. “I’m trying to make sure that he feels good after this kind of stimulation and inside the weight room, hitting and then running.” Seager was in the worst slump of his career when he took a few days off in mid-May and ended up with a sore back that extended his absence to 19 games. The five-time All-Star is hitting .186 with nine homers and 24 RBIs. June 20 Texas Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi was scratched from his scheduled start against San Diego on Saturday because of left knee soreness. Lefty MacKenzie Gore was moved up a day to replace Eovaldi, and the Rangers didn’t immediately announce a starter for Sunday’s series finale against the Padres. It’s the second time in a little more than a month that Eovaldi has been scratched from a start. The 36-year-old was dealing with tightness in his left side when he skipped a May 11 start against Arizona. Eovaldi ended up missing one turn in the rotation before pitching seven scoreless innings and tying his season high with eight strikeouts in an 8-0 victory against Houston. The two-time All-Star is 6-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 14 starts. Eovaldi didn’t pitch after Aug. 22 last year because of a right rotator cuff strain, and it was revealed after the season that he needed sports hernia surgery. He was 11-3 with a career-best 1.73 ERA in 22 starts but fell short of the number of innings required to qualify for the ERA title. Shohei Ohtani wasn’t in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lineup on Friday night because he is “away from the team on paternity.” The team announced in a post on X that the two-way superstar is expected to return this weekend, meaning he wasn’t placed on MLB’s paternity list. Manager Dave Roberts said after a 6-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles that he hopes Ohtani returns Saturday but he had not talked to him. Roberts said he found out “very recently” that Ohtani was going to be a father again. “Keeping his privacy,” Roberts said, smiling. The team’s lineup for Friday’s series opener came out less than an hour before gametime, with Ryan Ward listed as the designated hitter batting seventh. Asked three hours before the game about the delayed lineup, Roberts said he was working out “some things with some position players” and made no mention of Ohtani. Roberts was asked about Ohtani’s sore left knee and said he had not spoken to him Friday. “Just assuming that after the off day he’s in a good spot,” the manager said. Roberts often mentions if a player is expecting a baby, and the team typically announces when they have been placed on paternity leave. Ohtani, who turns 32 on July 5, and his 29-year-old wife, Mamiko Tanaka, became first-time parents in April 2025 with the birth of their daughter. He first announced on social media in December 2024 that the couple was expecting. The famously private Ohtani has never publicly revealed her name and has carefully avoided showing her face in the rare family photos he posts to his social media. New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said Friday that he doesn’t plan to start wearing a protective cup, one day after getting hit in the groin by a foul ball. “If you don’t trust your hands, I would recommend wearing a cup,” Chisholm said ahead of the Yankees game against Cincinnati. “I feel like it’s more defensively that you would wear a cup than hitting. At the same time, I just never thought about wearing a cup.” In the fourth inning of Thursday’s 5-1 loss to the White Sox, Chisholm fouled a 2-2 curveball from Sean Burke off his groin. He was down for several minutes as trainer Tim Lentych attended to him and then limped off the field to get treated with ice packs. “The trainers and he followed up this morning but, I felt good about it last night,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “I got with him last night and he seemed like he was going to be fine. They wanted to do some things this morning just to be sure, but I sent the lineup out last night because I felt confident about it and if we had to adjust we would.” Chisholm described the pain as “a million,” and said he never wore a cup in the minor leagues, where it is mandatory. “I’ve never worn a cup,” Chisholm said. “I’m not going change. Just an unlucky instance right there.’ Justin Verlander’s return to the Detroit Tigers has been delayed again. Manager A.J. Hinch announced Friday that the 43-year-old right-hander pulled a hamstring during a bullpen session and will be sidelined indefinitely. “This is not a matter of days,” Hinch said. “It is a matter of weeks.” Verlander was scheduled to return from a hip injury on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox in what would have been his first start with the Tigers at Comerica Park since August 30, 2017. He was traded to Houston the next day. Verlander has only pitched once this season, allowing five runs in 3 2/3 innings during a 9-6 road loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on March 30. He went 183-115 in 14 seasons with the Tigers before the trade. He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and both the AL MVP and Cy Young in 2011. He helped Detroit reach the World Series in 2006 and 2012. The Tigers also placed outfielder Wenceel Perez on the injured list with facial fractures. He was struck by an exercise band that came unhooked during a postgame workout in Houston. Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was out of the lineup for Friday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a grade-1 MCL sprain. He left Thursday’s game at the end of the fourth inning after earlier fielding a ground ball. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said Friday the Royals were “fortunate” that it was just a mild sprain. “It just could have been a lot worse,” Quatraro said. The plan was to give Witt Friday off. The teams are scheduled for a rare Saturday off day because a World Cup match between Ecuador and Curacao will be played at neighboring Kansas City Stadium (GEHA Field at Arrowhead) on Saturday night. Quatraro was hopeful that Witt could return for Sunday’s game. “We’ll re-evaluate the timeline come Sunday,” he said, ‘So we’ll see. It’s not a surgical thing. I know they can put a brace on it. It’s going to be (getting) the swelling out of there and understand how he feels. Those conversations are going to have to be honest between all of us.” June 19 Mets’ shortstop Francisco Lindor has been out with an injured calf since late-April, but he is set to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Binghamton on Friday, per MLB. Lindor has appeared in just 24 games in 2026, and is batting all of .226/.314/.355, which has caused free-agent signing Bo Bichette to shift back to his previous position of shortstop for most of the season. Bichette at short has meant a considerable amount of Brett Baty at third base, and he’s hitting just .226/.303/.318 this season – Lindor, who hit .267/.346/.466 in 2025 and has had four-straight top-10 finishes for National League MVP, should provide a considerable upgrade even if his bat does not fully return to its previous form. The Mets sit five games back of the final wild-card spot in the NL entering Friday. Catcher Francisco Alvarez has already recently returned to the lineup, and New York went a lengthy stretch without star slugger Juan Soto in the lineup, as well. Getting Lindor back soon – and he is projected to return before June ends, possibly even by next week after a couple of rehab games, per manager Carlos Mendoza – would give the Mets the lineup they had envisioned entering the season for the first time in months. June 18 The Atlanta Braves acquired catcher Joey Bart from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed pitcher Hunter Stratton on Thursday night. Atlanta made room for Bart on the 40-man roster by designating catcher Sandy León for assignment. The Pirates assigned Stratton to Triple-A Indianapolis. Bart was batting .259 with two homers, six RBIs and a .670 OPS in 21 games with Pittsburgh. He grew up in the Atlanta suburbs and played college ball in the city at Georgia Tech before being selected second overall by the San Francisco Giants in the 2018 amateur draft. The NL East-leading Braves (46-27) already have two fine catchers in 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin and 2023 All-Star Sean Murphy, but Murphy is on the 60-day injured list with a broken finger. Stratton appeared in one game with the Braves this year and pitched a scoreless inning. He played for the Pirates from 2023-25 before getting traded to Atlanta last July. León was batting .091 with zero RBIs in 21 games this season. Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. left the Royals’ game with the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night with right knee discomfort after making a sliding play in the field. With the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Witt went to his knees to prevent Jordan Walker’s RBI single from getting to the outfield. Witt was checked out by Royals staffers before remaining in the game for the rest of that half inning. But he was scheduled to lead off the bottom of the fourth, and the Royals instead had Tyler Tolbert pinch-hit for him. The Royals announced later that Witt’s departure was due to knee discomfort. Before his departure, Witt had gone 2 for 2 with a solo homer in the first inning and an RBI single in the second. Witt also scored his second run of the night in the second inning. The two-time All-Star is batting .294 with a .368 on-base percentage, 10 homers, 32 RBIs and an MLB-leading 28 steals in 76 games this season. Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout is back on the injured list. The team announced before Thursday night’s game against the Athletics that the 11-time All-Star was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right hamstring strain. The Angels recalled infielder Christian Moore from Triple-A Salt Lake among a flurry of moves. Injuries have hindered Trout for much of this decade. Since winning his third AL MVP award in 2019, Trout has played more than 82 games in a season just twice – 119 in 2022 and 130 in 2025. The 34-year-old Trout had played in 74 of 75 games this year in a resurgent season. He’s batting .234 with an .866 OPS, 17 homers, 36 RBIs and seven steals. He entered Thursday with an AL-leading 54 runs, a total that was tied for second in the majors behind Washington’s James Wood. Trout’s 66 walks also ranked second in the big leagues, behind the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz. Trout had the second-highest vote count of any AL outfielder in the All-Star Game balloting totals that were released this week. He grew up near Philadelphia, where this year’s All-Star Game will take place next month. The injury to Trout created an opportunity for Moore, who was hitting .333 with a .468 on-base percentage, nine homers, 45 RBIs and 10 steals in 51 games at Salt Lake while playing second base, third base and the outfield. Moore hit .198 with a .284 on-base percentage, seven homers, 16 RBIs and three steals in 53 games with the Angels last season. In other moves, the Angels recalled right-hander Ryan Johnson from Double-A Rocket City, released left-hander Drew Pomeranz and optioned right-hander Brett Kerry and catcher Logan Porter to Salt Lake. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Adolis García is out for the rest of the season with a lat injury. The Phillies announced Thursday that García will undergo latissimus dorsi repair surgery on Wednesday. The Phillies estimated his recovery would take six to eight months, enabling him to be ready for the start of the 2027 season. García signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Phillies in December after playing six seasons with the Texas Rangers. The two-time All-Star began his career with St. Louis in 2018. The 33-year-old García was batting .195 with a .270 on-base percentage, seven homers, 21 RBIs and three steals in 67 games. He left a June 10 game in Toronto with what the Phillies described as a pulled muscle in his right shoulder after making consecutive throws to home plate on sacrifice flies. In other moves Thursday, the Phillies recalled right-handed pitcher Seth Johnson and selected the contract of right-hander Bryse Wilson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. They optioned left-handed pitcher Tanner Banks to Lehigh Valley. Johnson had an 0-1 record and six saves with a 1.33 ERA in 24 relief appearances with Lehigh Valley. In two prior stints with Philadelphia this season, Johnson has posted a 7.36 ERA while appearing in three games. Wilson was 3-5 and posted a 6.29 ERA with Lehigh Valley in 12 appearances, including 11 starts. Wilson last pitched in the majors with the Chicago White Sox last year, and he owns a 20-23 record and 4.82 ERA in 163 career MLB appearances. Banks was 0-4 with a 5.86 ERA in 26 games with Philadelphia. Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester will undergo season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and is expected to be sidelined for eight to 10 months. Thoracic outlet syndrome is a disorder that occurs when blood vessels or nerves in the space between the collarbone and first rib are compressed. That can lead to neck and shoulder pain, numbness or tingling in the fingers, and arm weakness. Priester’s thoracic outlet decompression surgery will be performed on Monday in Dallas by surgeon Dr. Gregory Pearl and will involve the removal of the first upper rib on the right side. “After doing all the things that we had gone through to try and fix this problem without surgery, we’ve just kind of gotten to a point where these things aren’t working, so we’re going to get surgery and make sure we clean this up and so that for the rest of my career this isn’t an issue,” Priester said before the Brewers game against Cleveland on Thursday. Priester was a key cog in the team’s rotation a season ago when he went 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA in 29 appearances, including 24 starts, for a team that made it to the National League Championship Series before losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The condition caused considerable control issues during the rehab stints, Priester said. In five rehab games at Triple-A Nashville, two in Arizona and one at High-A Wisconsin, Priester had a 15.75 ERA and 2.88 WHIP in 16 innings, with 24 walks, 18 strikeouts, four hit batters and six wild pitches. “When the brain and arm are communicating the right way because of the nerves that are pinching in there, it makes it nearly impossible to actually create a result that’s repeatable,” he said. “It was great that we had gotten the pain to go away with the nerve blocks, but essentially, we couldn’t alleviate all the symptoms.” Priester said the full recovery time for the surgery is expected to be eight to 10 months, but the 25-year-old is confident he can beat the timeline. “I’m still a pretty young guy that may be able to make that a little bit quicker, be diligent with the work and be ready to compete for a spot in spring training next year,” Priester said. June 17 Cleveland Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter has become the latest Guardians position player to go on the injured list. The team announced the move before their Wednesday night game with the Milwaukee Brewers. DeLauter had hurt his ribs Saturday while colliding with the outfield wall. Outfielder Kahlil Watson was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to fill DeLauter’s spot on the roster. DeLauter’s injury came during a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers in which seven-time All-Star third baseman José Ramírez and outfielder Angel Martinez also were hurt. Ramírez underwent surgery Tuesday to remove the hook of the broken hamate bone in his left hand, an injury that occurred when he hit a foul pop to Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler. The normal recovery time after surgery is five-to-seven weeks. Martínez also got hurt while fouling off a pitch. He went on the injured list Tuesday with a nondisplaced fracture in his left foot, and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said Tuesday the 24-year-old could miss four-to-six weeks. DeLauter is batting .263 with a .337 on-base percentage, seven homers and 34 RBIs in 66 games. Four of his homers came in Cleveland’s first three games of the season. Ramírez is batting .239 with a .339 on-base percentage, 10 homers and 33 RBIs in 72 games. Martínez has a team-high 11 homers to go along with a .239 batting average, .276 on-base percentage and 33 RBIs in 66 games. Watson, 23, was batting .255 with a .370 on-base percentage, 12 homers, 35 RBIs and 15 steals in 56 games at Columbus. Watson entered the pro ranks as a Miami Marlins first-round pick in 2021, but he has no major-league experience. Max Scherzer is back on the injured list. The Toronto Blue Jays placed the three-time Cy Young winner on the 10-day injured list on Wednesday with back spasms. The move came hours before Scherzer was scheduled to start against the Boston Red Sox. Toronto will use reliever Braydon Fisher as an opener against Boston instead. Scherzer, who turns 42 next month, spent more than six weeks on the injured list this season with right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. He returned last week and became the 11th pitcher in major-league history to reach 3,500 career strikeouts when he fanned Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber. The moment proved to be the highlight as Scherzer was pulled after giving up five runs in 3 1/3 innings in what became a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Scherzer, who signed a $3-million, one-year deal to return to Toronto in the offseason, is 1-4 with a 10.23 ERA in six starts with the Blue Jays in 2026. The Tigers announced that Gleyber Torres is headed back to the 10-day IL, once again for his oblique. Torres had just returned at the start of June after spending all but two games of May on the IL for a strain to the same oblique, his left. The second baseman is thriving when he is on the field, batting .280/.395/.395 with 10 extra-base hits in 43 games. While the power isn’t much, the .395 on-base percentage would rank fourth in the American League if Torres qualified, behind only the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez amd the Orioles’ Taylor Ward. Torres was also finally hitting for power upon returning from the initial oblique injury: he hit .341/.413/.585 with six of those extra-base hits in those 11 games; not coincidentally, Detroit was 7-4 in those games despite being well under .500, at 30-43, for the season. The Tigers activated starting pitcher Casey Mize from the IL to take Torres’ space on the roster. Mize has made nine starts in 2026 and owns a 2.27 ERA, with over four times as many strikeouts as walks in 47 ⅔ innings. He will slot back into a rotation that also recently welcome back defending AL Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal. June 16 Guardians All-Star third baseman Jose Ramirez had surgery Tuesday to remove the hook of the broken hamate bone in his left hand. The team said in a statement that the procedure was performed in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, by Dr. Thomas Graham. “We knew he was going to need surgery, so earlier today he was able to get it done,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Tuesday’s game. Ramírez suffered the injury during the fifth inning of Saturday’s 3-1 win over the Detroit Tigers, when he fouled out on a pop up to Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler. It is only the second time in Ramírez’s 14 big league seasons that he has been placed on the injured list. The seven-time All-Star also broke the hamate bone in his right hand in 2019 and missed only a month. The normal recovery time post-surgery is five to seven weeks. “That’s part of life. Those are things that are going to happen, so I’m not upset. It’s just part of the game and just got to keep going,” Ramírez said about the injury on Sunday. The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic has played in a franchise-record 1,681 games. He is also the only player in Cleveland’s 125-year history to have at least 300 stolen bases and 250 home runs. Cleveland also placed outfielder Angel Martinez on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to a nondisplaced fracture in his left foot. Martínez’s injury also occurred during Saturday’s game after fouling off a pitch. Martínez, who leads the Guardians with 11 homers, could be out four to six weeks, Vogt said. “He walked in Monday probably knowing that we’d probably get some testing done on Monday if he wasn’t feeling better and he wasn’t,” Vogt said. “MRI and CT scan both revealed a fracture in the foot, so it will be four to six weeks for Angel.” Star catcher Cal Raleigh, runner-up in AL MVP voting last season after hitting 60 home runs, was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. He was in the lineup and behind the plate as the Mariners returned home for their series opener against the Baltimore Orioles. Raleigh had been out since May 14 with a right oblique strain, the first IL stint of his career. Seattle went 15-13 without him and was still leading the AL West, but the team finished 4-6 recently on a 10-game trip through Detroit, Baltimore and Washington. “I’m just really just excited to get back,” said Raleigh who hit .412 (7 for 17) with five home runs and 12 RBIs in a five-game rehab assignment with Class A Everett and Triple-A Tacoma. “I missed it a lot, and it was a fun week getting back out there. I’m really excited just to get back to it, be with the guys, and get back in the thick of it.” Raleigh’s numbers prior to the injury were nowhere near what he became accustomed to during his historic 2025 campaign, when he established single-season records for homers by a catcher, a switch-hitter and a Mariners player. He entered Tuesday’s game with a .161 batting average, seven homers and 18 RBIs. Raleigh wasn’t the only reinforcement to arrive for Seattle on Tuesday. Veteran shortstop J.P. Crawford, who had been on the injured list since June 5 after being hit in the hand by a pitch at Detroit, returned to action and promptly was inserted as the team’s starting third baseman for the first time this season as the club continues to see what rookie shortstop Colt Emerson can do. Seattle did have a setback, however, as outfielder Randy Arozarena was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The move was retroactive to Saturday. Arozarena hasn’t played since last Friday, and an MRI on Tuesday showed mild inflammation. The Associated Press contributed to this report.