MLB Player News

Houck (elbow) has been making throws out to 105 feet three days per week, MLB.com reports.

In addition to the longer throws in those sessions, Houck has alternated sessions with throws out to 60 feet in which he also incorporated changeups. The Red Sox are targeting late June for the right-hander to begin mound work, but it's not yet clear whether he's pitch for Boston at all in 2026. Houck underwent hybrid reconstruction of his right UCL with flexor tendon repair last August.

Suarez did not factor into the decision Thursday against the Phillies, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out eight over 5.1 scoreless innings.

Making his first start since exiting his May 3 outing with hamstring tightness, Suarez looked strong in his return to the mound, generating eight strikeouts while limiting hard contact throughout. The left-hander was pulled after allowing a Bryce Harper single in the sixth inning despite sitting at just 76 pitches, likely with caution still in mind following the injury. Before the hamstring issue, Suarez had already been on a hot stretch, tossing six or more scoreless frames in three of his previous four starts. He now owns a 2.44 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 40:11 K:BB across 44.1 innings.

Kurtz went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Cardinals.

After going 15 games without leaving the yard, Kurtz lifted his second homer in as many days by leading off the bottom of the first inning with a 442-foot solo shot off Michael McGreevy. The young first baseman continues to flash the same elite bat he showed during his 2025 stint, as over his last 25 games Kurtz is batting 31-for-94 (.330) with a 1.025 OPS. On the year he's now slashing .275/.428/.477 with seven homers, eight doubles, 26 RBI, 27 runs scored and five stolen bases across 194 plate appearances.

Lopez did not factor into the decision Thursday against the Cardinals, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out two over five innings.

Lopez was effective through the first four innings, allowing just one hit before trouble arrived. Victor Scott tied the game with a solo homer in the fifth, and Jordan Walker added another solo shot an inning later before a throwing error helped bring home an additional run that ended Lopez's outing. The left-hander threw 56 of his 86 pitches for strikes but continued to struggle with keeping the ball in the yard, as he's now allowed multiple homers in three straight appearances. Lopez also has yet to complete six frames in a start this season. He owns a 5.80 ERA, 1.71 WHIP and 30:27 K:BB across 40.1 innings and is slated to face the Angels in his next turn through the rotation.

Grichuk went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Royals.

Grichuk started the scoring for Chicago with a two-run homer in the first inning and then added a single in the third that plated two more runs. The veteran outfielder has given the White Sox a jolt of power since joining the club May 4, going deep three times over 17 at-bats. However, Grichuk has had to make the most of his opportunities, as he's started just four times across the team's nine contests during that span.

Bubic (3-2) took the loss against the White Sox on Thursday, pitching four innings and allowing five runs on five hits and three walks while striking out one batter.

Bubic has handed a 1-0 lead before he took the mound but gave that up quickly when he surrendered a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. The left-hander pitched a clean second but then gave up three runs across the following two frames before being lifted. The five runs he allowed tied a season-worst mark in what turned out to be his shortest outing of the year. Bubic has given up one or no runs in four of his nine starts, but he's also yielded four or more runs three times. Altogether, he's posted a mediocre 4.11 ERA and 1.23 WHIP along with a 51:26 K:BB over 50.1 innings on the season.

Newcomb notched a save against the Royals on Thursday, allowing one hit and striking out one batter over two scoreless innings.

Newcomb entered in the eighth inning with Chicago holding a three-run lead. He tossed a scoreless frame, then saw the White Sox tack on a run in the bottom of the inning. Newcomb returned for the ninth and retired the side in order to lock down the save. Primary closer Seranthony Dominguez pitched each of the previous two days, and it's unclear if he would have been called upon in the ninth anyway since the White Sox held a four-run lead. Dominguez remains the team's clear top ninth-inning option, so fantasy managers probably shouldn't expect Newcomb to see many additional save chances going forward.

Kay (3-1) earned the win over Kansas City on Thursday, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four batters over six-plus innings.

Kay gave up a run in the first inning but then tossed five straight scoreless frames. He departed after giving up a leadoff triple in the seventh, and though that runner eventually came around to score, Kay ended with both a quality start and a victory. The southpaw has shown improvement on the mound of late -- after failing to complete five innings in five of his first six starts and posting a 6.12 ERA over that span, he's tossed at least five frames in each of his past three starts and has given up just four earned runs while notching a 14:5 K:BB across 16 innings during that stretch. Kay is projected to next take the mound next week in Seattle.

Martinez was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Martinez will head to Salt Lake after spending nearly a week with the major-league roster, going 1-for-3 with a strikeout in his brief stint with the Angels. The team is expected to activate Logan O'Hoppe (wrist) from the 10-day injured list Friday, and he'll replace Martinez with the big-league club.

Dingler went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-4 loss to the Mets.

Dingler extended his hitting streak to four games, and he's batting .313 with two home runs during the stretch. Overall, the Detroit catcher is now up to eight long balls for the season, which puts him on pace to fly past last year's career-high total of 13 homers in 126 regular-season games. Dingler can be a bit streaky at the plate, but he's locked into a starting role and is producing in the power department for fantasy managers.