MLB Player News

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.

Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and three runs scored in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Mariners.

Arozarena logged multiple hits for the fourth time in the last six games, and he's also scored seven runs in that span. The outfielder has been one of the Mariners' most reliable bats early in the season, hitting .299 with an .823 OPS through 19 contests. He's hit just one home run, but he's added seven RBI, 16 runs scored, five steals and four doubles across 81 plate appearances.

Raley went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double and a second run scored in Wednesday's 7-6 loss to the Padres.

This was Raley's first long ball since he went deep in each of the first three games of the season. He's still made excellent contact lately, going 11-for-17 (.647) over his last four contests. For the season, he's up to a .339/.391/.644 slash line with four homers, 12 RBI, eight runs scored, four doubles, one triple and no stolen bases over 17 games. Raley showed some power potential in 2023 and 2024 before regressing last year, but he's never been one to hit for a particularly high average, and his .500 BABIP won't last in the long run.

Hancock allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out six over six innings in a no-decision versus the Padres on Wednesday.

Hancock logged his third quality start in four outings this season. He was working a shutout through five innings, but Xander Bogaerts' tagged him for a two-run home run in the sixth, which was just the second long ball Hancock's yielded this season. He's showing breakout potential with a 2.28 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 25:4 K:BB across 23.2 innings so far. Hancock is projected to make his next start at home versus the Athletics early next week.

Burger went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Burger has gone 5-for-15 (.333) with three homers and eight RBI during a four-game hitting streak. He was on the bench to start Wednesday, but he came in as a pinch hitter for Joc Pederson in the sixth inning and stayed in the game at first base. Burger is up to five homers, 15 RBI, eight runs scored and four doubles while batting .254 with an .805 OPS through 18 contests this season. Burger was limited to 16 long balls in 103 contests last year, but he's found a bit more power early in 2026 despite striking out at a 31.1 percent clip thus far.

Seager went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and a second run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Seager has just three hits over his last eight games (3-for-27), but all of those knocks have gone for extra bases. He's also drawn a walk in six of those contests, but he's added 10 strikeouts in that span. The contact has been good for the shortstop when he connects, but he's struggling with the second part of that equation. He's batting .203 with a .774 OPS, five homers, 12 RBI, 12 runs scored, a double and one stolen base over 18 contests.

Rocker allowed two runs on four hits, four walks and a hit batsman while striking out six over 4.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Athletics on Wednesday.

Rocker's four walks were a season high, but so were the six strikeouts. In the end, it was an inefficient performance for the right-hander, who was unable to complete five frames with his 97 pitches (59 strikes). Through three starts this season, he has a 4.30 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 14:7 K:BB over 14.2 innings. Rocker will need to improve at limiting traffic on the bases, as that's what has kept him from pitching deeper into games so far. His next start is tentatively projected to be at home versus the Pirates.

Clarke went 1-for-3 with one RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Rangers.

Clarke put the Athletics ahead 2-0 with an RBI single in the second inning. The outfielder has yet to record a multi-hit game this season, and he's struck out eight times over his last six games. He's batting .174 with a .420 OPS, no home runs, one double, six RBI, four runs scored and a steal over 17 contests. Despite the mediocre results at the plate, he's currently holding down a starting role in center field due to his strong defense.