MLB Player News

Horton is scheduled to start Friday's game against the White Sox at Wrigley Field, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

After being promoted from Triple-A Iowa last Saturday, Horton made his MLB debut later that day against the Mets, working in bulk relief and striking out five while allowing three runs on four hits and no walks across four innings en route to claiming the win. According to Levine, manager Craig Counsell suggested that the decision to use Horton in relief against the Mets was mainly to spare him from matchups with Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso to begin his big-league career, but the top of the White Sox lineup won't provide nearly as tough of a test. Horton should continue to hold down a spot in the Chicago rotation at least until Shota Imanaga (hamstring) is ready to return from the injured list.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Sauer will start Thursday's game against the Athletics, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Sauer will pick up his first MLB start Thursday, as all 14 of his appearances with the Royals in 2024 as well as his first four with the Dodgers in 2025 had come out of the bullpen. The right-hander made three starts at Triple-A Oklahoma City earlier this season and worked as a bulk reliever or piggyback pitcher in two of his relief outings with Los Angeles, pitching five innings April 29 and four innings May 7. The Dodgers will likely look for Sauer to cover 4-to-6 innings Thursday before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Barco was removed from Thursday's start at Triple-A Indianapolis in the first inning with an undisclosed injury, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Barco was lifted in the middle of an at-bat after delivering his 23rd pitch of the frame. It's unclear what injury the left-hander is dealing with, but an update on his condition could be available later Thursday. Barco was making just his second start for Indianapolis following a promotion earlier this month from Double-A Altoona. Heading into action Thursday, the southpaw had allowed just one run with a 39:10 K:BB in his first 30 innings this season.

Candelario (back) played catch on the field at Great American Ball Park on Thursday, Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News reports.

Candelario has been shelved since late April with a lumbar spine strain and last week was given an epidural to help speed along the recovery process. He's finally ready to begin ramping things back up, but a timetable for the infielder's return has not yet been established.

Tena went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Wednesday's win over the Mets.

The 24-year-old has been filling in at second base the last two games while Luis Garcia (paternity leave) has been away from the team, leaving third base to Amed Rosario. Tena should shift back to the strong side of a platoon at the hot corner once Garcia is back, but his hold on the job may be tenuous. Through 10 games in May, Tena is batting just .214 (6-for-28) with one steal, one run and three RBI, and he's still looking for his first homer of 2025.

Ferrer (1-2) picked up the win Wednesday over the Mets, striking out one in 1.1 scoreless innings of relief.

The southpaw became the pitcher of record when the Nationals rallied for two runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth to erase a 4-1 deficit. Ferrer has been prone to blowups this season, most recently surrendering five runs in one-third of an inning against the Guardians on May 6, but he continues to see high-leverage opportunities in a Washington bullpen that lacks better options. Through 22 innings this season, Ferrer carries a 6.95 ERA, 1.64 WHIP and 22:8 K:BB with nine holds in 22 appearances.

The Cardinals optioned Svanson to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

The reliever was returned to Triple-A after he had been called up to serve as the Cardinals' 27th man for Wednesday's doubleheader in Philadelphia. He was used for the final inning of the Cardinals' 14-7 win in Game 2, striking out the side on 14 pitches.

Friedl (wrist) is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the White Sox.

Friedl is tending to a bone bruise in his right wrist, an injury he suffered in Tuesday's 5-1 loss. The Reds held him out of the lineup for Wednesday's 4-2 loss, though manager Terry Francona told Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News that Friedl was available off the bench to pinch run or play defense. Friedl will remain limited to a bench role for the second day in a row because the wrist issue is still making it difficult for him to hit comfortably, but Francona expressed hope that the 29-year-old would be back in action for Friday's series opener versus the Guardians. Will Benson will cover center field in Frield's place Thursday.

Strider (hamstring) threw 65 pitches over five innings in a simulated game Wednesday, but after sitting around 95-to-96 miles per hour with his fastball in the first frame, his velocity declined for the rest of the workout, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

The right-hander hadn't faced hitters in any setting in nearly a month after straining his hamstring while playing catch April 21, and manager Brian Snitker indicated the reduction in velocity was due to that inactivity, not any health concerns. Atlanta has yet to decide if it wants to send Strider for a rehab start before activating him from the 15-day injured list, and rejoining the big-league rotation for a road series against the Nationals early next week remains on the table.

Call will start in right field and bat seventh in Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Though Call still looks to be the Nationals' fourth outfielder, he's seen fairly steady playing time while manager Dave Martinez continues to dish out occasional days off for Dylan Crews, Jacob Young and Josh Bell. Crews will be the odd man out of the lineup Thursday, allowing Call to pick up his eighth start in 12 games.