MLB Player News

The Cardinals will recall Graceffo from Triple-A Memphis prior to Monday's game against the Pirates, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Presumably, he will take the roster spot of Michael McGreevy, who is expected to be sent back down to Memphis. Graceffo picked up a win out of the bullpen last week in Cincinnati with five innings of one-run ball and is eligible to be recalled because he was the 27th man for a doubleheader that day. He will serve in a long relief role.

Sykora (hip) struck out six in two innings for the Nationals' Florida Complex League affiliate Saturday, allowing one run on one hit and one walk.

Seeing his first game action of the year after undergoing hip labrum surgery this offseason, Sykora simply overmatched FCL hitters. The 21-year-old southpaw is the Nationals' top pitching prospect after a breakout 2024 campaign at Single-A Fredericksburg, and he'll likely be assigned to High-A Wilmington once his rehab stint is complete.

Baty has yet to play a game in May for Triple-A Syracuse due to a sore right big toe, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The injury will likely prevent Baty from being an option to re-join the big-league roster if Jesse Winker (side) lands on the IL. Baty went 3-for-10 with two doubles and three RBI in his first three games following his demotion to Syracuse before the toe issue cropped up.

Manaea (oblique) has fallen behind Frankie Montas (lat) in his recovery schedule, but the Mets haven't ruled out the left-hander making his 2025 debut at some point in June, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

Manaea suffered a right oblique strain in late February, and while he began a throwing progression in mid-March, he was quickly shut down due to continued discomfort in his side. The 33-year-old resumed playing catch April 14 after getting a platelet-rich plasma injection, but he remains weeks away from a potential rehab assignment, and Manaea will need a full build-up before he's ready to join the big-league rotation.

Montas (lat) remains on track to return from the 60-day injured list to make his Mets debut in early June, Tim Britton of the Athletic reports.

Signed to a one-year deal by the Mets in December, Montas didn't make it out of spring training before suffering a high-grade right lat strain. The 32-year-old has yet to begin a rehab assignment, but he's thrown two bullpen sessions thus far and could soon be ready to face live hitters.

Barco was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Barco had a dominant start to the season with Double-A Altoona, as he threw 25.2 scoreless innings with a 34:7 K:BB prior to his promotion. Bubba Chandler will still almost certainly beat him to the big-league rotation, though Barco could find his way to Pittsburgh at some point during the summer months.

Gorman suffered a left index finger laceration during the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mets, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

He was injured in the second inning when Willson Contreras stepped on Gorman's glove hand during the latter's sliding catch on a popup in shallow right field. Gorman was checked on by the team trainer but remained in the game, eventually getting removed in the ninth inning for defense. He did not play in the second game of the Cardinals' doubleheader sweep, but it does not seem as though Gorman's finger issue will prevent him from being available Monday versus the Pirates.

Edwards went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the A's.

The shortstop swiped a bag for the second straight game, giving him eight steals in 10 attempts through 33 contests on the season. Edwards said early in spring training that he was aiming for 60 stolen bases this year, but he'll need to pick up his pace significantly to meet that goal. Getting on base more often would help -- after delivering a .328 batting average and .397 OBP in his breakout 2024, Edwards has seen those marks drop to .259 and .329 to begin the current campaign.

Bender (1-2) took the loss Sunday against the A's, giving up a run on two hits in an inning of relief. He struck out two.

Entering a 2-2 tie to begin the ninth inning, Bender served up a one-out triple to rookie Nick Kurtz before Tyler Soderstrom ripped an RBI single back up the middle. Jesus Tinoco worked a scoreless seventh inning and Calvin Faucher a clean eighth, and while it's encouraging the manager Clayton McCullough held Bender back for a potential save situation in the ninth, the right-hander's performance of late hasn't warranted that trust. Bender's been tagged for a run in four of his last nine appearances, posting a 4.15 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 8:5 K:BB in 8.2 innings over that stretch with two losses and two blown saves against zero saves and just one hold.

Romero averaged 95.3 mph during a scoreless appearance Sunday in the first game of a doubleheader versus the Mets, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Romero was called upon in the eighth inning with two runners on, the Cardinals clinging to a one-run lead and Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Brandon Nimmo due up. After walking Soto to load the bases, Romero struck out Alonso looking and then got Nimmo to fly out to end the frame. The left-hander has spent extra time in the weight room recently in hopes of regaining some velocity and swing-and-miss, and he's now turned in three straight scoreless appearances while striking out three of nine batters faced.