MLB Player News

Culpepper was held out of the lineup Wednesday for Triple-A St. Paul's 3-2 loss to Buffalo due to an apparent left hand injury, Theodore Tollefson of ZoneCoverage.com reports.

During Tuesday's contest, Culpepper was hit on the hand by a pitch in the first inning. He was able to take his base, but he was then lifted from the game ahead of the second inning. According to Tollefson, Culpepper is still awaiting the results of X-rays on his hand and is being viewed as day-to-day. Culpepper had recently recovered from a left hip strain, which kept him out of action at St. Paul for just over two weeks.

The Mets selected Yan's contract and then optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday.

Yan likely had an opt-out clause in his minor-league contract, and the Mets will add him to the 40-man roster to prevent him from leaving. The lefty reliever has struck out a whopping 63 batters over 33.1 innings between Double-A Binghamton and Syracuse in 2026, though he's also issued 24 walks. Yan has never pitched in the majors.

Lindor went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Blue Jays.

The star shortstop has just four hits in 23 at-bats (.174) over six games since coming off the IL, but three of those knocks have gone for extra bases, including Lindor's ninth-inning shot off Patrick Corbin on Wednesday. Lindor's still trying to find his timing at the plate after missing two months due to a calf strain, but two long balls in the last three contests in an encouraging sign.

Prielipp isn't listed among the Twins' probable starting pitchers for their three-game weekend series versus the Yankees in New York.

The Twins will end up going with a four-man rotation during their six-game week, with Prielipp having his turn skipped after he struck out a career-high 10 batters over six innings in his last outing Sunday against the Rockies. Prielipp has covered six innings and tossed 90-plus pitches in four of his last five starts, so the Twins may simply be looking to manage the workload of the 25-year-old lefty, who previously underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 and a UCL repair with an internal brace in July 2023. If he isn't used out of the bullpen over the weekend, Prielipp will likely re-enter the rotation at some point during the Twins' home series with the Guardians that runs Tuesday through Thursday.

Walker allowed four earned runs on four hits while failing to record an out in Wednesday's 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Walker entered in the eighth inning and gave up three singles and a double before being pulled. The right-hander has surrendered six runs over 1.2 innings in his last three appearances, totaling 42 pitches during that span. He now owns a 7.06 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and 18:12 K:BB across 21.2 innings in 24 outings this season.

Payne has posted a 3.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 95:22 K:BB over 68.2 innings this season between Single-A Jupiter and High-A Beloit.

An 18th-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of a Pennsylvania high school, Payne gave up an offer from George Mason to start his pro career early, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, and the decision seems to be paying off. While the 20-year-old southpaw sits in the low 90s with his fastball, his velocity has crept up since he was drafted and the pitch comes with significant ride that allows him to work up in the zone. He then turns to a potentially plus curveball and slider for his whiffs. Payne likely still profiles as a back-of-the-rotation option in the majors at best unless he can add more juice to his fastball and improve his changeup, but his development so far has been impressive.

Assad is slated to start Sunday's game against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

After pitching 2.2 innings of long relief behind Matthew Boyd in his most recent appearance during Tuesday's 9-7 win over the Padres, Assad will slot back into the rotation weekend. While Assad has rolled to a 3-0 record, 2.70 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over his last three starts, the Cubs' willingness to use him in relief earlier this week could indicate that he's the pitcher most likely to move to the bullpen once the banged-up Chicago rotation gets some further reinforcement. Among the Cubs' injured starters, Jameson Taillon (hamstring) is the closest to returning and is set to make a rehab start Sunday, but it's unclear if he'll be ready to return from the 15-day injured list during the final week before the All-Star break.

Smith picked up a hold in Wednesday's 6-4 win over Arizona, allowing one hit while striking out one in one inning.

After giving up a run in each of his previous two outings, Smith threw nine of his 13 pitches for strikes Wednesday and helped slow the Diamondbacks after they opened the eighth inning with four straight hits off Ryan Walker. Smith picked up his second hold of the season, with both coming in his last two appearances. The right-hander now owns a 1.86 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 11:4 K:BB across 9.2 innings in 11 games this season.

Hicks went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday's loss to the Rockies.

Making his second straight start at first base since coming off the IL, Hicks has banged out two hits and scored a run in each game since recovering from a lower-back strain. The 27-year-old's breakout campaign doesn't appear to be slowing down -- over 19 contests since the beginning of June, Hicks has produced a .324/.405/.471 slash line with five extra-base hits, including two homers, eight RBI and 15 runs.

Peterson is slated to start Friday's game against the Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

The 30-year-old southpaw will be rewarded with another turn through the rotation after excelling in his Cubs debut last Saturday, earning a win over the Brewers while striking out two batters and allowing two earned runs on five hits and no walks across 5.2 innings. Peterson's body of work over a sample of eight starts and eight relief appearances with the Mets this season has been much less impressive (6.09 ERA, 1.65 WHIP in 68 innings), but he looks like he'll have a chance to stick around in a depleted Chicago rotation until the club gets some reinforcements. Among the Cubs' injured starters, Jameson Taillon (hamstring) is the closest to returning and is set to make a rehab start Sunday, but it's unclear if he'll be ready to return from the 15-day injured list before the All-Star break.