MLB Player News

Vargas was removed from Thursday's game against the Dodgers in the fifth inning after colliding with Max Muncy at first base, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.

Muncy legged out an infield single in the top of the fifth, but he and Vargas violently collided at the bag. Both players spent several minutes on the ground before each was helped off the field. Pavin Smith has replaced Vargas at first base. Vargas went 0-for-2 at the plate before the injury.

Muncy was removed from Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks in the fifth inning after colliding with Ildemaro Vargas at first base, Jack Sommers of SI.com reports.

Muncy legged out an infield single, but he and Vargas had a violent collision at first base. Both players were helped off the field and removed from the contest. Prior to leaving, Muncy was 1-for-2 at the plate. Santiago Espinal pinch ran for the injured third baseman.

Cabrera (finger) is listed as the probable starter for Friday's game against the Giants.

Cabrera is eligible to come off the injured list Friday and was initially expected to start Saturday afternoon's game against San Francisco. However, it appears the Cubs are pushing him up a day and moving Ben Brown back to Saturday to give him six days rest. Cabrera developed a blister after allowing four runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts across three innings May 20 against the Brewers. On the season, the right-hander owns a 4.00 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and disappointing 47:20 K:BB across 54 innings. Cabrera has a career-low 20.7 percent strikeout rate, and he has lost some zip on his fastball, averaging just 95.7 mph with the pitch after coming in at 97 mph with Miami in 2025.

The Yankees announced Thursday that Judge has a stress fracture of his first rib on his right side and will be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks before being re-evaluated, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

In other words, 4-to-6 weeks is the minimum amount of time Judge will spend in recovery before the team conducts further imaging on the ribs. He'll likely then need a period of time to ramp back up if everything comes back clean. Judge will head to the 10-day injured list, but the Yankees said the 34-year-old is expected to play again this season. It's an absolutely crushing blow to the New York lineup and for fantasy baseball. Judge hasn't played since May 31, and Jose Caballero and Max Schuemann have been seeing the playing time in right field. Spencer Jones could also be an option for promotion with Judge looking at an extended absence.

Schanuel (ankle) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga on Friday.

Schanuel was placed on the 10-day injured list with left ankle inflammation May 27 and hasn't played since May 23. Prior to going down with the injury, Schanuel was slashing .262/.313/.387 with four home runs, 24 RBI, 18 runs scored and a 13:33 BB:K across 208 plate appearances. Schanuel's 6.3 percent walk rate is well below his 10.6 percent career average. Lacking power, Schanuel also owns a career-high 14.3 percent infield flyball rate this season.

The Red Sox intend to option Bello to Triple-A Worcester, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Bello was hammered for eight runs on seven hits and three walks across five innings in Thursday's loss to the Orioles. He had a brutal first inning, allowing nine of the first 10 batters to reach safely while being tagged for six runs. Through 61 innings this season, Bello has an ugly 6.34 ERA, 1.67 WHIP and 44:24 K:BB, with a lot of those troubles coming during the first inning, when he's surrendered 15 earned runs. He'll try to iron things out in the minors with the hope of rejoining the Red Sox later this summer. Jake Bennett is believed to be a strong candidate to fill Bello's spot in the rotation, according to Ian Browne of MLB.com.

Arias (hamstring) started at shortstop and went 0-for-1 with a walk for Triple-A Columbus on Thursday.

Arias opened a rehab assignment with the Clippers and played five innings in the field before taking a seat for the final four frames. He's been out since early April, which suggests he'll use up most of the allotted 20 days for position players on a rehab assignment. Given the performances of Brayan Rocchio at shortstop and Travis Bazzana at second base, Arias may have to settle for a utility role once he's ready.

Bazzana was dropped from leadoff to cleanup Thursday and went 0-for-4 in a 2-1 loss to the Yankees.

Bazzana has thrived since being moved to leadoff, so it was strange to see him batting fourth. Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reported that the unique lineup configuration was an attempt to maximize the Guardians' offense against left-hander Carlos Rodon. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt trotted out three right-handed batters to open the game, followed by the lefty-hitting Bazzana.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's 8-2 loss to Baltimore.

Contreras singled home a run in the sixth inning before connecting on a solo homer in the ninth. It was his team-high 12th home run to go along with a team-leading 35 RBI. A lot has gone wrong for Boston this season, but trading for Contreras over the winter has worked out well for the power-needy Red Sox.

Manager Dave Roberts said Thursday that Ohtani is dealing with a "small" blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, but it's a "non-issue" for his pitching starts moving forward, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ohtani was seen messing with the finger during Wednesday's start against Arizona, where he continued his dominance on the mound with six shutout innings to pick up his sixth win. He's out of the lineup Thursday against the Diamondbacks, but it's a routine day off after making the start the night before. Ohtani is expected to be fine for his next start on the road against the Pirates next week and should be back in the lineup at DH versus the Angels on Friday.