MLB Player News

Conine (hamstring) appears to be a week or two away from beginning a rehab assignment, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

The 28-year-old was injured in early April and underwent surgery to repair his left hamstring. Conine's making progress in his recovery, but there's no firm timeline yet for him to begin a rehab stint. Given the length of his layoff, a mid-June return to the majors might be a best-case scenario for Conine.

The Rangers released Blanco on Friday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

Blanco has slashed .230/.324/.295 with zero home runs and seven stolen bases over 21 contests with Triple-A Round Rock this season. The speedy outfielder will now be on the lookout for a deal with a new organization.

Morel could be released if he doesn't begin hitting soon, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

Signed to a modest one-year contract this offseason and asked to transition from the outfield to first base, Morel had his campaign put on pause by an Opening Day oblique strain, but the 26-year-old has contributed very little since coming off the IL in late April. Over 63 plate appearances this season, Morel is slashing .169/.222/.220 with zero homers and a 3:23 BB:K. Clearing him off the roster would potentially open up a spot for top prospect Kemp Alderman (wrist), who has been getting work at first base at Triple-A Jacksonville -- although it was a collision at first base while playing defense that led to his current wrist injury. In the meantime, Connor Norby and Liam Hicks will be the primary options at 1B for Miami while Morel tries to find his swing.

Milbrandt could be an option to join the Marlins' rotation later this summer, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.

The 22-year-old right-hander has dominated to begin the season at Double-A Pensacola, posting a 1.06 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 63:14 K:BB through 42.1 innings, but the organization has been very careful with Milbrandt's workload and has had him pitching just once a week rather than every five or six days. His stuff appears ready for the majors, however -- he's gained velocity since being a third-round pick in the 2022 First-Year Player Draft and now sits in the mid-90s with his fastball while touching the high 90s, and he also works with a plus slider and promising kick-change. The Marlins don't seem inclined to rush him, but he'll need to be added to the 40-man roster this winter anyway, and with injuries piling up in the big-league rotation Milbrandt is positioning himself for a 2026 MLB debut.

Macko will serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher in Friday's contest in Baltimore, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Macko hasn't gone more than 1.1 innings or thrown more than 20 pitches in six relief outings this season, so his appearance Friday will be brief. Former Oriole Austin Voth is a top candidate to work behind in Macko in a bulk-relief role, though Toronto hasn't confirmed its pitching plans once Macko exits the contest.

Tiedemann (elbow) continues to throw bullpen sessions at the Blue Jays' spring training complex and is close to throwing a live batting practice session, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Tiedemann will face hitters 2-4 times before being cleared to pitch in games if all goes well. The left-hander missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and was shut down during spring training due to further elbow soreness. Tiedemann is unlikely to become an option for the Blue Jays before the second half.

Cease (hamstring) is expected to throw a bullpen session this weekend, Ian Quillen of MLB.com reports.

The Blue Jays kicked off a four-game set in Baltimore on Thursday, and manager John Schneider indicated before it began that he was optimistic Cease would be able to get on a mound during the trip. A minimum-length stay on the IL is still possible for Cease, who suffered a mild hamstring strain May 24. Over his first 11 starts for Toronto, he's produced a 3.05 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 92:26 K:BB in 62 innings.

Bloss is showing improved stuff during his rehab assignment as he completes his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old right-hander underwent the surgery last May, and over three rehab appearances between the Blue Jays' Florida Complex League affiliate and Single-A Dunedin, Bloss has produced a 12:0 K:BB over 8.2 innings. In his most recent start for Dunedin on May 24, Bloss built up to 50 pitches and was comfortably sitting 95-96 mph with his fastball, a big step up from the 93.4 mph he averaged with the pitch in 2024. He's scheduled to make at least one more rehab start, but he could be an option for the big-league rotation in early June as Toronto deals with injuries to Dylan Cease (hamstring), Max Scherzer (forearm), Shane Bieber (elbow) and other starting pitchers.

Mateo went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run scored and an RBI in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.

Getting the start at shortstop and batting seventh, Mateo put together his second straight multi-hit performance. The veteran utility player has seen his usage shrink since Ha-Seong Kim came off the IL in mid-May, but he's been surprisingly productive when given the opportunity. Through 41 plate appearances this month, Mateo is slashing .368/.415/.526 with three doubles, a homer, four steals, four RBI and nine runs.

Harris went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.

The center fielder took Jovani Moran deep in the seventh inning, boosting Atlanta's lead to 8-2 in an eventual 10-2 rout. Harris has been flexing his muscles to close out May, homering five times in the last nine games while slashing .350/.366/.750 over that span with one steal, nine runs and nine RBI.