MLB Player News

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Javier (shoulder) isn't expected to return from the 15-day injured list until late May or early June, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. "Hopefully it could be a little sooner."

Hunter Brown is facing a similar timeline for a return after he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain April 5 before Javier went down with the exact same injury in his start three days later. Javier remains in the midst of a no-throw program and is expected to be re-evaluated later on during the upcoming week before the Astros decide on his next steps. Even if Javier gets the green light to start playing catch following his re-evaluation, he looks like he'll require at least a month to get fully stretched back out. A more definitive target date for Javier's return won't become clear until he's ready to head out on what will likely be a multi-start minor-league rehab assignment.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Brown (shoulder) isn't expected to return from the 15-day injured list until late May or early June, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports. "Hopefully it could be a little sooner."

Cristian Javier is facing a similar timeline for a return after both he and Brown sustained Grade 2 right shoulder strains within less than a week of one another. Shortly after Brown was diagnosed with the injury April 5, the Astros indicated that the right-hander would be shut down from throwing for two weeks before being re-evaluated, so he could be cleared to start playing light catch at some point in the coming days. Even so, Brown will be in line for a lengthy buildup, and a more definitive target date for his return won't become clear until he's ready to head out on what will likely be a multi-start minor-league rehab assignment.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday that Soto (calf) remains on track to return during the team's upcoming homestand, which runs April 21-30, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

It was previously reported that Soto was expected to be reinstated from the 10-day IL during the upcoming week, so a return during the first half of the homestand wouldn't be surprising. The 27-year-old appears set to rejoin the Mets without needing a minor-league rehab assignment after missing the past two-plus weeks due to a calf strain.

Wheeler (shoulder) struck out four and allowed four earned runs on six hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in his rehab start with Double-A Reading.

After working 5.2 innings and posting a 9:0 K:BB in his previous appearance for Reading on Tuesday, Wheeler took a step back with his command and control Sunday. He spotted 48 of his 77 pitches for strikes and yielded a solo home run and a three-run blast, bringing his ERA up to 5.85 and his WHIP to 1.20 over his five rehab starts between Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Though his results haven't been as strong as the Phillies might have hoped, Wheeler has been able to progressively build up his pitch counts and looks ready to handle a typical starter's workload in his next outing, which is expected to come with the big club. Wheeler tentatively lines up to return from the 15-day injured list to make his 2026 Phillies debut during next weekend's series in Atlanta.

Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said Sunday that Rookier (oblique) has resumed taking part in light baseball activities, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The veteran slugger landed on the shelf April 10 due to an oblique strain, and he was shut down from baseball activities for a little more than a week. Rooker will travel with the Athletics on their road trip this week as he continues to ramp up his activity level.

Realmuto (back) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

Realmuto's absence from the lineup for the series finale comes as little surprise after he was lifted from Saturday's 3-1 loss due to an aggravation of a back injury that initially cropped up Friday. According to Ty Daubert of PhilliesNation.com, manager Rob Thomson said that the Phillies are still evaluating Realmuto's injury, and the veteran backstop will be available off the bench Sunday only in an emergency. Rafael Marchan will draw the start behind the dish in place of Realmuto.

Walker will work in bulk relief behind an opener during his next turn through the rotation Wednesday against the Cubs, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

The veteran right-hander has surrendered 19 earned runs across 18.1 frames in his first four starts of the season, so the Phillies will attempt to limit his exposure to the top of Chicago's lineup Wednesday. Regardless of his role, Walker will have minimal streaming appeal while going up against a Cubs offense that is averaging more than eight runs scored over the past six games. The Phillies are expected to get Zack Wheeler (shoulder) back from the injured list later next week, so Walker may not be in line for any starts or planned bulk-relief appearances for a while after Wednesday's outing.

Murphy (hip) is slated to move his rehab assignment from High-A Rome to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy went 0-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts during his time at Rome, but more important than his results at the plate was the fact that his surgically repaired right hip held up fine while he made three starts at catcher and one at designated hitter. The veteran backstop could be reinstated from the 10-day injured list when Atlanta kicks off a homestand Friday, but the club may want to give Murphy some more time in minors to knock off rust and catch full games on back-to-back days before activating him.

Fuentes had his start with Triple-A Gwinnett skipped Sunday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Atlanta is currently in the midst of a stretch of 10 games in 10 days, so holding Fuentes back gives the team the option to call him up either for a spot start to buy the rest of the rotation some rest, or to work in long relief. Even if Fuentes doesn't get promoted, having a start skipped allows Atlanta to keep the 20-year-old right-hander's workload in check, as he has yet to throw more than 75.2 innings in a season. Fuentes has had an outstanding start to the campaign, posting a combined 24:7 K:BB over 20.2 innings between Triple-A and the majors with a 2.18 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. With Spencer Strider (oblique) closing in on his 2026 debut, however, Atlanta doesn't have a permanent spot available in the rotation for Fuentes just yet.

Strider (oblique) is scheduled to make the second start of his rehab assignment Tuesday at Triple-A Gwinnett, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

He'll be making the jump to Gwinnett from High-A Rome along with rehabbing catcher Sean Murphy (hip), who was behind the plate last Thursday in Strider's first minor-league outing. Strider spotted 27 of his 50 pitches for strikes in his start with Rome, recording three punchouts while yielding one hit and two walks over 3.1 scoreless frames. The right-hander will get further stretched out further Tuesday in what's expected to be the second of three total starts in the minors before he returns from the 15-day injured list and slots back into the Atlanta rotation.