MLB Player News

Walters (lat) struck out the side in the eighth inning Friday for Triple-A Columbus.

Through four rehab appearances, Walters has fanned nine batters over four innings. While he showed a noticeable reduction in velocity in his first outing, the right-hander has bounced back in subsequent appearances. He has yet to pitch on back-to-back days or even twice in three days, however, suggesting Walters will not be coming off the 15-day injured list any time soon. MLB.com pegs him for a potential return at some point in May.

The Royals selected Diaz's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Sunday.

The 34-year-old posted a mediocre .536 OPS over 35 plate appearances at Omaha, but he'll join the big club nonetheless to provide Kansas City with a third option behind the plate. With Carter Jensen receiving an afternoon off and Salvador Perez serving as the designated hitter in Sunday's game against the Yankees, Diaz will enter the starting nine right away at catcher and as the No. 9 hitter.

Jensen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

After starting eight straight games at either catcher or designated hitter and going 7-for-27 (.259) with two home runs, six RBI and three runs, Jensen will get a breather. Salvador Perez will return to the lineup Sunday as Kansas City's DH, while newly promoted Elias Diaz makes his first start for the Royals behind the plate.

Mikolas is scheduled to work in bulk relief behind opening pitcher PJ Poulin in Sunday's game against the Giants, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

The Nationals will pair Mikolas with Poulin for a second straight turn through the rotation. After turning in a 12.41 ERA, 2.35 WHIP and 11:7 K:BB in 12.1 innings over his first three starts this season, Mikolas didn't fare dramatically better coming out of the bullpen Tuesday, as the Pirates tagged him for three earned runs on three hits and two walks across 3.1 innings. Despite the favorable matchup against a weak Giants offense, Mikolas hasn't provided reason for fantasy managers to include him in lineups with any level of confidence.

Poulin will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Giants, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Poulin will draw his third start of the season as an opener, again working in front of Miles Mikolas. The Nationals rode the Poulin-Mikolas pairing to a win over the Pirates on Tuesday, though the two pitchers combined to allow four earned runs over 4.1 innings. Poulin is unlikely to pitch more than an inning or two Sunday before turning the game over to the veteran right-hander.

The Marlins reinstated Stowers (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Sunday. He'll start in left field and bat cleanup in the Marlins' series finale versus the Brewers.

Stowers strained his hamstring during the closing days of spring training after dealing with a similar injury earlier in camp, but he'll make his 2026 MLB debut Sunday after completing a five-game minor-league rehab assignment. The 28-year-old is expected to see the bulk of his reps in left field and could also get some looks at first base. Regardless of where he's playing in the field, he should have plenty of RBI opportunities batting in the heart of Miami's lineup.

The Marlins optioned De Los Santos to Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday.

With Kyle Stowers (hamstring) returning from the injured list Sunday, De Los Santos will head back to Triple-A in order to get regular playing time. Over his two abbreviated stints in the majors this season, the 22-year-old has gone 2-for-7 with a double and a 0:3 BB:K.

The Astros acquired Shewmake from the Yankees on Sunday in exchange for right-hander Wilmy Sanchez.

The 28-year-old infielder has previously seen big-league action with Atlanta in 2023 and the White Sox in 2024 and spent all of last season on the Yankees' 40-man roster before being outrighted in February. Shewmake had remained in New York's organization to start the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, slashing .250/.314/.313 with no home runs and one stolen base over 36 plate appearances. He'll likely head to Triple-A Sugar Land with his new organization.

Ramirez went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base in Saturday's 4-2 win over Baltimore.

Ramirez continues to wreak havoc on the basepaths, having swiped eight bags over the last eight games. That puts him alone atop the league with 10 stolen bases. The 33-year-old is shooting for a third consecutive season with at least 40 steals.

Schneemann started at second base and went 1-for-3 with a run scored in Saturday's 4-2 win over the Orioles.

Schneemann extended his hit streak to seven games and is slashing .314/.352/.549 with eight extra-base hits (two home runs), a stolen base, 11 RBI and eight runs scored over 17 games. On a team that ranks in the bottom half of MLB in batting average (.225, 24th), OPS (.689, 19th) and runs (87, 18th), the versatile Schneemann could find a regular home at second base while Gabriel Arias (hamstring) is sidelined.