MLB Player News

Marte (foot) is expected to be in the Diamondbacks' lineup for Friday's game against Minnesota, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.

Marte departed Wednesday's game against the Giants with a bruised right foot. After X-rays came back negative, manager Torey Lovullo said he believed Marte would be available Friday. Marte remains on track to start that contest, but a determination won't be made until he tests his foot injury before the game.

Soraka (shoulder) will be returned from his minor-league rehab assignment, and his next appearance will be for the Cubs, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports Friday.

Soroka threw 2.1 innings with Triple-A Iowa on Thursday, tossing 38 pitches. He's expected to rejoin the big-league roster in the coming days, though it's unclear when exactly the move will come. Considering he's not stretched out to handle a starter's workload and the Cubs have five healthy starters on the active roster, Soroka seems slated for a multi-inning role out of the bullpen. The 27-year-old has started in all 17 of his big-league appearances this season -- 16 with Washington, one with Chicago.

Palencia (shoulder) played catch Friday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

It's the first time he's thrown since he suffered a right shoulder strain Sunday and landed on the 15-day injured list Monday. It's a good sign that he's already playing catch, and the Cubs will map out a rehab plan for Palencia based on how he comes out of Friday's throwing session. Palencia will be eligible to return Sept. 23, but it's too soon to know whether he has a chance to be back by that date. Andrew Kittredge has the lone save for the Cubs since Palencia went down, and Brad Keller is also expected to be in the mix to close games.

Bazzana was removed from Thursday's game at Triple-A Columbus due to left oblique soreness, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

It's not being called a strain at this juncture, but even if the injury is deemed minor, there's a good chance it will end the top prospect's season. Bazzana had been heating up lately with Columbus, posting a 1.163 OPS with four home runs over nine September contests. The 23-year-old missed a chunk of time earlier this season with a right oblique strain.

Suzuki is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rays due to sickness, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

At first glance, it appeared Suzuki was slated for a day off Friday after making 12 consecutive starts. However, the 30-year-old is actually feeling under the weather. His absence allows for Moises Ballesteros to draw a start at DH.

Tucker (calf) will not begin running until after the weekend and is unlikely to be activated from the injured list when he becomes eligible Tuesday, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

The 28-year-old is nursing a left calf strain, and while he's been cleared to hit and throw, Tucker hasn't started running yet. He's expected to require more than the minimum 10-day stay on the injured list, though it's unclear how long it will take him to be cleared for a return after he begins running. Willi Castro and Seiya Suzuki (illness) have split right field duties while Tucker has been sidelined.

Sandlin has a 6.75 ERA, 1.92 WHIP and 18:12 K:BB in 21.1 innings across 13 appearances for Triple-A Worcester.

Sandlin, who moved to the bullpen after getting promoted from Double-A Portland on July 29, has touched triple digits with his fastball in the past and averaged 97.7 mph while touching 99 mph with the pitch in his most recent appearance Thursday. He leans on his 92-mph cutter and two distinct sliders as his secondaries, with the sliders getting better results than the cutter. Sandlin's stock was trending up after he logged a 3.61 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 17.5 K-BB% in 82.1 innings across 17 appearances at Double-A, but his control has abandoned him, perhaps in part due to the balls and strikes challenge system at Triple-A. Over his last six appearances, Sandlin has struck out six and walked seven over 9.2 innings, so he's unlikely to get a call to the major-league bullpen this year. Sandlin will presumably open 2026 in the Triple-A rotation, but his future may be in relief.

Winokur slashed .226/.304/.388 with 17 home runs, 26 steals, an 8.3 percent walk rate and a 24.8 percent strikeout rate in 122 games for High-A Cedar Rapids.

Winokur split his age-20 season between shortstop and center field, which highlights his athleticism and upside. His slash line doesn't jump off the page, but he was almost a league average hitter (97 wRC+) despite being young for the level and getting bad luck on balls in play (.275 BABIP). The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Winokur cut his strikeout rate from 28 percent at Single-A in 2024 while producing an identical walk rate against better competition. Winokur is still a free swinger and refinement will be needed in the coming years, but he retains monster power potential and has stolen 49 bases over the past two years. Even after a full year in the Midwest League, Winokur will head to the Arizona Fall League to cap his 2025 season.

Thomas slashed .239/.343/.368 with three home runs, 11 steals, a 13.2 percent walk rate and a 35.2 percent strikeout rate in 43 games for Double-A Hartford.

The No. 42 overall pick in last year's draft, Thomas capitalized on good fortune (.421 BABIP) and the favorable hitting conditions in Spokane to slash .330/.427/.495 with 11 homers and 22 steals in 73 games at High-A before getting promoted to Double-A on his 22nd birthday July 1. Given that his strikeout rate spiked into the danger zone when he was promoted to an age-appropriate level and more neutral hitting environment, Thomas' dynasty stock is trending down to close 2025, but he'll have a chance to boost it in the coming months playing in the Arizona Fall League. Thomas saw the majority of his starts in left field this year, which puts more pressure on him to provide significant offensive value.

Ko slashed .310/.437/.439 with four home runs, six steals, a 17 percent walk rate and a 19.8 percent strikeout rate in 85 games across the Arizona Complex League and Cal League.

The lefty-hitting Ko, who turned 19 in August, signed with the Dodgers for $650,000 in June of 2024 out of Taiwan. He had a brief, but impressive, debut in the Dominican Summer League last year (149 wRC+ in nine games) and was even better in the ACL this summer, slashing .367/.487/.539 and comfortably leading the league with a 171 wRC+. All four of Ko's homers came in rookie ball, and he has managed just five extra-base hits in 32 games for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. Ko should return to the Quakes next year with a chance for a midseason promotion to High-A.