Mike Trout was placed on the 10-day IL June 18 with a right hamstring strain. Christian Moore was recalled to fill the roster spot. Hamstring injuries for players Trout's age carry unpredictable timelines — the Angels will be cautious with their franchise centerpiece, and there is no reason to expect a minimal absence.
Jose Ramirez had surgery June 16 to repair a fractured left hamate bone and is expected to miss 5–7 weeks. Hamate recovery timelines are generally predictable post-surgery — a mid-to-late July return is the realistic target. The Guardians' offense takes a major hit, and the 3B position just got meaningfully thinner across every format.
After the additional testing ordered Thursday morning, MRI results confirmed a Grade 1 MCL sprain in Witt's right knee. He sat out Friday's game but Grade 1 sprains typically resolve in 1–2 weeks, and Kansas City has not placed him on the IL as of issue time. Tyler Tolbert remains the primary SS replacement while Witt works back.
The Cubs placed Daniel Palencia on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation June 16 — his second stint on the shelf this season. Jacob Webb stepped in and recorded a save June 18 vs. Colorado, immediately establishing himself as the committee front-runner alongside Caleb Thielbar and Phil Maton. Palencia's second elbow visit makes any near-term return timeline murky.
Who's Hot This Week
Called up with Elly De La Cruz still working through his hamstring rehab, Arroyo steps into the Reds' everyday shortstop role with dual SS/2B eligibility and an upside profile that projects for 20 HR and 20 SB in a full season. He is set to hold the job for at least the next 3–4 weeks. Under 10% owned everywhere and playing meaningful time in a lineup with counting-stat support. This is exactly the kind of low-cost stash that pays dividends by early July.
Worth Reading
McDermott's daily wire column covers Troy Melton (leading Yahoo adds despite a 13.7% K rate and .197 BABIP that scream regression), Colson Montgomery's home run pace, Dominic Canzone's tear, and Spencer Arrighetti as a streaming SP option. The Melton sustainability section is the must-read — he calls the warning signs before everyone else gets burned chasing the ERA.
Published June 19, this roundup surfaces Mick Abel, Dylan Crews, Gage Jump, and Caleb Kilian as SP streaming options alongside Colt Emerson, Caleb Durbin, and Jordan Lawlar for positional depth. Best read for 14-team leagues hunting for weekend streamers and late-week roster moves.
NBC Sports breaks down all the active bullpen chaos in one place — Cubs going three-man committee, Ryan Helsley's Baltimore return timeline, and the Dodgers' closer carnage with both Diaz and Tanner Scott now on the IL. Essential reading if you are managing any of these situations heading into the weekend.
MRI confirmed a Grade 1 MCL sprain in the right knee after he missed Friday's game. Grade 1 sprains typically resolve in 1–2 weeks without IL placement. No structural damage. The Royals are treating this conservatively but have not placed him on the IL.
Placed on the 10-day IL June 18 with a right hamstring strain. Hamstring injuries at 34 carry longer recovery curves than the minimum designation suggests. Christian Moore recalled as the immediate roster replacement.
Underwent hamate fracture surgery June 16 on his left hand. Expected to miss 5–7 weeks with a mid-to-late July target return. Hamate surgery timelines are among the most predictable in baseball — this is a hold-and-stash situation, not a drop.
Placed on the 15-day IL June 16 with right elbow inflammation — his second stint of the season. No clear return timeline given the repeat nature of the elbow issue. Jacob Webb leads the closer committee in his absence.
Pitcher List's PLV Decision Value model takes a midseason look at hitters who are not struggling from bad luck — they are struggling because their swing decisions have genuinely deteriorated. The framework examines chase rate, zone-swing rate, and contact quality to separate structural regression from BABIP noise, and the results are damning for a handful of notable names still being rostered based on reputation alone.
TJ Friedl is the headline case. Through 178 plate appearances, Friedl is slashing .179/.259/.256 — and this is not a cold streak waiting to correct. His chase rate has ballooned to 27.5%, a sharp jump from 17.5% in 2025. When hitters expand the zone, pitchers adjust their attack plans, and the results compound until the hitter demonstrates he can make a correction. The underlying data is not a blip; it is a pattern.
Matt Wallner tells a similar story: career-high chase rate, career-high zone-swing rate, career-low contact rate, and a 21.5% swinging-strike rate that triggered a Triple-A demotion in mid-May. The Twins made the right call. Until players in this mold show they can tighten their approach, they are traps in daily formats and trade-low targets in season-long. The model has a strong predictive track record for calling out these busts before the broader market responds.
Friday's Leverage Ledger flags the Brewers situation after Joel Kuhnel surrendered a game-tying solo home run to Kyle Manzardo on a 1-1 cutter — his first blown save of the season — adding fresh uncertainty to an already-fluid Milwaukee hierarchy. The broader picture remains cluttered: the Cubs, Dodgers, Orioles, Reds, and Nationals are all operating without a true locked-in closer heading into the weekend.
Read the full Ledger →| Closer | Team | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacob Webb / Committee | Chicago Cubs | 🔴 Committee | Palencia on 15-day IL (elbow inflammation, 2nd stint). Webb recorded a save June 18 and leads the committee over Thielbar and Maton. Under 5% owned — he is the top closer add of the weekend. |
| Alex Vesia / Committee | Los Angeles Dodgers | 🔴 Committee | Edwin Diaz is done for the year; Tanner Scott joined him on the IL with elbow inflammation. Vesia, Jack Dreyer, and Blake Treinen are splitting 9th-inning duties with no consensus favorite. Saves are available but unpredictable — stream with caution. |
| Rico Garcia (Ryan Helsley targeting late June return) | Baltimore Orioles | 🟡 Watch | Helsley is on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation and targeting a late June return. Garcia has posted a 0.66 ERA in the vacancy. Once Helsley returns, the role reverts — but his own elbow history makes that anything but guaranteed. Buy Garcia while Helsley is out. |
| Alex Lange | Kansas City Royals | 🟡 Watch | Lange went 4-for-4 in save chances after taking over from Lucas Erceg (6 blown saves in 17 tries, now in mop-up duty). The role is not formally cemented, but the deployment pattern is unambiguous. Under 20% owned — still a clear add. |
| Trevor Megill | Milwaukee Brewers | 🟡 Watch | Megill holds the closer title, but Joel Kuhnel's June 19 blown save — a game-tying solo HR to Manzardo — added another layer of uncertainty. The Brewers' hierarchy has been a revolving door all season. Megill is the presumptive closer, but nothing in Milwaukee is locked in. |
| Committee | Cincinnati Reds | 🔴 Committee | Emilio Pagan out 6 weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Four different relievers have recorded saves since the injury; no clear replacement has emerged. Avoid unless streaming individual high-leverage appearances. |
Ben Rice cranks a 433-foot, 3-run home run — his 21st of the season — off the Reds' bullpen in Friday's game at Yankee Stadium.
Cubs pile up 7 runs in the 1st inning, capped by a Carson Kelly grand slam, in a dominant win over the Blue Jays on Friday.
Luis García Jr. is slashing .589 SLG with 6 HR and 23 RBI since May 24 — tied for 3rd most RBI in MLB over that stretch.
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