

San Francisco Giants shortstop Marco Luciano (hamstring) has been placed on the injured list, retroactive to May 30. The 22-year-old sufferd a right hamstring strain during Wednesday's game. At the moment it's unclear how long Luciano is going to be sidelined. In a corresponding move, Casey Schmitt has been recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. The expectation is that Schmitt and Brett Wisely will see increased playing time with Luciano sidelined.

Chicago Cubs shortstop prospect Jefferson Rojas is on pace to have the best minor league season of his career at High-A and is making a strong case to join Double-A Tennessee by the end of the summer. Rojas spent all of last with Single-A and opened this season with High-A Myrtle Beach. Through 42 games, the number seven prospect in the Chicago system has posted a strong .272/.316/.353 line with two home runs, 31 RBI, and an 11:27 BB:K ratio. This is a major improvement compared to the similar 31 RBI and much worse 23:61 BB:K ratio he held across 70 games at Single-A last summer. While Rojas is still several seasons away from his major league debut, he could become a name to monitor when he joins Double-A later this summer.


Cleveland Guardians outfielder Estevan Florial has been designated for assignment by the organization on Friday. This news comes after the team activated fellow outfielder Steven Kwan (hamstring) from the injured list. Florial becomes the odd man out after playing 36 games for Cleveland. During that time, Florial slashed .173/.264/.367, which included three home runs and 11 RBI. Florial was once a top prospect in the New York Yankees organization. He has been unable to establish himself in the big leagues. It remains to be seen if he'll get another shot elsewhere or if he'll remain in the Guardians' system.


Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Evan Phillips (hamstring) is expected to be activated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Friday's game. The right-hander is set to make his return after missing time due to a hamstring strain. The expectation is that Phillips is going to slide back into the closer role. Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen did a solid job covering for Phillips, but they should slide back into set-up roles now. Fantasy managers should make sure to get Phillips off the IL and back in their lineups on Friday.


The injury to Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter's back is now being described as a "lumbar spine stress fracture," according to the team's medical report. Carpenter's injury was originally described as lumbar-spine inflammation. It's bad news for the Tigers and fantasy managers, as Carpenter will obviously miss well behind 10 days on the injured list with a pretty significant injury. The 26-year-old doesn't exactly have a timetable for a return, but we wouldn't be surprised if he's not able to return until sometime after the All-Star break. In the meantime with Carpenter out, Akil Baddoo is likely to benefit the most with more playing time. He got the start in left field for Detroit and was batting sixth on Friday against the Boston Red Sox and right-hander Tanner Houck. Before getting hurt, Carpenter had a healthy .283 average with eight homers and 29 RBI in 145 at-bats.
