The offseason and spring training are behind us, but there’s plenty of MLB news left to cover.
Here are the notable transactions, injuries and more from the 2026 season.
april 4th
Juan Soto diagnosed with right calf strain
The Mets shared that Soto was diagnosed with a right calf strain after undergoing an MRI on Saturday. He exited the first inning of Friday night’s road game vs. the Giants with hamstring strain. Soto singled in the top of the first and appeared to slow down while moving from first to third on Bo Bichette’s run-scoring single. Soto was thrown out at home plate when Brett Batty grounded into a 1-2-3 double play. Tyrone Taylor replaced Soto in left field.
“Right now, it’s a minor tension,” Soto said Saturday at Oracle Park. “We’ll just take it day by day, see how it feels. No decisions have been made yet. We’ll see how I get up over the next few days and go from there.”
Bates was out in the bottom of the first inning in the Dodgers’ game versus the Nationals due to lower back soreness, the team shared. In his only plate appearance before exiting, Bates drew a walk before scoring on Freddy Freeman’s two-run double from first base. Shortstop Miguel Rojas replaced Bates in the bottom of the first.
tigers announced That they placed the veteran starting pitcher on the 15-day injured list due to left hip inflammation. In the one start he has made this season, Verlander, who is in his second stint with the Tigers (he pitched in Detroit from 2005-17), allowed five runs and eight baserunners (six hits and two walks) in 3 2/3 innings. Right-hander Kidder Montero was recalled from Triple A to take Verlander’s roster spot.
3 April
Brewers sign prospect Cooper Pratt to eight-year, $50M deal
Milwaukee finalized an eight-year, $50.75 million contract with Pratt on Friday, adding the 21-year-old shortstop prospect to the 40-man roster and optioning him to Triple-A Nashville. The agreement with Pratt includes club options that could keep him with the Brewers through the 2035 season.
Brewers President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold said, “Cooper has all the tools to become a special player, and we are thrilled that he will be in a Brewers uniform for years to come. This commitment reflects the passion of our organization – led by ownership – to consistently produce winning teams season after season.”
Pratt is one of the top prospects in the Brewers farm system that is one of the best in MLB. He was rated the 60th overall prospect by MLB Pipeline and fourth in the Milwaukee organization – 18-year-old infielder Jesus Made, who is in Double-A Biloxi, is the top Brewers prospect and the third-best prospect in all of baseball.
Yankees left-hander Rodon feels his tight right hamstring is a minor setback in his return from elbow surgery last October. Rodon felt stiffness after taking 50 pitches of batting practice Sunday at the team’s complex in Tampa, Florida. Rodon suffered an injury while running and New York canceled a planned minor league injury rehabilitation program at Double-A Somerset.
“Just a little bump in the road,” the 33-year-old left-hander said Friday before the Yankees’ home opener against Miami. Rodon expects to throw about 50 pitches Saturday in a controlled environment, such as batting practice.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “It’s just a matter of when he can run, cover and field his position and do things like that.” “So he’s able to put his hand through it. It’s so minor that it matters.”
Rodon is recovering from surgery he had on October 15 to remove a loose body and shave a bone spur in his left elbow.
Additionally, Boone said shortstop Anthony Volpe has begun taking at-bats from pitching and could begin rehabilitation work in mid-April. Volpe had arthroscopic surgery on October 14 to repair the labrum in his left shoulder.
The Boston Red Sox have placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain. Team announced. In the one appearance Oviedo has made this season, he gave up two home runs, four earned runs and six hits in 3 â…” innings pitched. Boston acquired Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason.
April 2
Pirates are calling up top SS prospect
the Pirate announced They’re calling up coveted shortstop prospect Connor Griffin. Griffin, whom Pittsburgh selected with the ninth overall pick in 2024, is listed as mlb pipelineThe No. 1 overall prospect. He began the 2026 season in Triple A, going 7 for 16 in five games. Last season, Griffin posted a .333/.415/.527 slash line with a combined 21 home runs, 94 RBIs and 65 stolen bases across three levels of minor-league ball (A, A+ and Double A).
April 1st
Gill, who did not make the Yankees’ starting rotation during spring training, is in line to join the team in mid-April after making a start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, manager Aaron Boone revealed. Boone said Gill recently attended the team’s spring training complex in Florida and is heading north to join New York’s top affiliate.
“He’ll throw out his bullpen with Triple-A, make his next start,” Boone said, “and then be in line for the next one with us.”
New York decided to use a four-man rotation to begin the season. Gill, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, finished as an odd man out after going 2-1 with a 4.66 ERA in six spring training starts. Last year, in a season filled with injuries, Gill went 4-1 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 starts. He began last year on the injured list due to a high-grade lat strain, and did not make his season debut until August 3.
Lodolo is expected to throw 60 to 65 pitches during a rehab assignment on April 2. The left-hander, who is on the injured list due to a blister on his left index finger, will begin his rehab for Single-A Daytona in a Florida State League game against Jupiter. If Lodolo’s performance is successful, he could join the Reds’ rotation during next week’s series in Miami. Lodolo was 9-8 with a 3.33 ERA and 156 strikeouts last season.
Left-hander Caleb Ferguson (right oblique strain) throws from 90 feet on flat ground before Wednesday’s game against the Pirates. He is expected to accompany the team on its upcoming seven-game road trip to Texas and Miami.
Narváez was ruled out of Boston’s finale with the Astros on April 1 for an undisclosed reason. Narvaez was removed from the lineup about 2.5 hours before the first pitch and replaced by Connor Wong behind the plate.
“I just made a change,” manager Alex Cora told reporters. “I talked to Carlos a little bit, and we go from there. It’s one of those that I thought we needed to make changes to the lineup, and I think it’s for the best.”
When asked if Narvaez’s removal from the lineup was for disciplinary reasons, Cora did not directly answer the question. “Let’s keep it between me and Carlos,” Cora said. “And he understands. It’s something that happens at every club. It happens at the beginning of the season, and I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Narvaez, 27, is hitting .444 in three games this season. He is in his second season in Boston after starting his career with the Yankees.
31st March
Deloutre left Tuesday’s game in the first inning after Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani fouled the ball with his backfoot. After an instructor came out to check on him, the rookie took a few practice swings and returned to the batter’s box. He tried to take a grounder to third, but was thrown out and then limped toward the tunnel. He was diagnosed with an injury on his left leg. X-rays were negative. DeLauter was replaced by CJ Kayfus in the bottom of the first.
DeLauter was the American League rookie of the week after hitting four home runs in his first three games. He is the second player to accomplish this feat, joining Trevor Story of the Rockies in 2019.
Umpire lost track of count in Red Sox-Astros
Plate umpire Mark Wagner admitted he lost track of the count during Cam Smith’s nine-pitch walk Tuesday night in the fifth inning of the Astros’ eventual 9-2 victory over the Red Sox. In reality, Smith should have been out on strike after the third pitch. Smith hit and missed two cutters off Red Sox starter Brian Bello to begin his plate appearance. After the second pitch, Joey Loperfido stole second base and Christian Walker scored on the play due to a throwing error by catcher Wong. After about 40 seconds, Smith turned and missed a sweeper. It should have been strike three, but Wegner, a crew chief serving in his 29th MLB season, went 1-2 in the count. After six pitches, Smith worked a walk.
“I just saw the video,” Wagner told a pool reporter after the game. “I didn’t know what happened until I got here and, obviously, I somehow didn’t count the second swing because I said the count was 1-2. It was actually strike three. If somebody caught it, we can always go and call a replay and check the count. I’ve never done that before. I’m not happy with it. Just made a mistake.”
Wagner said no one on the field raised any issues at this time. Bello said Wagner reported the count 1-1 after his second pitch and he did not question it at the time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
