Man proposes, and the baseball god disposes. While the Yankees seemed content to let former top prospect Anthony Volpe re-discover himself with Triple-A Scranton, an injury to incumbent shortstop José Caballero means that Volpe is heading back to the major-league roster. Cabby was sent back to New York for secondary screening on a finger on his right hand yesterday, and now one of the sparkplugs for this Yankee team will see time on the IL with a broken middle finger.

Caballero was on pace for a four-win season at the time of his injury, with a 105 wRC+, 13 stolen bases and a +2 FRV fielding value per Statcast. He also seems to be a bit of a pest to play against, already costing opposing pitchers multiple clock violations with his personal style of gamesmanship in the batter’s box. In totality José has been as valuable in 41 games than Volpe was in 153 games last season, and critically a notably better hitter.

For Volpe, he has an opportunity to re-establish himself as a key piece of the franchise, even if his .570 OPS while in Double and Triple-A this season leaves a lot to be desired. With the Yankees hitting a speed bump after a great first six weeks of the year, the pressure is on the still-25-year-old to hit the ground running and help stop this little skid his club is on. While I want Tony Fox to succeed as a fan of the team, nothing in his performance over the last 14 months makes me overly confident that the team is upgrading with the recall.

For those curious, top infield prospect George Lombard Jr. is only 6-for-30 with all singles since being promoted to Triple-A. If he had been scalding the ball, this might have been a more interesting decision, but the Yankees weren’t pushed, so they’re simply recalling Volpe.

Texas Rangers lineup for May 12, 2026 against the Arizona Diamondbacks: starting pitchers are MacKenzie Gore for the Rangers and Zac Gallen for the D-Backs.

The Rangers play the D-Backs this evening. The Rangers will try to score at least one run in this game. It will be challenging, I know, but if we all think positive we can maybe will it into happening. Oh, and Joc Pederson is leading off.

The lineup:

Pederson — DH

Nimmo — RF

Seager — SS

Jung — 3B

Carter — CF

Duran — 2B

Osuna — LF

Burger — 1B

Higashioka — C

7:05 p.m. Central start time. The Rangers are -125 favorites.

Ahead of the Mets’ six-game homestand against the Tigers and Yankees, president of baseball operations David Stearns is speaking to the media. The biggest news over the past couple of days has been the team’s promotion of A.J. Ewing to the major league roster, as the 21-year-old is set to make his major league debut tonight. He’s batting eighth and playing center field.

The Mets, of course, have the worst record in baseball right now at 15-25 despite having one of the highest payrolls in the sport. Since their 12-game losing streak, they’ve gone 8-9, and with just 3.48 runs scored per game, they have the second-worst offense in the sport thus far. Stearns will undoubtedly be asked about the team’s struggles.

• Asked about the team’s decision to promote A.J. Ewing and the situation that the club is in right now, Stearns said, “We would not have made the decision if we did not feel that A.J. was ready to make the jump. So that’s first and foremost. The situation the big league club is in and the opportunity that’s here right now is certainly a part, but we would not have made the decision to promote A.J. if we didn’t think we was ready for the moment.
• Asked about what makes Ewing ready right now, Stearns said, “a combination of first and foremost performance. He’s a pretty well-rounded player right now.” And he highlighted Ewing’s maturity and ability to handle different situations throughout his time in the organization.
• Asked about the Mets’ under-performance a quarter of the way into the season, Stearns said that the Mets “haven’t been a good enough offensive team” and cited a combination of injuries and players who have been healthy but haven’t performed at their typical level.
• Asked about Ewing’s approach, Stearns mentioned that there aren’t a lot of holes in Ewing’s swing and highlighted his understanding of the strike zone and ability to drive the ball from gap to gap. He also highlighted his speed.
• Asked about Luis Robert Jr.’s lack of progress, Stearns said that “the back soreness has not resolved” and mentioned that the team is consulting with additional specialists. But he said the team has not gotten an indication that the injury could require surgery.
• Asked why he believes the team can make a run at the postseason, Stearns said that the team has a lot of talent on the roster and that there’s enough season left to make a run.
• Asked about rethinking the Mets’ approach to acquisitions given the team’s injuries, Stearns mentioned that the team has to look at risk assessment on injured players and said that the team knows it’s “taking a level of risk when [it] brings in players with a history of injuries.”
• Asked about Jorge Polanco, Stearns said that he needs to get asymptomatic with the bursitis in his ankle. He says that there are really good days, but then condition flares up. He mentioned that the team is following protocols recommended by physicians, which is why Polanco hasn’t been fully shut down.
• Asked about additional acquisitions or trades, Stearns said that the team is always looking to improve and mentioned this isn’t the best time of year for external trades.
• Asked about his defense of Mets manager Carlos Mendoza, Stearns mentioned that the organization has collectively under-performed. He said that he won’t address Mendoza’s status as the team’s manager during his regular media availability and will let his past statement speak for itself.
• Asked about Francisco Lindor’s injury recovery, Stearns said that the start shortstop is scheduled for an MRI within the next 48 hours. He also answered a question about a potential Achilles issue by saying that it is not an Achillies issue.
• Asked about Sean Manaea’s struggles, Stearns said that the team is working to get him to the level he needs to be and mentioned that Manaea wants to get there.
• Asked about the bullpen, Stearns said he thinks it’s functional and that the pitchers in the bullpen and working well in their roles.
• Asked about what he’d do differently in building this team, Stearns said he wouldn’t do a postmortem on this team in May. He cited the track records of the players on the roster when talking about his belief that the team will improve.
• Asked about A.J. Minter, Stearns says there’s at least one more bullpen session scheduled for Minter before he gets back out on a rehab outing. He says the team needs time to get him back to being able to do back-to-back outings.
• Asked about his message to Mets fans, Stearns said, “We recognize that the first six weeks of this season haven’t been close to good enough, and we understand that. We’re disappointed in it. We also believe we have the talent on this team to turn this around, and our focus is doing everything we can every single day to get it there.”
• Asked about deciding to be sellers, Stearns said, “We’re not close to that point right now.”

Syracuse Mets manager Dick Scott knocked on A.J. Ewing’s door on Monday night, informing him that he would not be in the team’s lineup on Tuesday.

Instead, the youngster received his highly-anticipated call-up to the big leagues.

Ewing officially joined the Mets on Tuesday afternoon at Citi Field, and he’ll jump right into the lineup batting eighth and playing center field in the series opener against the Tigers. 

“It’s awesome, man,” he said. “Just a dream come true, and I’m really excited.”

The 21-year-old was a bit surprised receiving this chance after starting the year with Double-A and appearing in just 13 Triple-A games, but he’s eager to help the club right away.

“I was just focused on being the best player I could and dominating the level I’m at,” he said. “The fact that it happened, I’m just excited to be here and ready to go.”

Ewing certainly did that in both levels of the minors, quickly cruising his way through Binghamton before taking the leap to Syracuse 18 games into the season. 

He only continued stacking strong showings from there -- hitting a combined .339 with a pair of triples, two home runs, nine doubles, 11 RBI, a .447 OBP, and .961 OPS between the two.

The dynamic outfielder also showcased his speed (17 SB) and game-changing defense. 

Now taking one last leap to the game’s highest level, he’ll look to bring a much-needed spark and energy boost for the struggling club on both sides of the ball. 

“I’m confident in my ability and I’m just going to play the same game that I’ve been playing, and just go and do what I do -- I feel comfortable and ready to compete,” Ewing said.

At long last, the Milwaukee Brewers finally have all their big bats available to them in the starting lineup. The Brewers have not had their top group of bats, Jackson Chourio, Andrew Vaughn, and Christian Yelich together all season.

Now they finally will as Christian Yelich has been activated off the IL and is recovered from his adductor strain. The Brewers optioned Tyler Black to make room on the roster.

Prior to his injury, Yelich was hitting .314 with a home run, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored, and a 132 OPS+. He was off to one of his better starts over the last few seasons and helped keep this lineup afloat after they had lost Chourio and Vaughn on the first and second games of the season.

With Brandon Lockridge currently on the IL dealing with a knee laceration and bone bruise, that could allow more opportunities for Yelich to play in left field rather than DHing upon his return.

Tyler Black had been performing well, hitting .333 with an .839 OPS and 135 OPS+. He had gotten his first semi-regular run at the big league level in quite some time and even though he wasn’t hitting the ball incredibly hard, the results were quite good and he’s put himself in line to be promoted again soon should a spot open up. But when everyone is healthy, it’ll be difficult for Black to crack the roster right now.

The Brewers are a much better lineup and team with Christian Yelich in it. A top five in the order of Chourio, Brice Turang, Yelich, William Contreras, and Andrew Vaughn is a much deeper and more dangerous group than the Crew had largely been putting out there over the first six weeks. Yet they still have been six games over .500 in the absence of that lineup and perhaps this will be the final piece to get this offense clicking like they know they can be.

The Cubs injury-laden pitching staff has forced a number of players into roles they likely weren’t anticipating at the start of the season. After all, how many of us thought the Cubs would have a 27-14 record along with seven different pitchers having saves as they head into a clash of the National League titans in Atlanta? But the player whose role may impact the team’s overall success the most might be Ben Brown, who has bounced between the starting rotation, bullpen and Iowa over the past couple of years as he tried to find the right fit.

This time might actually be different. In a February piece from The Athletic, Brown was quoted: “I developed a sinker and changeup this offseason.” Those pitches might end up being more consequential than anyone imagined at the time. After all, Brown’s problem has never been stuff, it was always sequencing, predictability and the ability to locate his pitches.

Last season Brown struggled to the tune of 5.92 ERA with a 1.44 WHIP across 106.1 innings while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. The culprit was a two-pitch mix that smart hitters learned to sit on. As Chi City Sports noted in March, “opposing hitters teed off on his four-seamer” batting .315 with a .526 slugging percentage while producing just a 14.8 percent whiff rate. Hitters knew what was coming and they mashed it. Enter, stage right, a sinker:

That sinker made Brown a much more dangerous pitcher. He’s throwing it 42 percent of the time to right-handed hitters, and the results have been excellent. Batters are hitting and slugging just .217 off the sinker. It has also induced an 82.9 mph average exit velocity.

Brown is also throwing a changeup 5.6 percent of the time, almost exclusively to southpaws. He’s thrown 25 changeups so far this season and it’s a weapon. Brown’s changeup sits at 90.4 miles per hour and has a 40 percent whiff rate so far this season.

All of it adds up to a much more dangerous version of Ben Brown than the one who started 15 games last season. So when Matthew Boyd needed meniscus surgery, Brown was ready to rejoin the rotation. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Brown was already working multiple innings in anticipation of potentially needing to start during the season:

Brown said he didn’t think it would take long for him to be stretched out as a starter. Counsell said he has made a point of giving Brown multiple innings. He went 3„ innings in each of his first two appearances this season, and has gone at least two innings in eight of his last 10 appearances. He has thrown a team-high 25% innings out of the pen, posting a 2.10 ERA while striking out 10 and walking eight. Four of those walks came in his first three appearances.

The result was four no-hit innings against the Rangers. As Bleacher Nation noted: “Brown tossed four no-hit innings, struck out three, induced six ground ball outs, and had only one baserunner to deal with as a result of his one walk. He needed just 46 pitches to get through the four innings and threw nine sinkers and four changeups, getting 40 and 100-percent whiff rates on the two pitches, respectively.“ It’s a minuscule, but promising, sample.

Brown’s next test will be one of the league’s best offenses in Atlanta. He’s slated to toe the rubber for the Cubs opposite Chris Sale in Atlanta on Thursday.

It was looking bleak for the San Diego Padres for a while there.

Sunday’s series finale began as a pitcher’s duel between Walker Buehler and St. Louis Cardinals starter Kyle Leahy. The latter managed to keep the Friars scoreless while Buehler pitched deeper but surrendered a two-run shot to Jordan Walker.

That seemed like it would be all the Red Birds would need as the Padres failed to capitalize on any of their opportunities. With the Cardinals elite closer, Riley O’Brien, coming in to finish out the bottom of the ninth. (O’Brien would probably be considered the best closer in MLB if not for a guy named Mason Miller.)

Going into that game, the closer held the longest active streak in innings pitched without surrendering a home run (60 1/3). That all came to an end on a two-out, full-count splitter that Nick Castellanos sent into the left field bleachers to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. The Friars finished it off in extra innings with a sacrifice fly from Manny Machado.

Sunday’s win helped salvage a split after San Diego dropped the first two games to the Cards. It gives them a bit of momentum heading into their series against the Milwaukee Brewers today.

Taking the mound

Brandon Sproat (MIL) v. Matt Waldron (SD)

Sproat came over from the New York Mets in the trade that sent starter Freddy Peralta to the club. He’s been thrust into a role that he likely wasn’t ready for yet. He’s struggled to a 5.87 ERA across seven appearances.

Still, Sproat is a young pitcher with an incredibly high ceiling. His last start against the Arizona Diamondbacks was impressive, with the righty going four scoreless innings while allowing only one hit. If he can repeat that performance, Sproat will go a long way toward redeeming his 2026 season.

Waldron has had similar issues, though he is on the other end of his career. He’s been a kind of veteran minor leaguer, spending seven seasons between the majors and minors. This may be his last start for the time being as Lucas Giolito has to be called up by May 16.

The knuckleballer had a difficult time his first two outings but has markedly improved in his most recent ones. He pitched five innings and surrendered three runs to the Chicago Cubs before following it up with five more innings of one-run ball against the San Francisco Giants. If Waldron can keep that pace, he could earn a roster spot if Buehler stumbles.

In his gem against the Giants, reliever Bradley Rodriguez pitched the first inning, serving as an opener before Waldron pitched in bulk relief. That formula worked so well that the Padres are going to go with it again today. It should hopefully give Waldron the ability to work deeper into the game.

Batter up!

Unfortunately, San Diego doesn’t have any experience against the rookie Sproat. That will give the Milwaukee starter somewhat of an advantage. But that has been the case for most of the year and it hasn’t helped Sproat’s run prevention all that much, so the Padres should be able to tag a few runs off of the right-hander.

Manager Craig Stammen seems likely to use a fairly standard lineup, with Jackson Merrill remaining in the leadoff spot. Xander Bogaerts has been on a tear lately and could bat higher as well.

1. Jackson Merrill, CF
2. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Xander Bogaerts, SS
5. Gavin Sheets, 1B
6. Ramón Laureano, LF
7. Miguel Andujar, DH
8. Freddy Fermin, C
9. Sung Mun-Song, 2B

With the off day yesterday, the starters will be out in full force. Andujar has seemed to serve as the regular DH lately, though his bat has cooled off recently.

Relief corps

With the Friars down two runs for most of the game, the club utilized most of its lower-leverage options. Ron Marinaccio covered two splendid innings before Bradgley Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth. Jeremiah Estrada came in to pitch the 10th and got two outs before Stammen turned to Adrian Morejon for the final out. That completed a scoreless outing from the ‘pen.

With the off day on Monday, San Diego will have all of their relievers available. But those who will be freshest are Jason Adam, Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Wandy Peralta and closer Mason Miller. Any of them could be turned to, though Matsui or Peralta will likely be out first if Waldron struggles early.