MLB

The Los Angeles Dodgers are placing two-way star Shohei Ohtani on MLB's paternity list.

Manager Dave Roberts told reporters Friday the team activated outfielder Eddie Rosario to fill out their roster. Roberts said Ohtani may return by the conclusion of the three-game series with the Texas Rangers, which wraps up Sunday.

The reigning National League MVP announced in December he and his wife, Mamiko Tanaka, were expecting their first child together.

MLB rules allow a player to remain on the paternity list for up to three days. Should Ohtani exhaust the full amount, he wouldn't return until L.A. opens a two-game set with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday in the Windy City.

Rangers pitchers would probably prefer he take the entire weekend to be with his wife and newborn.

Ohtani is on pace for another monster season offensively. He has six homers, a .288/.380/.550 slash line, and his 21 runs scored are the most in the majors.

Rosario will provide some depth and give Roberts another left-handed bat over the next few days. The 33-year-old is coming off his worst season, having slugged .316 with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves. But he's an experienced slugger who has two home runs and 12 RBI through 69 Triple-A plate appearances in 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer received a second cortisone shot to address a thumb injury that he suffered in his season debut, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

Blue Jays manager John Schneider revealed that Scherzer's injection was in a different part of his thumb than the first shot and he's expected to join the team in Houston "next week," via ESPN.

The veteran pitcher left his opening start of the 2025 season after just three innings due to the thumb issue.

Scherzer was initially ruled out due to right lat soreness, but he told reporters that thumb troubles caused his early exit and he was eventually placed on the 15-day injured list due to right thumb inflammation.

His prior cortisone injection occurred one day after his injured list placement.

Scherzer previously had a spring training start pushed back due to thumb soreness.

He was expected to operate as a key piece of Toronto's rotation when the team signed him to a one-year, $15.5 million contract in free agency.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner has remained a capable starting option when healthy, but injuries have limited him in recent years.

Scherzer spent the 2024 season with the Texas Rangers and made just nine starts, posting a 2-4 record to go along with a 3.95 ERA and 1.154 WHIP.

The 40-year-old looked sharp on the mound while gearing up for his 2025 campaign, though. In four spring training appearances, he allowed just five hits and two earned runs throughout 13 innings of work.

Toronto has been able to mitigate the absence of Scherzer so far, owning an 11-8 record. The Blue Jays' 3.17 ERA among starting pitchers also ranks No. 1 in the American League, via MLB.com.

As Scherzer looks to manage his injury and target a return to the mound, he received a second injection in his thumb.

MLB fined New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. and suspended him for one game for his comments about an umpire in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media confirmed the punishment doled out by the league.

Chisholm was called out on strikes on a fastball out of the zone in the top of the seventh. He disputed the call with home plate umpire John Bacon and got ejected.

In a since-deleted post on social media, the 2022 All-Star said the pitch was "not even f--king close."

The problems for Chisholm were twofold. He confirmed he sent the post as the game was unfolding, which runs afoul of MLB's rules on the usage of electronic devices during games. The league's social media policy also prohibits players from "displaying or transmitting Content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a Major or Minor League umpire."

A one-game suspension isn't that much within the context of a full season, and the Yankees certainly have the depth to make up for Chisholm's absence.

But the 27-year-old is trying to work his way out of a slow start to the new campaign. He has six homers through 19 games yet is batting .169 with a .272 on-base percentage. Take away the opening series, when New York's hitters collectively blitzed the Milwaukee Brewers, and Chisholm is slugging just .305.

Serving a one-game suspension is a setback—albeit a small one—at a bad time for the veteran infielder.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Justin Steele has provided an update following his season-ending surgery.

The southpaw took to social media to thank fans after undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery. The details of Steele's surgery have yet to be announced.

"Appreciate the prayers and thoughts.. God is good," Steele wrote.

Steele's last start came on April 7 when he went seven innings and allowed zero runs in the Cubs 7-0 victory over the Texas Rangers. He finishes his 2025 season with a 3-1 record and a 4.76 ERA in four starts.

The southpaw has a career record of 32-22 and a 3.30 ERA. He was an All-Star in 2023 and has been a strong presence at the top of the Cubs rotation.

Chicago is currently 12-9 and expects to contend for the NL Central. Losing Steele is a tough blow but the team will hope a rotation of Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, Ben Brown and Javier Assad can hold it down.

Steele will now watch from the sidelines and will hope to be ready to go for the 2026 season.

New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. sounded off on home-plate umpire John Bacon in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

In a since-deleted post on X, Chisholm wrote Bacon's called third strike on him in the seventh inning was "not even f--king close!!!!!"

Bacon made the call on a pitch from Rays reliever Mason Montgomery that appeared to be low based on the K-zone box on the YES Network broadcast.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Chisholm said he "got fired up" because he really thought it should have been called a ball. He added he didn't feel like his immediate comments to Bacon warranted an ejection, but "probably after" the signal was made he said some things to justify it.

The social-media post will likely result in discipline from MLB. One of the rules under MLB's policy states league-affiliated employees may not display or transmit content "that contains obscene or sexually explicit language, images, or acts."

This was Chisholm's first time being ejected from a game as a member of the Yankees. He was acquired in a July 2024 trade with the Miami Marlins.

Chisholm is hitting .169/.272/.451 with six homers in 19 games this season. Despite his ejection, the Yankees won their fourth straight game.