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  • Likely to join rotation
    Phillies manager Rob Thomson said after Wednesday's game that Mercado would likely join the rotation if Spencer Turnbull (lat) needed to miss time, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

    Advice: Turnbull has since been placed on the 15-day injured list, so it would appear Mercado is set to join the Phillies' rotation next week. Mercado made one one-inning relief appearance earlier this week in his major-league debut, but he's been used mostly as a starter this season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, collecting a 1.71 ERA and 44:23 K:BB over 47.1 frames covering 10 starts and four relief outings. The 25-year-old's first big-league start is tentatively lined up to come Tuesday in Chicago against the Cubs. Rotowire.com Thursday, 12:17 pm
     
  • Goes three frames in spot start
    Contreras didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against Oakland, allowing one run on four hits with two walks across three innings. He struck out two.

    Advice: After coming out of the bullpen in his first nine outings as a Halo, Contreras was expected to get up to four or five innings in Wednesday's start. However, he threw 61 pitches across three innings before getting yanked. Three of the four hits Contreras allowed went for extra bases. On the year, Contreras owns a 3.82 ERA with 31 strikeouts over 33.0 innings. It's unclear if he'll make another start, but there's not many alternate options on the active roster at the moment. If he does stick in the rotation, he'd likely pitch Tuesday in a rematch with the A's. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 11:01 pm
     
  • Grabs 28th save
    Helsley allowed a hit and a walk while striking out one in a scoreless inning to earn the save in a 4-1 win over Atlanta in Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader.

    Advice: Helsley allowed two runs in Monday's game versus Atlanta, but he was able to keep his save streak going. The right-hander has converted his last 28 save attempts after blowing his first chance of the year. He's now at a 2.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 43:16 K:BB through 36 innings. Helsley has allowed six hits and issued 10 walks over 11 innings in June, but he's been scored on in just two of his 11 appearances this month, so his place as the Cardinals' closer is not in doubt. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 7:53 pm
     
  • Ryan Helsley locks down 28th save Wednesday
    Ryan Helsley tossed a scoreless ninth inning with one strikeout to earn the save in the second game of a doubleheader against the Braves on Wednesday.

    Advice: Helsley was summoned to close it out in the ninth with a three-run lead against the Braves. He recorded the first out, then allowed two runners on with a single and a walk. A groundout put both runners in scoring position and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. He Helsley struck out the final batter to end the game with his MLB-leading 28th save. Rotoworld Wednesday, 6:37 pm
     
  • Roansy Contreras labors through three innings
    Roansy Contreras lasted just three-plus innings on Wednesday against the Athletics and allowed one earned run with two walks and two strikeouts.

    Advice: This was Contreras’ first start of the season and he was stretched out to 61 pitches after not topping 50 yet this season. Working as a starter, he leaned far more on his slider than he had in his relief appearances and threw it more often than his fastball. Contreras used that slider as his primary pitch often last season in Pittsburgh as his fastball effectiveness waned. That fastball still isn’t great and he had trouble putting hitters away, as he seemingly always has. Rotoworld Wednesday, 3:48 pm
     
  • Joining rotation Sunday
    Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Winckowski will start Sunday's game against the Padres in Boston, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

    Advice: Due to off days Thursday and next Monday, the Red Sox didn't need to add a fifth starter to the rotation until July 6, but Cora is electing to bring Winckowski into the rotation early. Brayan Bello had been lined up to start Sunday's game, but he'll instead get pushed back to next Wednesday in Miami and have extra time to regroup after he was lit up for seven earned runs over 2.1 innings in a loss to Toronto on Wednesday. While coming on in relief of Bello on Tuesday, Winckowski struck out eight and allowed two earned runs in six innings, so he looks to be fully stretched out enough to head into Sunday's start without any restrictions with his pitch count. Winckowski has previously made three starts with the big club this season, posting a 1.69 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 10.2 innings. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 1:22 pm
    Josh WinckowskiBOS - SP,RP
    W, 4-1 vs SD
    New Player Note
     
  • Workload 'going to start dwindling'
    White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Tuesday of Crochet that "we're going to start dwindling his workload down a little bit," the Associated Press reports.

    Advice: Crochet already sits at 94.1 innings in 2024 in his first pro season as a starting pitcher. He threw zero innings in 2022 and just 25 frames in 2023 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and his highest innings total in college at Tennessee was 65. Therefore, his workload being curtailed at some point was inevitable. Grifol didn't divulge any specifics in regards to pitch counts or innings totals for Crochet, indicating he'll be flexible start-to-start based on how efficient the pitcher is. The manager also didn't mention anything about Crochet being shut down completely at some point, although it's certainly possible that will happen. It's not an ideal situation for fantasy managers, but those rostering Crochet will want to keep him in their lineups as long as he's making starts. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 6:46 am
    Garrett CrochetCWS - SP,RP
    L, 4-5 vs COL
    New Player Note
     
  • Serving as opener Wednesday
    Holton will serve as the Tigers' opening pitcher in Wednesday's game versus the Phillies, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

    Advice: With left-handed sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the top three of the batting order, the Phillies are targets for southpaw openers. Holton will be followed by Keider Montero, who will be called up from Triple-A Toledo and will be deployed as a bulk reliever. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 6:27 am
     
  • Loses again
    Heaney (2-9) took the loss Tuesday against Milwaukee, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four.

    Advice: Heaney fell to his ninth loss of 2024, a total that only trails Dakota Hudson. However, seven of those losses have come despite Heaney allowing three or fewer earned runs, a result of inconsistent defense and a Rangers offensive attack that's underwhelmed compared to expectations. Still, Heaney has been a reliable option since the start of May, owning a 3.26 ERA and a 49:11 K:BB in 49.2 innings. The lefty is tentatively scheduled to start Sunday at Baltimore. Rotowire.com Wednesday, 12:04 am