MLB Player News

Diaz is starting at first base and batting leadoff in Tuesday's AL Wild Card Series opener against the Rangers.

Diaz started just one of the Rays' final five regular-season contests while dealing with a right hamstring issue, but his availability for the AL Wild Card Series never seemed to be in much doubt. The American League batting champ is just 3-for-16 in his career versus Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery, although he has drawn five walks and hasn't struck out.

Aranda went 2-for-6 with a grand slam, a double and six RBI in Sunday's 12-8 win over the Blue Jays.

Aranda kicked things off with an RBI-single in the first and followed up with a grand slam off Wes Parsons in the second. He added an RBI-double later on for his sixth run driven in. Aranda only had seven RBI and one home run through 33 games coming into Sunday and finishes the year slashing .230/.340/.368. Overall, the 25-year-old struggled at the plate in limited action, but it was certainly encouraging to see him end the regular season on a high note as he looks to help the Rays make a postseason run.

Schanuel is not in Sunday's lineup against the Athletics.

Brandon Drury will move to first base while Eduardo Escobar starts at designated hitter. Schanuel hit .250 with one home run in 19 September games.

Diaz is not in Sunday's lineup against the Blue Jays.

The Rays will give Diaz another day to rest up in advance of the postseason. He has been a little banged up lately, but still managed to hit .345 with five home runs in the month of September.

Guerrero is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rays.

Guerrero, who was once again near the top of the MLB leaderboard in games played this year (156), will get a breather in advance of the postseason. Cavan Biggio picks up the start at first base, batting fifth.

Mountcastle is not in Sunday's lineup against the Red Sox.

Adley Rutschman is starting at designated hitter while Ryan O'Hearn mans first base. Mountcastle hit .231 with zero home runs in 13 games in September.

Diaz isn't in the Rays' lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After going 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBI in his return from a hamstring injury Friday, Diaz will get a breather for the Rays' penultimate game of the season. Isaac Paredes will shift to first base with Curtis Mead at second base, Junior Caminero at third and Taylor Walls starting at shortstop.

Diaz went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run Friday against the Blue Jays.

Diaz had been sidelined after missing two games caused by hamstring tightness. According to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Diaz is still feeling discomfort and did state some concern about running the bases. With the Rays locked into the playoffs, the team could opt to take it easy with its primary leadoff hitter across the final two games of the regular season.

Guerrero went 3-for-4 with a walk, two doubles and three runs scored in Friday's 11-4 win over the Rays.

The 24-year-old slugger continues a late-season surge that has helped push the Jays to the verge of the playoffs -- they need one more win, or a Mariners loss, to lock up a wild-card spot. Over his last 12 games, Guerrero is slashing .302/.423/.628 with two doubles, four homers, eight RBI and 10 runs.

Torkelson went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Guardians.

Torkelson went deep for the second straight game and seventh time this month, bringing his season total to 31 home runs. The 24-year-old has established himself as a good source of power in his second MLB campaign, and he's managed to increase his batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage from his 2022 rookie season. Torkelson should continue to trend upward in 2024.