MLB Player News

Guerrero went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Red Sox.

Guerrero launched a three-run shot off Boston reliever Phillips Valdez in the fifth inning to extend Toronto's cushion to 9-0. It was the 33rd home of the year for Guerrero, but his first in the last seven games. Despite that brief power outage, Guerrero is hitting a league-leading .328 with a 1.086 OPS in 424 plate appearances this season and will take a six-game hitting streak into Friday's home matchup with Kansas City.

Rizzo was traded from the Cubs to the Yankees in exchange for Kevin Alcantara and Alexander Vizcaino (arm) on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The Cubs had been in talks with the Red Sox about a trade involving Rizzo leading up to Friday's deadline, but he'll head to their AL East rival. The 31-year-old spent the last 10 seasons with the Cubs, and he's slashed .248/.346/.446 with 14 homers, 41 runs and 40 RBI in 92 games to begin the 2021 campaign. He'll add another strong left-handed bat to the Yankees' lineup after they acquired Joey Gallo from the Rangers on Wednesday, and he should take over as the team's starting first baseman.

Mountcastle isn't in the lineup Thursday against the Tigers, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Mountcastle will get a chance to reset after he went 1-for-12 with a walk and four strikeouts across the last three games. Trey Mancini will start at first base while DJ Stewart serves as the designated hitter.

Voit (knee) hit against Luis Severino (elbow) in a simulated game Thursday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Injuries have limited Voit to just 29 games this season, in which he's hit a disappointing .241/.328/.370. His latest absence, the result of a bone bruise and inflammation in his left knee, doesn't look as though it will keep him out much longer, though it remains unclear exactly when he'll be activated.

Through eight games since moving up to Triple-A Omaha, Pratto has gone 10-for-31 (.323) with three homers, four doubles, 12 RBI, eight runs and a 5:7 BB:K.

Pratto has posted five-RBI efforts in two of his last three games, so he's still absolutely mashing minor-league pitching. The 22-year-old is having a major breakout season after hitting .191 in High-A two years ago, but he's blocked at both first base and DH at the major-league level for now. He's also got slightly concerning platoon splits, as Pratto -- a left-handed hitter -- is batting .226 (albeit with good power) against southpaws this year. It's not a perfect prospect profile, but Pratto has enough power to make fantasy managers take notice.

Vaughn will bat fifth and play second base Thursday against the Royals.

It's certainly a fun curiosity that a player who was thought to be a defensively-limited first baseman has spent most of his rookie season in the outfield and will now start a game as a middle infielder. That said, this could well be the only game Vaughn starts at second base in his career, and he's very unlikely to pick up positional eligibility there in most fantasy formats, as the White Sox acquired Cesar Hernandez in a trade with Cleveland on Thursday. Hernandez should spend the rest of the year as the primary second baseman once he links up with his new team.

Abreu isn't starting Thursday's game against the Royals due to neck stiffness, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Abreu has gone 0-for-14 with a run, two walks and three strikeouts across the last four games, and he's dealing with a neck issue that will force him out of the lineup Thursday. Whether he's available off the bench remains to be seen, but Gavin Sheets will shift to first base while Brian Goodwin starts in right field.

O'Hearn isn't in the lineup Thursday against the White Sox.

O'Hearn started the last two games and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts, but he'll head back to the bench with left-hander Carlos Rodon starting Thursday. Jorge Soler will shift to right field while Salvador Perez serves as the designated hitter.

Dalbec will start Thursday's series finale against the Blue Jays, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Dalbec's hitting woes continued in Wednesday's doubleheader, when he went 0-for-5 against two lefties with four strikeouts and a walk, his first since June 23. He's batting .196 (10-for-51) with just two RBI in 18 games during the month of July. With another lefty scheduled Thursday and three more southpaws on tap for the weekend series against the Rays, Dalbec should get more opportunities to get the bat going; however, the Red Sox are known to be looking for help at first base ahead of the trade deadline. That could be in the form of an everyday player or a lefty-hitting complement to Dalbec.

Vaughn started in right field and went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Royals.

Vaughn, who had played mostly in left field this season, moved across the outfield to accommodate the return of Eloy Jimenez. This was his first start and second appearance as a right fielder. White Sox manager Tony La Russa said he didn't expect Jimenez's return to cost Vaughn at-bats, and he meant it. It's unclear if Vaughn will be the primary right fielder going forward, or if that could change when Luis Robert (hip) returns. Although Robert is a center fielder, La Russa could opt for a better fielder in right, like Adam Engel or Brian Goodwin. In that event, Vaughn could get regular at-bats as the designated hitter.