MLB Player News
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Joey Gallo LF | CHW
Nationals' Joey Gallo: Hitting bench Sunday
Gallo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.
Since coming off the injured list Aug. 20, the lefty-hitting Gallo has started in each of the Nationals' six games against right-handed pitching, but he's found himself on the bench for every matchup with lefties. Gallo has produced a .613 OPS since his return from the IL and is slashing just .170/.292/.315 for the season, so despite his regular usage against right-handers of late, he could wind up losing out on some of those starts down the stretch if the Nationals choose to open up more at-bats for Juan Yepez or Andres Chaparro at first base and designated hitter.
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Michael Busch 3B | CHC
Cubs' Michael Busch: Sitting versus southpaw
Busch is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
Busch doesn't always head to the bench against left-handed pitchers, but he'll sit Sunday against Washington southpaw Mitchell Parker. Patrick Wisdom is starting at first base and batting sixth in the series finale.
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Yuli Gurriel DH | SD
Royals' Yuli Gurriel: Contract selected, starting Sunday
The Royals selected Gurriel's (undisclosed) contract from Triple-A Omaha. He'll bat seventh as the designated hitter Sunday against the Astros.
The 40-year-old was acquired from Atlanta on Saturday and will immediately join Kansas City and enter the lineup, despite having not played since Aug. 22 due to an unspecified injury while he was a member of the roster at Triple-A Gwinnett. The major-league trade deadline passed July 30, but Gurriel was able to be dealt since he was in the minor leagues. He had a .292/.378/.485 slash line with 12 home runs and 11 steals in 75 games at Triple-A with Atlanta, and his 2024 MLB debut will come against one of his former teams.
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Dominic Smith 1B | SF
Reds' Dominic Smith: Sitting against righty
Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.
After signing with the Reds on Aug. 22, Smith had started in each of the Reds' ensuing eight matchups against right-handed pitching, but he'll take a seat Sunday against Brewers righty Tobias Myers. Ty France will step in at first base in place of Smith, who has slashed .208/.296/.292 with a 37 percent strikeout rate thus far during his time in Cincinnati.
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Justin Turner 1B | CHC
Mariners' Justin Turner: Clubs two homers in loss
Turner went 3-for-5 with two solo homers in Saturday's loss to the Angels.
Turner launched a leadoff shot to left field in his first trip to the plate to put Seattle on the board before then adding a second leadoff homer in the fourth to give his team the lead. The first baseman would go on to reach three times in the contest while posting his first three-hit effort as a member of the Mariners. It marked Turner's second two-homer performance of the season, and he's now driven in and scored at least one run in back-to-back games. The long balls were only his eighth and ninth of the campaign.
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Tyler Nevin 3B | ATH
Athletics' Tyler Nevin: Rare start in Saturday's loss
Nevin started at first base in a loss to the Rangers on Saturday and went 0-for-3.
Nevin was in the starting lineup for the first time in a week and only the ninth time in August. The journeyman remained in a funk at the plate with his hitless effort, as he's now 2-for-17 in his last six appearances overall. Nevin offers plenty of defensive versatility with his ability to play both the corner infield and outfield spots, but he figures to continue seeing only intermittent playing time down the stretch.
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Anthony Rizzo 1B | NYY
Yankees' Anthony Rizzo: Activated, will start Sunday
The Yankees reinstated Rizzo (forearm) from the 60-day injured list Sunday. He'll start at first base and bat seventh in the Yankees' series finale with the Cardinals.
After Saturday's 6-5 loss to St. Louis, New York optioned Ben Rice to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to reopen a spot on the active roster for Rizzo, who had been on the shelf since June 18 with a right forearm fracture. Rizzo avoided surgery to treat the injury and kicked off a rehab assignment at Double-A Somerset on Aug. 23, with the 35-year-old going 2-for-13 with a solo home run and a 2:6 BB:K in six games in the minors before being activated. Rizzo should replace Rice as the Yankees' primary first baseman against right-handed pitching, though he could lose work versus lefties to either DJ LeMahieu or Oswaldo Cabrera. Before being shut down in June, Rizzo was in the midst of a rough season at the plate, with his .630 OPS over 291 plate appearances representing his worst mark since his 2011 rookie campaign with the Padres.
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Yandy Diaz 1B | TB
Rays' Yandy Diaz: Rejoining lineup Sunday
Diaz (knee) will bat leadoff as the Rays' designated hitter Sunday against the Padres, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The 33-year-old was on the bench for Saturday's contest after he exited Friday's game due to left knee patellar tendinitis, but he's back in action Sunday for the series finale. Diaz finished August with a hot bat and has a .349/.396/.558 slash line with three doubles and two homers in his past 12 games.
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Jake Bauers RF | MIL
Brewers' Jake Bauers: Heading to bench Sunday
Bauers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.
As usual, the lefty-hitting Bauers will take a seat while the Reds send a southpaw (Brandon Williamson) to the bump for the series finale. Bauers' grasp on a regular spot in the lineup against righties also appears to be loosening, as he was on the bench for two of the Brewers' previous four matchups with opposite-handed pitchers.
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Pete Alonso 1B | BAL
Mets' Pete Alonso: Reaches 30-homer mark
Alonso went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored Saturday in a 5-3 victory versus the White Sox.
Alonso gave New York an early lead with his first-inning, two-run shot to left-center field. It was his 30th homer of the campaign, marking the fifth time in six career seasons he's reached that total (the only exception was the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign). In August, Alonso posted a .250 batting average with eight homers, 19 RBI and 16 runs over 104 at-bats.