MLB Player News

Contreras (hand) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

It's the fourth straight absence due to a bruised right hand for Contreras, and there's no reason for the Red Sox to rush him back into action since their playoff seeding is all but set. Nick Sogard will receive another start at first base Tuesday for Boston.

Ward signed a contract with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball on Tuesday, Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Ward had been booted off the Dodgers' 40-man roster last week and will now try his luck overseas. The 28-year-old has slugged 108 home runs at Triple-A Oklahoma City over the last four seasons, but he was given only 60 plate appearances in the big leagues over that time.

Ortiz is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's contest in Detroit.

Ortiz has been in and out of the Nationals' lineup this month, starting 10 of 18 games. It will be Andres Chaparro manning first base for the Nationals on Tuesday.

Alonso went 2-for-4 with two homers and three total RBI in Monday's 4-3 win over Toronto.

Alonso powered Baltimore to victory, launching a solo homer to the opposite field in the first inning before crushing a two-run shot to left in the eighth frame. The 31-year-old slugger has now reached the 40-homer mark for the first time since 2023 and the fourth time in his big-league career. Alonso is sporting a .265/.359/.510 slash line with 40 homers, 108 RBI, 94 runs and five stolen bases across 157 games, as he's put together a productive first season in Baltimore.

Morales went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run in Monday's 9-2 loss to the Tigers.

With lefty Drew Sommers on the mound, Morales entered the game off the bench and launched an opposite-field, two-run homer in the eighth inning. The 24-year-old has hit well since being promoted at the start of September, going 11-for-36 (.306) with three homers, eight RBI, nine runs and a stolen base across 13 games. His playing time has been fairly sporadic, though, as Andres Chaparro and Abimelec Ortiz also compete for at-bats at first base and designated hitter.

Torkelson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday's 9-2 win over the Nationals.

Torkelson continued his strong finish to the season, as he's now batting .305 with five home runs and 11 RBI through 19 September games. The slugger also reached the 25-homer plateau for the second straight year and third time in his MLB career. By this point, it's pretty clear that Torkelson is a boom-or-bust player who can provide plenty of power but is also susceptible to prolonged slumps, as evidenced by his 31.4 percent strikeout rate.

Velazquez (lower body) has returned to play at Triple-A Columbus after missing 10 days earlier this month due to lower-body soreness.

Velazquez was considered day-to-day after experiencing some lower-body soreness, but he was cleared to return to action last week. He's appeared in four games since Sept. 16, going 5-for-16 with three RBI, one walk and three runs.

Lewis is not in the lineup for Monday's game in San Francisco.

Lewis has slashed just .183/.207/.243 with one home run and a 4:28 BB:K over his last 30 games to drop his season batting line to .227/.290/.381. Aaron Sabato is starting at first base for the Twins on Monday, and he could continue playing over Lewis at the position during the final week of the regular season.

Guerrero (back) is absent from the lineup for Monday's game in Baltimore.

Guerrero was lifted from Sunday's 7-2 win over the Rangers because of lower-back tightness, and he's not feeling well enough a day later to return to the lineup. He's considered day-to-day, but with the Blue Jays' playoff hopes fading, Guerrero could be shut down if he doesn't improve in a hurry. Sean Keys will handle first base in Guerrero's stead Monday.

The Twins selected Sabato's contract from Triple-A St. Paul on Monday.

Sabato slashed .273/.349/.528 with 25 home runs and a 41:119 BB:K over 113 games this season with St. Paul to earn his first big-league promotion. The 27-year-old first baseman could eat into the playing time of Royce Lewis, who is slashing just .184/.218/.248 over his last 33 games.