MLB Player News
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Jose Abreu 1B | HOU
Astros' Jose Abreu: Out of lineup
Abreu is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Kansas City, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports..
Abreu has been unspeakably bad at the plate in the early going, sporting a .227 OPS and 31.7 percent strikeout rate. It's his fourth day off already this season and in his last start he batted eighth. Given Abreu's struggles last season, he could continue to see his playing time dwindle if he doesn't right the ship. Jon Singleton will handle first base Thursday.
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Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 1B | TOR
Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero: Launches third homer
Guerrero went 1-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-1 extra-innings loss to Seattle.
Guerrero was responsible for the Jays' lone run Wednesday with a 459-foot solo blast off Logan Gilbert that tied the game 1-1 in the seventh inning. It's the third homer of the year for Guerrero, though he's gotten off to a slow start at the plate, going 10-for-50 with five RBI through his first 13 games. The 25-year-old Guerrero hit at least 30 homers with 90 RBI in each of his past two campaigns -- he slashed .264/.345/.444 across 602 at-bats last season.
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Michael Toglia 1B | COL
Rockies' Michael Toglia: Making most of playing time
Toglia went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.
Toglia has carried over a power surge from spring training, as he has three home runs across only 26 plate appearances in the regular season. He is still in the Rockies' lineup on an irregular basis, though he has started six of the last 10 games after not starting in any of the team's first three games. Toglia could be working his way into a small-side platoon role, as two of his last three starts have come in right field with Charlie Blackmon sitting against a lefty.
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Pedro Pages C | STL
Cardinals' Pedro Pages: Will be optioned Friday
Pages will be optioned to Triple-A Memphis prior to Friday's game in Arizona, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
Pages was up briefly as catching protection for the Cardinals while a hand injury limited Willson Contreras to designated hitter duties. He struck out in his lone plate appearance in what was his major-league debut.
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Vinnie Pasquantino 1B | KC
Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino: Emerges with five-RBI effort
Pasquantino went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, a walk, two total runs and five total RBI in Wednesday's 11-2 victory against Houston.
Pasquantino had been essentially invisible coming into Wednesday, slashing a miserable .108/.214/.108 without an extra-base hit or an RBI through 10 games. The first baseman finally made some noise in the thumping of the Astros, producing his first multi-hit performance of the season while knocking in nearly half of the Royals' 11 runs. Fantasy managers who roster Pasquantino will undoubtedly hope that the big effort will get him going, and there's reason to believe that his slow start prior to Wednesday wasn't entirely due to being lost at the plate, as he had recorded an unsustainably low .125 BABIP while walking as many times (five) as he had struck out.
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Nate Lowe 1B | CIN
Rangers' Nathaniel Lowe: Begins batting practice
Lowe (oblique) took live batting practice and ran the bases Wednesday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Lowe, who's been taking groundballs since last week, took another step in his rehab Wednesday. Texas manager Bruce Bochy anticipates a rehab assignment beginning within the next week.
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Triston Casas 1B | BOS
Red Sox's Triston Casas: Goes deep in loss
Casas went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to the Orioles.
Casas' two-run homer put Boston up 5-0 in the fifth inning, but the bullpen squandered all of it and then some. It was the second home run of the season for Casas, who has hit safely in seven of the last eight games (11-for-30, .367).
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Michael Busch 3B | CHC
Cubs' Michael Busch: Goes deep in blowout loss
Busch went 1-for-2 with two walks and a two-run home run in Wednesday's 10-2 loss to the Padres.
The Cubs were fairly listless, managing just three total hits, and Busch's second home run of the year in the fourth inning provided all of the offense. The 26-year-old has been fairly solid so far in his first season in Chicago, posting an .850 OPS, seven RBI and the two long balls across 12 games. He'll continue to start most days against righty starters.
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Ryan Noda 1B | BAL
Athletics' Ryan Noda: Tending to hand injury
Noda is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers due to a left hand injury, MLB.com reports.
According to MLB.com, Noda was scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's 4-3 win after his hand was struck by a pitching machine during batting practice. X-rays on Noda's hand came back negative, so he could be available off the bench Wednesday if he's not dealing with too much discomfort.