MLB Player News
-
Justin Turner 1B | SEA
Mariners' Justin Turner: Returning to bench Wednesday
Turner is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
After going 3-for-15 at the dish while starting in each of the Mariners' last four contests, Turner will head to the bench for the series finale. Three of Turner's previous four starts came against left-handed pitchers, and the Mariners are seemingly viewing him as more of a short-side platoon player at this stage of his career.
-
Anthony Rizzo 1B | NYY
Yankees' Anthony Rizzo: Homers in minor-league rehab game
Rizzo (forearm) went 2-for-2 with a solo home run in a rehab appearance with Double-A Somerset on Tuesday.
Rizzo began his rehab assignment Friday and has gone 2-for-6 with two walks, two strikeouts and two runs through three contests. The veteran first baseman is closing in on a return from the 60-day injured list, and he took another step toward that goal Tuesday by playing first base after serving as the designated hitter in his first two games in the minors. Rizzo could immediately reclaim his starting role at first base upon his return to the big club, as Ben Rice has batted .063 with no extra-base hits and a 28.9 percent strikeout rate over 32 at-bats in August following a promising start to his big-league tenure.
-
Paul Goldschmidt 1B | STL
Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt: Launches homer No. 20
Goldschmidt went 3-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Padres.
The 36-year-old first baseman took Bryan Hoeing deep in the fifth inning to give the Cardinals a 5-4 lead, but the team's offense went cold the rest of the way. It was Goldschmidt's first multi-hit performance since Aug. 12 and he's slashing just .221/.294/.429 through 85 plate appearances on the month, but Tuesday's long ball was his 20th of the season -- the 11th time in his career he's reached that plateau.
-
Luis Arraez 1B | SD
Padres' Luis Arraez: Swipes seventh bag
Arraez went 3-for-5 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Cardinals.
The 27-year-old was productive once again, smacking multiple hits for the eighth time in his last 16 games -- a stretch in which Arraez is slashing .328/.357/.403 with a homer, eight RBI and 10 runs. Tuesday's steal was his seventh of the season, but three of them have come since Aug. 13.
-
Connor Joe 1B | PIT
Pirates' Connor Joe: Filling in for resting De La Cruz
Joe will start in right field and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
After filling in for the left-handed-hitting Rowdy Tellez at first base while southpaw Justin Steele was on the hill for Chicago, Joe will retain a spot in the lineup in the series finale while the Cubs send righty Kyle Hendricks to the hill. Joe will be stepping in in right field in place of Bryan De La Cruz, who appears to be getting some routine maintenance after starting in each of the last eight games. Joe's opportunities to make starts against right-handed pitching are still expected to remain fairly limited during the final month of the season.
-
Pete Alonso 1B | NYM
Mets' Pete Alonso: Homers in Tuesday's win
Alonso went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Diamondbacks.
Alonso homered in his first at-bat to lead off the second inning but was unable to do any more damage. His home run put him at 220 for his career and tied him with Mike Piazza for third most in Mets history. Alonso has struck out eight times over his last four games but, he is also managing to get on base, reaching safely in nine of his last 10 games. For the year, he's slashing .245/.330/.470 with 28 homers, 72 RBI, 74 runs, three steals and a 57:134 BB:K in 569 plate appearances.
-
Yandy Diaz 1B | TB
Rays' Yandy Diaz: Goes deep Tuesday
Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Mariners.
Diaz supplied the Rays with some insurance in the eighth, hitting a solo home run to put them ahead 3-1 in a game that wound up finishing 3-2. The home run was only his second since Aug. 3, but he's still been hitting the ball. Since Aug. 17, Diaz is slashing .351/.390/.514 with four extra-base hits, five RBI and two runs while striking out just under 10 percent of the time. His power numbers have dipped significantly since last season, but he's been able to display his usual contact ability. For the season, he's slashing .275/.330/.400 with 11 homers, 57 RBI, 46 runs and a 39:81 BB:K in 533 plate appearances.
-
Jake Bauers 1B | MIL
Brewers' Jake Bauers: Notches ninth steal
Bauers went 0-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Giants.
Bauers has drawn multiple walks in three of his 14 games in August, but he doesn't have a multi-hit effort in that span. The 28-year-old is batting just .105 (4-for-38) this month, though three of those hits have been home runs. For the year, he's down to a .199/.309/.386 slash line with 11 homers, nine steals, 40 RBI and 40 runs scored over 285 plate appearances. His batting average hadn't been lower than .200 since May 5.
-
Christian Walker 1B | ARI
Diamondbacks' Christian Walker: Takes batting practice
Walker (oblique) participated in batting practice Tuesday, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.
After a few days of hitting off a pitching machine, Walker has now checked off another box in his hitting progression. Assuming he's able to get through another several rounds of BP without issue, he could potentially begin playing in simulated games over the weekend. It's unclear if he will require a rehab assignment before returning to the active roster.
-
Freddie Freeman 1B | LAD
Dodgers' Freddie Freeman: Taking seat Tuesday
Freeman is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Orioles, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
The 34-year-old suffered a hairline fracture in his right middle finger Aug. 17, and he'll head to the bench for Tuesday's contest while in the midst of a 3-for-23 slump. It hasn't been reported that Freeman has suffered a setback, and he may just be getting a bit more time to recover after playing through the injury for the past week-plus.