MLB Player News

Calhoun signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees on Thursday.

It's a sensible depth addition for the Yanks, especially with Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) on the shelf for a while. Calhoun was in Mariners camp during spring training but opted out of that minor-league deal when he failed to crack the Opening Day roster. The 35-year-old struggled with the Rangers last season, posting a .587 OPS with 12 home runs.

Steer (knee/quadriceps) is back in the lineup Thursday against the Pirates.

Steer missed three games because of right knee and quad soreness, but he's all set to return to action as the Reds' starting third baseman and No. 3 hitter Thursday night versus the Pirates and right-hander Roansy Contreras. The 25-year-old has slashed .320/.424/.520 with two homers and one steal in 15 games this season.

Mervis is slashing .267/.426/.533 with three home runs and more walks (13) than strikeouts (11) through 61 plate appearances with Triple-A Iowa.

Mervis, who just turned 25, had a 152 wRC+ in 57 games at Triple-A last year, so it would have been disappointing if he'd not gotten off to a great start in 2023. Nonetheless, his 21.3 percent walk rate is pretty eye opening -- he had a 10.4 percent walk rate in 240 plate appearances for Iowa last year. Trey Mancini (-0.7 fWAR), Eric Hosmer (-0.1 fWAR) and Edwin Rios (-0.2 fWAR) have all been below replacement-level players so far this season, so Mervis could get a look sooner than later.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Reds.

He got the rout started by leading off the game with a line drive over the left-field wall on the third pitch he saw from Levi Stoudt. Diaz has gone yard in back-to-back contests, and on the season he's batting .274 (17-for-62) with six homers, 13 RBI and 16 runs in 17 games -- a fantastic pace for a player whose career high in home runs is only 14, set back in 2019.

Torkelson went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Guardians.

The Tigers sputtered on offense in the 3-2 defeat, but Torkelson was still able to contribute. The second-year player now has two home runs and a .651 OPS across 17 games. Those aren't great numbers, but they seem to be a small step forward after Torkelson hit eight home runs and posted a .604 OPS across 110 games last season. He should continue to see regular playing time and has the talent to trend upward.

Steer (knee/quadricep) said he ran sprints at 100 percent speed prior to Wednesday's 8-0 loss to the Rays, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Steer went unused for the third game in a row due to the sore right knee, but his ability to run at full speed without incident suggests he should be back in the lineup before long. For his part, Steer said he expects to return to the starting nine for Thursday's game in Pittsburgh, but manager David Bell hasn't confirmed as much.

Ellis signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies on Sunday.

The 27-year-old infielder will be moving on to the third organization of his career after stints with Arizona and Seattle. Ellis saw 35 games' worth of big-league action between the 2021 and 2022 seasons, slashing .141/.270/.212 over 100 career plate appearances in the majors. Expect him to report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Solano is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox.

After picking up starts at either designated hitter or first base in each of the past 13 games, Solano will head back to the bench Wednesday as the Twins welcome Joey Gallo (intercostal) back from the injured list. Gallo will most likely settle back in as the starter at first base versus right-handed pitching, but the righty-hitting Solano should remain a fixture in the lineup against southpaws.

Cron is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Cron looks to be getting some maintenance for the day game after a night game after he manned first base in each of Colorado's last eight contests. Mike Moustakas will spell Cron at the position and bat fifth in the series finale.

Tellez is out of the lineup Wednesday versus the Mariners.

The lefty-hitting Tellez will take a seat while Seattle brings southpaw Marco Gonzales to the hill. Luke Voit will hit sixth and play first base in the series finale.