MLB Player News
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Mickey Gasper 1B | MIN
Twins' Mickey Gasper: Back from IL
Gasper (foot) was reinstated from Triple-A St. Paul's 7-day injured list Tuesday and went 1-for-4 in his return to the lineup.
Gasper served as St. Paul's designated hitter in his return to the lineup after he had missed about two and a half weeks while recovering from plantar fasciitis. The 29-year-old utility player owns a .316/.418/.600 slash line with 10 home runs and two steals in 41 games at the Triple-A level this season.
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Ben Rice C | NYY
Yankees' Ben Rice: Playing time trending down
Rice is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.
Over his last eight games, Rice has gone just 4-for-27 with a .324 on-base percentage, and his lack of recent production is beginning to cost him some playing time. For the fourth time in five matchups with a right-handed starting pitcher (Logan Evans), the left-handed-hitting Rice will head to the bench while the Yankees go with Paul Goldschmidt at first base and Giancarlo Stanton at designated hitter.
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Masataka Yoshida LF | BOS
Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida: Activated ahead of season debut
The Red Sox activated Yoshida (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday.
Yoshida is finally ready to make his season debut for the Red Sox after a long recovery from offseason surgery on his right shoulder. The 31-year-old will start at designated hitter and will bat sixth in Wednesday's game versus righty Antonio Senzatela and the Rockies. Yoshida might have to get off to a good start if he wants to see regular playing time, as the Red Sox have lots of mouths to feed between the outfield and DH.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Getting piggybacked again Saturday
Manager Dave Roberts said this week that Ohtani will serve as the Dodgers' opening pitcher for Saturday's game against the Giants and will be followed by right-hander Emmet Sheehan in bulk relief, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
After covering one inning in both of his first two starts as a pitcher, Ohtani has worked two frames in both of his subsequent outings. Roberts didn't go into specifics regarding what Ohtani's workload will look like Saturday, but if the current trend holds, the right-hander could be in line for a three-inning start. Until the Dodgers are willing to let Ohtani work five innings, he won't be able to qualify for wins in his starts, so the bulk of the two-way superstar's fantasy value looks as though it will come from his production as a hitter for the foreseeable future.
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Giancarlo Stanton DH | NYY
Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton: Plates three runs Tuesday
Stanton went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in a 10-3 win against Seattle on Tuesday.
Stanton's homer was a 401-foot, three-run shot in the sixth inning that gave New York a 4-0 lead. It was the second home run of the season for the slugger, who has played in 17 contests since making his season debut June 16 following a lengthy stint on the IL. Stanton's OPS on the season is at .712 through 66 plate appearances, but he's beginning to look more like his old self at the plate, with both of his homers and six RBI coming over his past five games.
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Shohei Ohtani DH | LAD
Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani: Blasts 31st home run
Ohtani went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Brewers.
Ohtani opened up the game with a leadoff home run against Jacob Misiorowski, but the Dodgers were blanked the rest of the way. It was Ohtani's second home run in July and his sixth home run in his last 15 games. He leads the National League in homers (31), slugging and OPS but is 14th with 57 RBI as the All-Star break approaches.
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Colt Keith 3B | DET
Tigers' Colt Keith: Homers, drives in three Tuesday
Keith went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Rays.
With Detroit trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, Keith singled home a run to tie the game. He then had an even bigger hit two innings later, breaking the tie with a two-run home run, his eighth long ball of the season and second in as many days. Keith has been dialed in lately, recording a .441 batting average and 1.281 OPS over his last 10 contests. The 23-year-old has also settled in as Detroit's main leadoff option recently, and he's responded well in the role.
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Randal Grichuk RF | KC
Diamondbacks' Randal Grichuk: Another start against righty
Grichuk was added to Tuesday's starting lineup as the designated hitter after Alek Thomas (knee) was scratched. Grichuk went 0-for-4 in a 1-0 loss to San Diego.
Grichuk, who typically starts against lefties only, made a second start against a right-hander (Nick Pivetta) since Pavin Smith (oblique) landed on the 10-day injured list. The lefty-batting Jake McCarthy was in the original starting lineup as the DH but moved to center field to cover for Thomas. Grichuk could see additional opportunities while Smith and Thomas are unavailable.
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Brent Rooker DH | ATH
Athletics' Brent Rooker: Smacks 19th homer
Rooker went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 10-1 win over Atlanta.
Rooker has been hitting well in recent weeks, going 16-for-60 (.267) with four homers and nine RBI over his last 16 games. The designated hitter was part of a five-homer attack for the Athletics in this contest, putting them ahead 3-0 in the first inning with the second of the team's round trippers. For the season, he's at a .271/.347/.492 slash line with 19 homers, 50 RBI, 56 runs scored, 19 doubles, two triples and two stolen bases over 93 games.