MLB Player News
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Walker Martin SS | SF
Giants' Walker Martin: Makes pro debut
Martin (hamstring) made his professional debut Monday for the Giants' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate, going 1-for-2 with a strikeout and a run scored.
The No. 52 overall pick in last year's draft, Martin received the equivalent of first-round money (just shy of a $3 million signing bonus) due to his upside, but he didn't face high-caliber competition against Colorado high schoolers, and he's already 20 years old. Given that he's a couple years older than most of the top prospects in the ACL, the expectation should be that he will spend the bulk of this season at Single-A.
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Kevin Newman SS | ARI
Diamondbacks' Kevin Newman: Raps out three hits
Newman went 3-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored in Monday's 6-4 loss to the Dodgers.
Newman has five multi-hit efforts over his last nine games, going 15-for-31 (.484) in that span. The shortstop still isn't hitting for a lot of power, but he's been able to make decent contact. For the season, he has a .276/.311/.439 slash line with two home runs, 11 RBI, 13 runs scored, a stolen base, eight doubles and a triple over 103 plate appearances. Newman should continue to handle the starting job at shortstop at least until Geraldo Perdomo (knee) is able to return, likely in early June.
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Dansby Swanson SS | CHC
Cubs' Dansby Swanson: Officially activated
Swanson (knee) was activated from the 10-day injured list Monday night, per MLB's transaction log.
Swanson was expected to be activated prior to Tuesday's game against Atlanta, and the team has elected to make the move official a bit earlier than anticipated despite not having a game Monday. Miles Mastrobuoni and Pete Crow-Armstrong were optioned to Triple-A Iowa in corresponding moves, making room for the upcoming promotion of Luis Vazquez.
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Tyler Fitzgerald SS | SF
Giants' Tyler Fitzgerald: Sent down to minors
The Giants optioned Fitzgerald to Triple-A Sacramento on Monday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The corresponding move is expected to be waiver claim Ryan McKenna officially being added to the roster. Fitzgerald has slashed a solid .269/.309/.442 in 55 plate appearances this season, although that's come with a 36.4 percent strikeout rate and 3.6 percent walk rate.
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Blaze Alexander SS | ARI
Diamondbacks' Blaze Alexander: Starts at third base
Alexander started at third base and went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Tigers.
Alexander had one of the two productive run-producing outs in the bottom of the seventh inning when the Diamondbacks reclaimed a lead they lost in the top half of the frame. He started for the fourth time in the last eight games, and it was his first start at third base. After a spell as the regular fill-in for Geraldo Perdomo (knee) at shortstop, Alexander has taken a back seat to Kevin Newman. With recent news coming out that Perdomo is expected back in two weeks, Alexander could be moving down to the minors in early June.
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Ha-seong Kim SS | SD
Padres' Ha-Seong Kim: Shows power and speed in win
Kim went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, a walk, a steal and two runs scored in Sunday's 9-1 win over Atlanta.
Kim's first hit of the night was a base hit in the fourth, during which he stole second and came around to score on a double from Fernando Tatis. Kim then destroyed a 393-foot blast to center field in the seventh to extend the lead to 9-0. Kim now has just two stolen bases since April 23 and has yet to reach double digits this year after being seventh in baseball in 2023 with 38 thefts. He's still struggling to make consistent contact, as he's slashing just .212/.325/.370 with six homers, 22 RBI, 24 runs and a 27:34 BB:K in 195 plate appearances.
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Luis Vazquez SS | CHC
Cubs' Luis Vazquez: Set to join Cubs
Vazquez is expected to be called up from Triple-A Iowa ahead of Tuesday's series opener with Atlanta, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.
Vazquez appears to be set to make his major-league debut after producing a .262 average with three home runs, 11 RBI, 22 runs scored and a stolen base over 141 at-bats in 39 contests at Iowa this season. It's possible that 27-year-old will replace Nico Hoerner (hamstring) on the big-league roster if Hoerner is ultimately placed on the injured list.
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Masyn Winn SS | STL
Cardinals' Masyn Winn: Not starting Sunday
Winn is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.
Veteran Brandon Crawford will take over at shortstop against righty Nick Pivetta, affording Winn a breather. The 22-year-old Winn has put together an eight-game hitting streak, raising his slash line to .281/.340/.383 with one homer and seven steals through 41 games this season.
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Geraldo Perdomo SS | ARI
Diamondbacks' Geraldo Perdomo: Two more weeks for return
Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday that Perdomo (knee) should return from the injured list in a couple of weeks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
Perdomo took grounders and batting practice at Chase Field on Saturday in what looked like a typical pre-game routine. That prompted Lovullo to echo the two-week time frame estimated by the injured shortstop last Wednesday. Perdomo, who is working his way back from a right meniscus tear, has not yet run at full speed nor performed quick adjustments or turns.
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Ezequiel Tovar SS | COL
Rockies' Ezequiel Tovar: Eleven-game hitting streak
Tovar went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI on Saturday against the Giants.
Tovar took over as Colorado's leadoff hitter with a lefty on the mound and did his damage in the third inning with an RBI single before coming around to score in the same frame. He has at least one hit in each of his last 11 games, during which he's gone 17-for-49 with two home runs, seven runs scored and seven RBI.