MLB Player News

Smith took flyballs in center field prior to Monday's game against the Blue Jays and the Astros are considering using him at the position, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Smith has exceeded expectations with how well he's taken to right field, a position he had never played before. The transition has been so seamless that the team is mulling using Smith in center field on days when it's looking to inject more offense into the lineup. The idea of Smith playing center field "is in its infancy," per Rome, and may never happen, but if it does, Zach Dezenzo would likely play right field those days, with Jake Meyers on the bench.

The Twins are expected to activate Lopez (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list to have him make a start during their weekend series versus the Angels in Minnesota, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Though Lopez is eligible to come off the IL for Thursday's series finale versus the White Sox, the Twins are listing Chris Paddack as their scheduled starter for that day, which implies that Lopez won't be activated until at least Friday. Lopez looked sharp in his lone rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul this past Saturday, covering 4.2 innings and striking out four batters while allowing one earned run on three hits and no walks.

Estevez was charged with a blown save after allowing three runs on one hit and three walks Tuesday against the Rockies. He did not record a strikeout.

Estevez was brought in for the ninth inning to protect a two-run lead. He got two outs on just four pitches but then proceeded to load the bases with three straight walks, and Jacob Stallings made him pay with a bases-clearing double. The Royals were able to get a run back in the ninth to send the game to extras and save Estevez from a loss, but Estevez has now issued a walk in three straight appearances and has an unsightly 1:5 K:BB in four innings over that span. For the season, he owns a 3.27 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 10:9 K:BB in 11 innings.

Bubic did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's win over the Rockies, allowing just four hits and striking out six over seven scoreless innings. He did not issue a walk.

Bubic lowered his ERA to 1.45, which is currently ninth best in all of baseball. He racked up 14 whiffs and was all over the strike zone with 62 strikes on 91 pitches. Tuesday marked the first time he's reached seven innings since the 2022 season. Bubic will have a chance to complete a two-start week when he takes on the Astros this weekend.

Rafaela went 2-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and two runs scored in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Mariners.

Rafaela was back in the lineup after getting a day off Monday. The free-swinging Rafaela has put together a few good at-bats recently, but overall he's batting just .229 with a .622 OPS through 22 games this season. The two steals give him six for the year, tying him for the team lead with Jarren Duran and Trevor Story.

Garcia went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

Garcia posted his second straight game with multiple hits and has now reached base multiple times in five of his last six games. Over that span, he's recorded a .520 on-base percentage. For the season, Garcia is hitting .289/.360/.434 with two homers, 10 RBI, eight runs, three steals and a 9:13 BB:K in 86 plate appearances.

Butler went 1-for-4 with a walk, a solo home run and a stolen base in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Rangers.

The 24-year-old took Patrick Corbin deep in the third inning, one of eight homers on the night between the two clubs. Butler is batting .333 (11-for-33) over the last eight games, boosting his slash line on the season to .279/.374/.442 with three homers, five steals, six RBI and 14 runs in 23 contests.

Witt went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

Witt extended his hit streak to 14 games with an infield single in the eighth inning and also stole his seventh bag of the season. Despite gathering seven hits over his last six games, Witt's only driven in one run and has just one home run during his current hit streak. He's slashing .308/.381/.473 with two homers, nine RBI, 15 runs and an 11:15 BB:K in 105 plate appearances so far this season.

Andujar went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Rangers.

The two squads combined for eight homers on the night, and Andujar got the barrage started by lofting a Patrick Corbin slider over the fence in left field in the second inning. Andujar's had a tremendous start to the season, slashing .319/.360/.435 with two homers, eight runs and nine RBI in 19 games, but that may not be enough to hang onto an everyday job once top prospect Nick Kurtz makes his debut, as Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom will both see action in left field to accommodate the rookie.

Bido (2-2) took the loss Tuesday as the A's fell 8-5 to the Rangers, surrendering eight runs on eight hits -- including four home runs -- and three walks over 5.1 innings. He struck out two.

The right-hander came into the night having served up just one long ball in his first four starts, but Bido was victimized by his home park Tuesday, as Sutter Health Park continues to be very hitter-friendly. He has yet to last six innings in any of his five trips to the mound this season, hurting his fantasy value in formats that use quality starts, and his 4.85 ERA, 1.58 WHIP and 16:10 K:BB through 26 innings aren't very appealing either. Bido will look to rebound in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home this weekend against the White Sox.