MLB Player News
-
Josh Bell DH | MIN
Twins' Josh Bell: Pops two homers Monday
Bell went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four total RBI in Monday's 6-3 win over the Astros.
Bell took Tatsuya Imai deep in each of his first two plate appearances, swatting a solo homer in the second inning before tagging the right-hander for a two-run shot in the fourth. Bell then singled home a run in the sixth, thereby driving in each of the Twins' first four runs of the game. Bell's two long balls snapped a 31-game home-run drought for the 33-year-old. On the season, he's slashing .223/.286/.361 with five homers, 28 RBI, 23 runs scored, one stolen base and a 14:43 BB:K across 182 plate appearances. Bell's .647 OPS is the lowest of his career.
-
Ezequiel Duran 2B | TEX
Rangers' Ezequiel Duran: Productive in loss
Duran went 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 7-6 loss to Colorado.
Duran continued to be a regular contributor, getting on base and scoring in the second and sixth innings followed by a two-run single in the eighth. He's been a lineup regular for the last month, most recently filling in at shortstop for Corey Seager (back), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday. He's expected to cover shortstop until Seager's ready. Duran is slashing .286/.348/.454 with three home runs, 17 RBI, four steals and 20 runs scored over 133 plate appearances.
-
Yandy Diaz DH | TB
Rays' Yandy Diaz: Four hits Monday
Diaz went 4-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI and four runs scored in Monday's win over the Orioles.
Junior Caminero delivered a three-run shot and Ryan Vilade had three hits and three RBI, but it was Diaz who led Tampa Bay's offense in hits and runs scored while matching Caminero's four RBI in this offensive explosion. The slugging first baseman posted his seventh multi-RBI game of the season, and he continues to put up solid numbers across the board. He's hitting .268 with a .794 OPS, three homers, 11 RBI and eight runs scored in 14 games since the beginning of May.
-
Taylor Rogers RP | MIN
Twins' Taylor Rogers: Picks up save over Houston
Rogers earned the save in Monday's 6-3 win over the Astros, striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.
Manager Derek Shelton tapped Yoendrys Gomez to begin the ninth inning, but Gomez walked two of his first three batters to bring the tying run to the plate. Rogers was called on to put out the fire, and he stuck out Yordan Alvarez before getting Christian Walker to ground out. It was Rogers' first save of the season, and he now owns a 3.86 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and 14:6 K:BB across 18.2 innings.
-
Junior Caminero 3B | TB
Rays' Junior Caminero: Socks three-run shot in win
Caminero went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional RBI, two additional runs scored and two walks in Monday's win over the Orioles.
Caminero went yard in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season, and he's also now posted three straight multi-RBI efforts. The star third baseman has been on a roll lately, hitting safely in all but three contests since the beginning of May. During that stretch, Caminero is hitting .271 with a .937 OPS, five homers, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and a 10:12 K:BB across 16 games.
-
Kendry Rojas RP | MIN
Twins' Kendry Rojas: Looks good across four innings
Rojas didn't factor into the decision Monday against the Astros, allowing two hits and one walk with three strikeouts across four scoreless innings.
Minnesota slotted Rojas into the rotation in place of a struggling Simeon Woods Richardson, and the 23-year-old left-hander displayed plus stuff, generating 10 whiffs on 46 total pitches and averaging 96.0 mph with his fastball. The rookie should get another turn through the rotation after his strong showing Monday. Through his first 11.1 innings this season, Rojas owns a 1.59 ERA and 11:9 K:BB.
-
Adley Rutschman C | BAL
Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Goes yard Monday
Rutschman went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional RBI, an additional run scored, a walk and a strikeout in Monday's loss to the Rays.
Rutschman blasted his seventh long ball of the season -- and third over his last nine games -- off reliever Chase Solesky in the seventh inning. Despite the uptick in power, Rutschman has been struggling to put the ball in play of late. He hit .356 with a 1.067 OPS between March and April, but those numbers have plummeted to a .193 average with a .645 OPS in 15 May contests.
-
Andruw Monasterio SS | BOS
Red Sox's Andruw Monasterio: Makes fourth straight start
Monasterio started at shortstop and went 2-for-4 in Monday's 3-1 win over Kansas City.
Monasterio made a fourth consecutive start at shortstop as a fill-in for Trevor Story (groin), who could be facing surgery. The Red Sox have a few options to deploy at shortstop, but thus far interim manager Chad Tracy has only used Monasterio. He's slashing .256/.301/.397 with eight doubles, one home run, nine RBI and eight runs scored over 83 plate appearances.
-
Alejandro Kirk C | TOR
Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Not ready to take full BP yet
Kirk has not been cleared to take full batting practice yet because he still feels a bit of soreness in his surgically repaired left thumb while hitting, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.
Kirk is performing all other baseball activities, and by the end of this week, the Blue Jays expect to have a better idea of when the catcher will be ready for a rehab assignment. The 27-year-old is six weeks removed from surgery to have a screw inserted into his fractured left thumb. Whether Kirk can make it back before the end of May is starting to shape up as an uncertain proposition.
-
Jac Caglianone RF | KC
Royals' Jac Caglianone: Pair of doubles in loss
Caglianone went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Monday's 3-1 loss to the Red Sox.
Caglianone accounted for two of the Royals' six hits, and he drove in just his 10th run of the season with an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning. He now has two straight multi-hit games and is slashing .254/.322/.442 with five homers, 10 RBI, 18 runs scored and a 12:43 BB:K across 152 plate appearances this season. Caglianone has a strong batted-ball profile, as he's in the 95th percentile or better in average exit velocity (94 mph), barrel rate (17.6 percent), hard-hit rate (54.9 percent) and bat speed (76.5 mph), but the results haven't been there in a Kansas City offense that has struggled as a whole.