MLB Player News

Mercado is expected to serve as a bulk reliever behind opening pitcher Orion Kerkering in Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.

Manager Rob Thomson announced Tuesday that Mercado was being moved to the bullpen, but because Zack Wheeler (back) is unable to take the hill for the Phillies' final game before the All-Star break Sunday, Mercado will end up serving as the club's de facto No. 5 member of the rotation to close out the first-half schedule. Though Kerkering is drawing the start, he hasn't recorded more than five outs in any appearance this season and is unlikely to work more than an inning or two before turning the game over to Mercado. Through his first three big-league outings (two starts), Mercado has given up six earned runs on seven hits -- including three home runs -- and five walks while striking out six across 7.2 innings.

Kerkering will serve as the Phillies' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Tim Kelly of PhilliesNation.com reports.

Kerkering will be making the first start of his professional career, but the Phillies are unlikely to ask him to cover more than the opening frame or two, given that the hard-throwing reliever hasn't recorded more than five outs in any appearance this season. Though he's given up a hit in all but two of his last nine relief outings, Kerkering has struck out 10 batters and hasn't allowed a run during that stretch, bringing his ERA down to a shiny 1.30. Michael Mercado is expected to operate as a bulk reliever for the Phillies once Kerkering exits Sunday's contest.

Rojas (forearm) will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Athletics, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Rojas was out of the lineup for Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Dodgers after he had been hit in the forearm by a pitch a night earlier, but he returned to the lineup for the Phillies' 5-1 win in Thursday's series finale. He got the night off for Friday's series opener with Oakland but will pick up his second start in a row to close out of the Phillies' pre-All-Star-break schedule. Rojas hit a solo home run -- his third of the season -- in Saturday's 11-5 win, but he'll continue to provide most of his fantasy value on the basepaths (17 steals in 20 attempts) moving forward.

Martinez isn't in the starting lineup for Sunday's matchup versus Colorado.

He'll begin the final game before the All-Star break on the bench while Pete Alonso gets a day out of the field as the Mets' designated hitter. Martinez went hitless while striking out five times in eight at-bats over the first two games of the series and is batting just .194 with a home run, four RBI and a 37.2 percent strikeout rate across 11 contests in July.

Hodge (0-1) allowed two runs on two hits across 1.2 innings of relief to take the loss in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He walked one and struck out two.

Hodge allowed his first runs since June 6, a streak of seven appearances and 10 innings. The righty has been scored upon only twice this year in 14 appearances overall, and he has a solid 2.16 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 18 strikeouts across 16.2 innings. Veteran Hector Neris is first in line for saves at the moment, but Hodge may be next up if Neris struggles or gets hurt.

Wisdom went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals.

Wisdom entered the game as a defensive replacement in the fifth inning and later hit his fourth home run of the year in the ninth. The 32-year-old remains a clear bench player for the Cubs, with the likes of Michael Busch and Christopher Morel ahead of him at the corner infield spots, so Wisdom is unlikely to have a ton of fantasy value the rest of the way unless any regulars get hurt.

Cease (8-8) picked up the win Saturday, allowing only one hit and three walks over six scoreless innings in a 4-0 victory over Atlanta. He struck out 11.

The Padres got on the board with a run in the second inning, and it's all the support Cease and the bullpen would need. The right-hander racked up double-digit Ks for the third time this season en route to his 11th quality start, and Cease produced an impressive 27 swinging strikes among his 106 pitches. He'll head into the All-Star break with a 3.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 149:36 K:BB through 115 innings, putting him just one strikeout behind former teammate Garrett Crochet for the major-league lead.

Tovar went 2-for-4 with a double Saturday against the Mets.

Tovar began July with seven consecutive hitless starts, though he now has a five-game hitting streak. His production has been largely empty, as across his last five games he has gone 8-for-21 with three extra-base hits, one RBI and two runs scored. Even with the slower production of late, Tovar has had a solid season, showing improvement in his OPS, ISO and batting average relative to 2023.

Lopez (7-3) took the loss Saturday, giving up three runs on 11 hits over six innings as Atlanta was downed 4-0 by the Padres. He struck out two without walking a batter.

The right-hander didn't give up a lot of hard contact, as nine of the 11 hits were singles and the other two were well-placed doubles, but it was still a season high in knocks allowed for Lopez. It's his first loss since May 25, snapping a seven-start stretch in which he'd gone 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 46:16 K:BB through 38.1 innings. Fatigue could be creeping in for the converted reliever, as his 95.2 innings on the year are already his highest total since 2019, but he may not get much of a rest over the break after earning an All-Star Game berth for the first time in his career.

Hernandez went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's extra-inning loss to Detroit.

Hernandez gave Los Angeles an 8-4 lead with his two-run blast in the seventh inning, but the Tigers later rallied to secure the victory. Even with Max Muncy (oblique) and Mookie Betts (hand) on the IL, Hernandez has been a part-time player, starting four of Los Angeles' past seven contests. Saturday's long ball was his first of July, and he's gone 1-for-21 over 10 games this month.