MLB Player News

The Dodgers will designate Espinal for assignment prior to Tuesday's game against the Rays, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The transaction will free up spots on the 26-man and 40-man rosters for the return of Tommy Edman (ankle). Espinal stuck around after being outrighted off the 40-man roster in late May and was quickly added back to the big-league roster. He could elect to remain in the organization if he clears waivers again, but Espinal would have the ability to elect free agency.

Baty went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Monday's loss to the Reds.

The 26-year-old continues to get regular starts at third base while the Mets cover for the absence of Francisco Lindor (calf) and other infielders, but Baty has done little with the opportunity. He hasn't homered in 24 straight games, slashing just .211/.277/.237 over that stretch with two doubles, five runs, six RBI and a 28.9 percent strikeout rate that would be a career-worst mark. Lindor is ramping up his activity level and is expected back before the end of the month, and his return should bump Bo Bichette back to third base and send Baty back to the bench, or potentially even Triple-A Syracuse.

Bichette went 3-for-5 with two doubles in Monday's loss to the Reds.

The 28-year-old accounted for half the Mets' hits and their only extra-base knocks in an embarrassing 12-0 rout. Bichette has reeled off four straight multi-hit performances, and over the last 11 games he's produced a .413/.396/.761 slash line with five doubles, a triple, three homers, eight runs and 12 RBI as he puts a sluggish start to his New York tenure behind him.

Stewart went 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored in Monday's 12-0 win over the Mets.

Stewart reached base via a walk in the first inning and stole a base before scoring on Eugenio Suarez's three-run home run. For Stewart, the steal was his 11th of the season and first in 25 games. He doesn't look the part of a base stealer, but the corner infielder has been successful on 11 of 13 attempts this season and has double-digit steals every year between minors and majors since 2023.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-3 win over the Angels.

Smith launched a solo home run in the seventh inning off the foul pole in right field to give Arizona a 3-2 lead. It was the first home run he's hit in 357 days. Smith has struggled since coming off the injured list and entered Monday's contest batting .087 (2-for-23) over 11 games since his return. Despite the grind, manager Torey Lovullo still plans to give him opportunities at first base or designated hitter when the Diamondbacks face right-handers.

Perdomo batted second and went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's 4-3 win over the Angels.

Perdomo, who had spent the previous 10 games lower in the order, was moved back to the two hole among a slew of batting order changes enacted by manager Torey Lovullo. The shortstop had gone 12-for-34 (.353) with six walks and three steals during his brief time in the lower third of the order.

The Diamondbacks want Waldschmidt to show improvement against breaking pitches at Triple-A Reno before calling him back up to the majors, Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Waldschmidt enjoyed some initial success upon being promoted to the big leagues May 8, but pitchers adjusted to him over the last few weeks, and his strikeouts piled up. The outfielder posted 56.2 percent whiff rate against breaking balls and a 32.8 percent overall strikeout rate in 33 games for Arizona before he was optioned to Reno on Monday. Specifically, Diamondbacks hitting coach Joe Mather noted that Waldschmidt struggled with the higher spin rates of MLB pitches, and the organization wants to ensure that the 23-year-old is better prepared to handle breaking pitches before he gets his next appointment to the big leagues. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo added that he wants Waldschmidt to improve at controlling counts and not swing at "pitcher's pitches" as he makes his return to Reno.

Rodriguez went 3-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's loss to the Athletics.

Rodriguez was a bright spot in the loss, blasting a solo homer in the eighth inning to cap off his first three-hit effort of the campaign. The 26-year-old struggled in previous big-league stints in 2023 and 2025 but has looked much more comfortable this time around, slashing .268/.423/.482 with three homers, three doubles, seven RBI, 10 runs and two stolen bases across 72 plate appearances since being recalled in mid-May. Joey Bart (foot) is currently on a rehab assignment and should return to the active roster soon, but Rodriguez has performed well enough to retain a share of the playing time behind the dish even after Bart is activated.

Jones (1-1) took the loss Monday, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk over four innings against the Athletics. He struck out four.

Jones was hampered by the long ball, as he surrendered two-run homers to Nick Kurtz and Jeff McNeil in the second and fourth innings, respectively. The early returns for Jones since making his season debut May 29 have been lackluster, though a slow start from the 24-year-old is hardly surprising given that he's coming off missing all of 2025 due to right elbow surgery. The right-hander will carry a 6.23 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB across 17.1 innings (four starts) into his next outing, tentatively scheduled for Sunday on the road against the Rockies.

Rojas hit a solo home run in his only plate appearance during Monday's 4-3 win over Tampa Bay.

It didn't quite match the drama of his ninth-inning, game-tying homer in Game 7 of the World Series last year, but Rojas' seventh-inning solo blast Monday ended up being the decisive moment in the Dodgers' victory. Rojas entered the game as a pinch hitter for Alex Freeland, who struck out twice and is just 1-for-13 over his past six contests. This was also Rojas' first showing since he was pulled from Saturday's matchup versus the White Sox due to a right shin issue, so the veteran infielder appears to be fine. He's probably going to continue seeing inconsistent playing time, however, as Los Angeles' infield situation is about to get more crowded with Tommy Edman (ankle) slated to be activated off the 60-day IL on Tuesday.