MLB Player News

Perez went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 12-3 win over the Astros.

Perez hasn't been in the lineup since before the All-Star break, though he made an impact with his bat while coming off the bench Sunday. He took Miguel Ullola deep to left field in the eighth inning for his third career home run across 36 plate appearances. Despite flashing power in his limited sample in the majors, Perez has recorded just six hits and is striking out at a 38.9 percent clip.

President of baseball operations Paul Toboni said Sunday that the Nationals are targeting Aug. 3 for the start of Early's (elbow) rehab assignment, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Early hasn't pitched since June 30 due to left elbow inflammation, but the Nationals didn't view the injury as enough of a concern to deter them from acquiring the 24-year-old pitcher from the Red Sox on Sunday in exchange for infielder Curtis Mead. The southpaw completed a one-inning simulated bullpen session Friday and is expected to throw a more extended session during the upcoming week before he heads out on a rehab assignment. Early could be ready to return from the 15-day injured list to make his Nationals debut at some point during the second week of August.

Machado went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Marlins.

Machado got the Padres on the board with an RBI double in the fifth inning before tying the game with a two-run homer in the eighth. The veteran third baseman has stayed locked in at the plate, homering four times over his last seven games while collecting 11 hits during that stretch. Through 103 games this season, Machado is slashing .210/.296/.438 with 23 home runs, 18 doubles, 63 RBI, 53 runs scored and two stolen bases.

Vargas went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Astros.

Vargas provided the game-winning runs for the White Sox with his two-run homer in the sixth inning. He now has 22 home runs on the season, though only three have come in July. Vargas has also hit just .221 in July, though he's still managed to chip in 11 RBI and 15 runs scored across 20 games during the month.

Snell (elbow) will make his next rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City and is expected to cover around four innings and 60 pitches, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The upcoming appearance will be the third of Snell's rehab assignment as he continues to get stretched back out after undergoing a NanoScope procedure May 19 to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. In his latest outing Friday with Oklahoma City, Snell tossed 49 pitches (32 strikes) over 2.2 innings, striking out three batters while yielding one earned run on two hits and zero walks. Assuming he meets his targeted workload Wednesday, Snell may need just one rehab start beyond that before returning from the 60-day injured list in the first or second week of August.

Murakami went 3-for-5 with two home runs, six RBI and three runs scored Sunday against the Astros.

Murakami was hitting only .184 with a 35.4 percent strikeout rate across his first 11 games since returning from the injured list, but he snapped out of that skid in impressive fashion Sunday. He popped a two-run and solo homer, and he also chipped in a two-RBI single. Murakami now has a modest three-game hitting streak with only two strikeouts in that span, so he looks to be regaining a rhythm at the plate.

Abrams went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI in Sunday's 10-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

It was Abrams' fourth career multi-homer game and his second of the season. The All-Star shortstop is on a remarkable power surge, blasting seven long balls in his last seven outings while hitting .567 (17-for-30) with 14 RBI during that span. Abrams also notably became the first National with seven homers in a seven-game period since Kyle Schwarber in 2021, and his 27 homers for the campaign have broken Ian Desmond's franchise record for the most in a season by a shortstop, per Patrick Stevens of MLB.com.

Valdez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, two runs scored and two RBI on Sunday against the Cubs.

Valdez continued to power the Pirates' offense, first delivering a solo home run in the second inning and then an RBI single three frames later. He continues to have an extreme boom-or-bust profile, as he's struck out at a 38.9 percent clip since the start of July. On the other hand, he has eight home runs, 24 RBI and 16 runs scored across 20 games in that span.

Wood went 2-for-4 with two home runs, three RBI and a walk in Sunday's 10-7 win over the Diamondbacks.

It was Wood's fifth career multi-homer game and his first of the season. The All-Star outfielder has been sensational in July, batting .311 with nine big flies, four doubles, one triple, 20 RBI and 18 walks over 74 at-bats on the month. He's been a five-category superstar all season, slashing .271/.396/.557 with 30 long balls, 72 RBI, 15 stolen bases and an MLB-high 96 runs scored across 498 plate appearances.

Miles struck out four and gave up three hits and no walks over 3.2 innings of relief during Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Rays.

After starting in his prior appearance July 17 against the White Sox, Miles received another turn through the Toronto rotation but was deployed out of the bullpen while Braydon Fisher opened the game and recorded the first four outs of the contest. Miles is likely to fill a more traditional relief role moving forward, as Max Scherzer (back/thumb) is slated to return from the 15-day injured list to fill the fifth spot in the rotation Monday in Washington. If Toronto deals away starters like Kevin Gausman or Shane Bieber at the trade deadline, however, Miles could be needed in the rotation once again.