MLB Player News

Vargas is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest in San Francisco.

Vargas started the previous two games at first base as the Diamondbacks scramble to fill the position following injuries to Pavin Smith (quadriceps) and Tyler Locklear (elbow), but Vargas will take a seat in Wednesday's series finale. Tim Tawa is handling first base and batting eighth as Arizona tries to avoid the sweep.

The Athletics recalled Spence from Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

He'll join the 28-man active roster in place of right-hander Scott McGough, who was optioned to Las Vegas in a corresponding move. Spence had been working out of the rotation at Las Vegas following his July 10 demotion, turning in a 6.21 ERA, 1.83 WHIP and 31:12 K:BB in 29 innings. The Athletics have a full rotation at the moment, so Spence looks like he'll be ticketed for a long-relief role for the time being. However, if Mason Barnett falters in his start Wednesday against the Red Sox, it wouldn't be surprising if Spence replaced him in the rotation the next time his turn comes up.

The Athletics optioned McGough to Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

McGough's brief time with the Athletics didn't go well, as he was touched up for five runs on eight hits and one walk over five innings covering three relief appearances. He's being replaced on the active roster by Mitch Spence, who was recalled from Triple-A.

Burke is slashing .308/.382/.558 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 32 games for Double-A Biloxi.

The lefty-hitting first baseman cut his groundball rate from 52.4 percent at High-A to 45.5 percent at Double-A, and his game power has taken off as a result. Burke, who was promoted from High-A Wisconsin to Biloxi on Aug. 2, will face significant internal competition for playing time in the coming years, as first rounders Brock Wilken and Andrew Fischer are also most likely to end up at first base and Andrew Vaughn is under club control through the 2027 season. Still, Burke, who turned 22 in June, has opened eyes with his performance for the Shuckers and he may not require a full 2026 season's worth of development in the upper levels before his bat is big-league ready.

Abrams went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, two runs scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's win over the Marlins.

The shortstop extended a modest hitting streak to six games while swiping his 29th bag of the year, leaving him one shy of his third straight 30-steal campaign. Abrams remains in a power drought, having not homered since Aug. 23, but over 14 games since then he's slashing .302/.362/.415 with six doubles, three steals, two RBI and eight runs.

Soto went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Phillies.

The steal was his 30th of the season, making Soto the first 30-30 player of 2025. It's also the first time the 26-year-old has reached that milestone in his career -- his previous career high in stolen bases was only 12 -- and per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com he became the fifth Met in history to produce a 30-30 campaign, joining Francisco Lindor, David Wright, Darryl Strawberry and three-time 30-30 man Howard Johnson. Soto needs two more home runs to join the 40-30 club, something only 12 players in MLB history have accomplished, including Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Larry Walker and Jeff Bagwell, and current stars Ronald Acuna, Shohei Ohtani and Christian Yelich.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Tuesday that Van Belle's right elbow injury is believed to be a UCL sprain, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Before he was transferred to the 60-day injured list Tuesday, Van Belle was initially placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday due to elbow inflammation. A recent MRI has revealed a sprain, and Van Belle now faces the possibility of requiring the second Tommy John surgery of his career. According to Cash, Van Belle plans to consult with Dr. Keith Meister over the next 3-to-4 weeks before a decision is made regarding whether he'll treat the injury through rest and rehab or undergo Tommy John surgery or another type of elbow procedure. Acquired from the Reds ahead of the trade deadline, Van Belle received his first call-up to the Rays on Aug. 22 and made four multi-inning relief appearances before landing on the shelf.

The Red Sox plan to recall Harrison from Triple-A Worcester ahead of Wednesday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Though manager Alex Cora has confirmed that Payton Tolle will start Wednesday's contest, the rookie southpaw will be in line for an abbreviated appearance since he'll be pitching on less than five days' rest for the first time as a professional. According to Cotillo, Cora wouldn't reveal his plans for once Tolle exits the contest, but Harrison would make sense in a piggyback role. Since being acquired from the Giants in mid-June, Harrison has yet to make his Boston debut and has been working out of the rotation at Worcester, turning in a 3.75 ERA, 1.60 WHIP and 50:27 K:BB in 50.1 innings over 12 starts. He made a one-inning appearance Sunday and should be capable of covering multiple frames Wednesday in relief of Tolle.

Lombard is slashing .215/.336/.362 with eight home runs, 22 steals, a 13.5 percent walk rate and a 26 percent strikeout rate in 102 games for Double-A Somerset.

The third-youngest qualified hitter at Double-A (behind Sebastian Walcott and Nelson Rada), Lombard makes for a tough evaluation, as his youth can generally be used to explain away his shortcomings. He is a career .236 hitter with a career .359 OBP, and he's managed 14 home runs in 250 career games while always being one of the youngest players in his league. Getting the ball in the air isn't a problem for Lombard, and his 39 percent groundball rate and 44.9 percent pull rate are encouraging marks. The passage of time could lead to Lombard naturally accessing significantly more power in a year or two as his body matures, and he's a no-doubt shortstop with above-average speed and on-base ability. The righty-hitting Lombard could get another aggressive assignment to Triple-A next year before turning 21 in June.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that Tolle will make an abbreviated start in Wednesday's game against the Athletics in Sacramento, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Over the weekend, Cora had said that Tolle would be part of the pitching plan for Wednesday's game, though the rookie wasn't in line to start. Cora has since opted to have Tolle make a start in the series finale, though the left-hander will handle a restricted workload since he'll be pitching on four days' rest for the first time all season. The Red Sox will recall Kyle Harrison from Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, and he could end up piggybacking Tolle in the contest. Through his first two MLB starts, Tolle has struck out 10 over 8.1 innings but has given up seven earned runs on eight hits and six walks.