MLB Player News

Torkelson is slashing .229/.347/.375 with five home runs, a 14.8 percent walk rate and a 30.6 percent strikeout rate over 173 plate appearances at Triple-A Toledo since his June 3 demotion.

Though he's now been at Triple-A for a month and a half, Torkelson hasn't provided any evidence that he's made enough progress with his plate approach to return to Detroit. After turning in a .129 ISO in 229 plate appearances with the Tigers prior to his demotion, Torkelson has shown only slightly more pop at against lesser pitching (.146 ISO), and his strikeout rate is actually six points higher than what he posted in the majors. Expect the Tigers to continue to get by with a committee of players at first base until Torkelson starts producing at a level that warrants a call-up.

The Mariners are expected to recall Locklear from Triple-A Tacoma this week to take over as the club's everyday first baseman, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Seattle is pulling the plug on incumbent first baseman Ty France, who was placed on irrevocable outright waivers Sunday. The Mariners may have to wait until France is claimed or clears waivers before adding Locklear to the roster in a corresponding move, so it's not immediately clear if Locklear will be available for Monday's series opener versus the Angels. In any case, Locklear will be back in the big leagues soon, and he should have a decent amount of leash in an everyday role as the Mariners look to him to provide a spark to a dormant offense. Locklear owns an .887 OPS over 334 plate appearances on the season between Tacoma and Double-A Arkansas and slashed .200/.250/.433 in 32 plate appearances with the Mariners during his first stint in the big leagues back in June.

The Mariners placed France on irrevocable outright waivers Sunday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

France is now eligible to be claimed by the 29 other teams in the league, but if no team is willing to foot the bill on the money remaining on his $6.78 million salary for 2024, the Mariners can send him to the minors. That being said, France has the option to decline reporting to the minors as a result of his MLB service time. Additionally, there's a possibility that he clears waivers and remains a member of Seattle's roster, something that happened with the Blue Jays' Kevin Kiermaier earlier in July. France has produced a disappointing .223 average with eight home runs, 31 RBI and 28 runs scored over 88 games with Seattle so far this season. Tyler Locklear is expected to be called up from Triple-A Tacoma and will get full-time at-bats at first base, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com.

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Smith started the first two games of the second half -- including Saturday against lefty Justin Wrobleski -- but the first baseman will sit Sunday as another lefty in James Paxton takes the mound. Romy Gonzalez will start at first base and bat leadoff in the series finale versus Boston.

France is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

France has gone 0-for-10 with three strikeouts over his past four games and will sit for Sunday's series finale versus Houston. Luke Raley will receive a start at first base while Dylan Moore mans left field.

Schanuel (calf) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics but expects to be available as a pinch hitter, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The 22-year-old exited Saturday's contest with calf tightness but believes he'll be back in the lineup Monday in Seattle. Brandon Drury is shifting to first base Sunday while Luis Guillorme receives a start at the keystone.

Canha is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Canha's playing time had been trending down heading into the All-Star break due to lingering wrist soreness and general ineffectiveness at the plate, but he picked up starts in both of the Tigers' first two games in Toronto, going 2-for-7 with a home run and two walks. He'll take a seat Sunday while the Tigers clear room in the lineup for Justyn-Henry Malloy at designated hitter and Bligh Madris at first base, but manager A.J. Hinch hasn't seemed to cut bait with Canha as a near-everyday player just yet.

Santana went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in Saturday's 8-4 extra-innings loss to the Brewers.

Santana hit just .133 over his first nine games in July, but he's gone deep twice over his last three contests while going 3-for-9 in that span. The first baseman is up to a .244/.327/.434 slash line with 14 homers, 43 RBI, 36 runs scored, two stolen bases and 17 doubles through 90 games. Santana's always been fairly disciplined at the plate, but he's getting by on a 9.7 percent walk rate this year, the lowest of his career.

Guerrero went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Tigers.

Guerrero singled in the first and fourth innings before crushing a two-run homer in the sixth. After cooling down a bit to open July, the first baseman has homered in three consecutive contests while tallying three hits twice. On the season, he is batting .293 with 16 home runs, 59 RBI and 49 runs scored across 423 plate appearances.

Schanuel was removed from Saturday's contest against the Athletics as a result of left calf tightness.

Schanuel exited the game ahead of the bottom of the third inning, going 0-for-2 with a strikeout. The 22-year-old grounded out in his final at-bat in the top of the third, which is likely when he experienced the calf issue. More information on his status will likely be provided in the near future.