MLB Player News

Dalbec went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 9-5 loss to the Rays.

His fifth-inning blast off Ryan Yarbrough was his first homer since June 28 and 11th of the season. While it was a nice way to wrap up July, Dalbec still slashed only .210/.234/.306 through 21 games on the month with an atrocious 1:25 BB:K. The return of Franchy Cordero hasn't had a big impact on Dalbec's playing time, but the eventual Boston debut of Kyle Schwarber (hamstring) probably will.

Abreu went 0-for-2 with a walk, was twice hit by pitches and had an RBI in Friday's 6-4 win over Cleveland.

The most serious of the two HBP happened in the eighth inning when a James Karinchak fastball hit Abreu on the helmet. Both benches emptied in a non-violent confrontation, and Abreu stayed in the game. He had returned to the lineup Friday after missing one game due to a stiff neck.

Mountcastle went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-3 win over the Tigers.

He took Tarik Skubal deep in the fourth inning, one of three O's homers off the young southpaw. Mountcastle is up to 17 home runs on the year, but he's stumbled to a rough .182/.224/.432 slash line in 12 games since the All-Star break.

Diaz went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a double and two total runs scored in Friday's 7-3 win over Boston.

The third baseman recorded his second straight three-hit effort. He opened the scoring with his seventh homer of the year in the first inning, setting the tone for Tampa Bay. Diaz doesn't add much pop -- he has matching on-base and slugging percentages at .373 as more of a contact hitter. The 29-year-old has added 37 RBI and 45 runs scored through 365 plate appearances as a near-everyday presence in the lineup.

Rizzo went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and two total runs scored in Friday's 3-1 win over Miami.

The first baseman opened the scoring for his new team with a sixth-inning blast. Rizzo has gone 10-for-25 (.400) with four home runs, six RBI and eight runs scored during a seven-game hitting streak. He batted cleanup in his Yankees debut, which could be a strong indication of his placement in the lineup going forward. For the year, he has a .252/.350/.457 slash line with 15 long balls, 41 RBI, 43 runs scored and four stolen bases.

Diaz went 3-for-5 with an RBI single, a double and two runs in a win over the Yankees on Thursday, snapping an 0-for-17 skid.

Diaz put together a 4-for-5 effort against Cleveland on July 22 before hitting his mini-slump, and Thursday's strong production was reminiscent of that game. The 29-year-old has given his season a nice boost in July, as he'll enter Friday night's series opener against the Red Sox with a .304/.371/.554 slash line that includes three doubles, one triple, three home runs and nine RBI across 62 plate appearances covering 17 games.

Abreu (neck) is starting Friday's game against Cleveland.

Abreu was held out of Thursday's contest due to a stiff neck, but he'll play first base and bat third Friday. The 34-year-old has gone 0-for-14 with a run, two walks and three strikeouts across his last four games.

France, who went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Astros on Wednesday, owns a .375 average, .913 OPS and minuscule 9.4 percent strikeout rate in the 53 plate appearances covering his last 12 games.

France also has multi-hit efforts in exactly half of those contests, with the only possible quibble with his numbers being the fact he only has three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run) during that span. Nevertheless, the hot-hitting infielder now owns a rock-solid .278/.356/.421 slash line on the season, and his respective .331 and .333 averages with men on base and men in scoring position have helped lead to 44 RBI over 93 games.

Guerrero went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a walk Thursday against the Red Sox.

Guerrero launched a three-run shot off Boston reliever Phillips Valdez in the fifth inning to extend Toronto's cushion to 9-0. It was the 33rd home of the year for Guerrero, but his first in the last seven games. Despite that brief power outage, Guerrero is hitting a league-leading .328 with a 1.086 OPS in 424 plate appearances this season and will take a six-game hitting streak into Friday's home matchup with Kansas City.

Rizzo was traded from the Cubs to the Yankees in exchange for Kevin Alcantara and Alexander Vizcaino (arm) on Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The Cubs had been in talks with the Red Sox about a trade involving Rizzo leading up to Friday's deadline, but he'll head to their AL East rival. The 31-year-old spent the last 10 seasons with the Cubs, and he's slashed .248/.346/.446 with 14 homers, 41 runs and 40 RBI in 92 games to begin the 2021 campaign. He'll add another strong left-handed bat to the Yankees' lineup after they acquired Joey Gallo from the Rangers on Wednesday, and he should take over as the team's starting first baseman.