MLB Player News

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said after Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Giants that X-rays on Gallo's left wrist returned negative after the 30-year-old was hit by a pitch in his final plate appearance, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Gallo went 0-for-3 to drop his season-long batting average to .167 before he reached base in the eighth inning, when he was struck by a Taylor Rogers pitch. He was able to run the bases after being hit by the pitch, so his postgame X-rays may have just been administered out of an abundance of caution. Before an off day Thursday, the Nationals will face the Giants on Wednesday in an afternoon game, so Martinez could look to give Gallo the day off just to allow any lingering soreness in the slugger's wrist to subside.

Encarnacion-Strand went 2-for-5 with two runs scored in Tuesday's 9-5 loss to the Brewers.

Encarnacion-Strand is fighting a slump and entered the night with a .136 average after a 1-for-20 stretch. Cincinnati needs better from the player that bats third in the order. The silver lining is that Encarnacion-Strand's underlying numbers indicate some bad luck (.206 BABIP). His average stands at .163 following Tuesday's two-hit night, but Statcast has him at an expected average of .245.

Alonso went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and a three-run home run in Tuesday's 6-5 loss to Atlanta.

The Mets were shut out for seven innings, but Alonso kicked off a belated comeback attempt by taking Tyler Matzek deep in the eighth. The first baseman is batting only .196 (9-for-46) to begin the season, but three of Alonso's hits have left the yard and he has seven runs and six RBI through 11 games.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Phillies.

The 36-year-old has had a poor start to the young season, slashing .200/.319/.275 with 13 strikeouts through 40 at-bats. It's possible that Goldschmidt's age is finally starting to show, but he's still a seven-time All-Star who won an MVP just two years ago. His average may not match those from previous years, but the veteran first basemen should still have some power left in the tank for 2024.

Cronenworth went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and two walks in Monday's 9-8 win versus the Cubs.

The Padres went down 8-0 before Cronenworth began a spirited comeback with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. The long ball was the first of the year for the first baseman, but he's produced offense in other ways, as he currently leads the team with 11 total RBI. Cronenworth has reached base safely in 10 of 13 contests and is slashing .313/.382/.500 through 56 plate appearances.

Bauers is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Reds.

Bauers started the previous two games and went 2-for-5 with an RBI, a run and a stolen base Sunday versus Seattle, but he'll take a seat Monday against Cincinnati righty Graham Ashcraft. Rhys Hoskins will handle first base while Oliver Dunn serves as the designated hitter, opening up the hot corner for Joey Ortiz.

Gallo went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Phillies.

The 30-year-old swiped his first bag of the season, but there likely won't be too many to follow -- his career high is only seven, set back in 2017. It's been a fairly typical start to 2024 for Gallo, who's batting .179 (5-for-28) through eight games with a 6:11 BB:K, but four of his five hits have gone for extra bases including two homers.

Olson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's win over the Diamondbacks.

The first baseman took Ryne Nelson deep to lead off the second inning and set Atlanta on its way to a 5-2 victory and a series sweep. Olson has picked up where he left off after slugging a career-high 54 homers in 2023, and through eight games this season he's batting .303 (10-for-33) with five doubles, three home runs and eight RBI.

Busch went 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Sunday's 8-1 victory over the Dodgers.

Busch has been solid so far for the Cubs, as he now has three extra-base hits across nine games to along with five RBI and an .856 OPS. It looks like he'll play most days when a southpaw isn't on the hill for the opponent, giving him an opportunity to post useful fantasy numbers as long as he keeps swinging a hot bat.

Bryant (back) will serve as the Rockies' designated hitter and cleanup batter in Sunday's game against the Rays.

Bryant was held out of action for Saturday's 8-6 loss to Tampa Bay while tending to lower-back stiffness, but he feels well enough to return to action for the series finale, albeit in a non-defensive role. Michael Toglia will draw the start at first base Sunday, but expect Bryant to resume playing his normal position within the next few days, assuming the back issue doesn't crop up again.