MLB Player News
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Rowdy Tellez 1B | TEX
Rangers' Rowdy Tellez: Losing out on strong-side role
Tellez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
He will hit the bench for the fourth game in a row, with two of his absences coming against left-handers and two coming against right-handers. Tellez had been occupying the strong side of a platoon at first base, but Jake Burger, who was reinstated from the injured list Monday, appears to have overtaken him as the Rangers' top choice at the position. Tellez initially found some success after being promoted from Triple-A Round Rock on July 18, but over his last 10 games, he's gone just 4-for-26 with no walks and 10 strikeouts.
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Michael Busch 3B | CHC
Cubs' Michael Busch: Idle against southpaw
Busch is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.
With lefty Andrew Alvarez on the hill for Washington, Busch will retreat to the bench. Carlos Santana will fill in for Busch at first base and bat fifth.
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Alec Burleson LF | STL
Cardinals' Alec Burleson: Set for Monday return
Burleson (wrist) is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Monday's game against the Mariners, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
Burleson will make his return to the Cardinals without going out on a rehab assignment beforehand. The 26-year-old slashed .286/.337/.451 with 16 home runs and five stolen bases across 470 plate appearances before being deactivated Aug. 29 due to right wrist inflammation.
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Spencer Steer 1B | CIN
Reds' Spencer Steer: Out of Sunday's lineup
Steer is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Steer missed a couple games earlier in the week due to a leg injury, and he'll return to the bench having gone 4-for-10 with a double and three walks in his first four games of September. Sal Stewart will step in at first base in the series finale for the Reds.
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Paul Goldschmidt 1B | NYY
Yankees' Paul Goldschmidt: Managing nagging knee injury
Goldschmidt has been tending to a bone bruise in his right knee recently, but he'll be available off the bench for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.
Goldschmidt missed multiple games in August due to a right knee sprain, so his current bout with the bone bruise could be related. Testing on his knee came back clean, and the Yankees are confident the issue will be manageable, even though he was available off the bench only in an emergency during Saturday's 3-1 win. Goldschmidt appears to have fallen into a short-side platoon role at first base with Ben Rice, who has started eight of the last 11 games against right-handed pitchers.
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Christian Walker 1B | HOU
Astros' Christian Walker: Pops 22nd homer
Walker went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, two runs scored and two RBI on Saturday against the Rangers.
Walker contributed to the Astros' 11-run outburst early on, popping a leadoff homer in the third inning before driving in another run on a double in the eighth frame. He now has 22 home runs on the season, six of which have come in his last 16 starts. While Walker's power production has evened out over the course of the campaign, his strikeout rate remains inflated at 27.2 percent, leaving him with only a .234 batting average.
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Vinnie Pasquantino 1B | KC
Royals' Vinnie Pasquantino: Another multi-hit performance
Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 11-2 win over the Twins.
Pasquantino stayed hot at the plate in the blowout win, notching his third straight multi-hit performance. The first baseman has been particularly strong in the power department lately, slashing .277/.333/.660 with a .993 OPS, six doubles, 10 homers and 29 RBI across his past 25 contests.
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Sal Stewart 1B | CIN
Reds' Sal Stewart: Clubs first career homer
Stewart went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Mets.
In the second inning of his fourth career big-league game, Stewart got hold of a 96 mph fastball from fellow rookie Jonah Tong and drove it over the center-field fence for his first career long ball. Stewart has started three of five games since being called up Sept. 1, two at first base and one at third, and the Reds will likely continue to find ways to get the 21-year-old's bat into the lineup down the stretch after he posted a combined .309/.383/.524 slash line across 118 games this season between Double-A and Triple-A.
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Nick Kurtz 1B | ATH
Athletics' Nick Kurtz: Blasts 29th homer
Kurtz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two walks and three total runs scored in Saturday's 17-4 win over the Angels.
Since returning from a minor oblique issue, Kurtz has gone 3-for-14 with two homers, a double and three RBI over four contests. The first baseman contributed to a four-homer, 21-hit attack for the Athletics when he launched his solo shot in the fourth inning Saturday. The rookie is up to 29 homers, 73 RBI, 75 runs scored, two stolen bases, 24 doubles and a .305/.402/.635 slash line across just 98 games, and he's done all of that despite a 30.4 percent strikeout rate.
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Bryce Harper DH | PHI
Phillies' Bryce Harper: Swats homer in victory
Harper went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Saturday in a 4-2 win against Miami.
Harper helped the Phillies get off to a fast start with his two-run shot to center field in the first inning. The long ball was his second through five games in September after he finished August with just one homer across his final 12 contests. Harper is at 24 home runs through 113 games on the campaign, so he'll need to go on a moderate power surge in order to reach 30 homers for the second straight regular season.