MLB Player News
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Homers in Game 3 victory
Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and an additional RBI during Tuesday's win over Detroit in Game 3 of the ALDS.
After delivering a historic 60-homer campaign during the regular season, Raleigh flexed his muscles once more by hitting a 391-foot blast off Brenan Hanifee in the ninth to give the Mariners a couple of insurance runs in a game they would win 8-4. The AL MVP candidate is now 6-for-13 with three RBI and two runs scored through three games in the postseason.
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Carlos Narvaez C | BOS
Red Sox's Carlos Narvaez: Set for meniscus surgery this week
Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Monday that Narvaez will undergo arthroscopic surgery this week to repair the meniscus in his left knee, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Narvaez played through a damaged meniscus for much of the second half of the regular season and will have a cleanup procedure on the knee following Boston's elimination from the playoffs. It's considered a minor surgery and is not expected to affect the catcher's availability for the start of spring training. After slashing .273/.347/.439 in the first half, Narvaez hit only .187/.233/.387 after the All-Star break, suggesting the knee issue hampered his offensive production. The 26-year-old should enter the 2026 campaign at the top of the catcher depth chart for the Red Sox.
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Alejandro Kirk C | TOR
Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk: Powers Jays to Game 1 win
Kirk went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs during Saturday's 10-1 win over the Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Kirk sent a Luis Gil offering 392 feet into left field to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead in the second inning, and he provided some insurance by taking Paul Blackburn deep to lead off the eighth. The 26-year-old backstop finished the regular season with a career-high 15 homers and has now slugged five home runs across his last three contests.
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Dillon Dingler C | DET
Tigers' Dillon Dingler: Homers in series-clinching win
Dingler went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, two strikeouts and a walk during Thursday's 6-3 win over the Guardians.
Dingler's solo shot off Joey Cantillo in the sixth inning put the Tigers in front 2-1 -- a lead the team would not give up for the rest of the game. The 27-year-old is now 1-for-10 at the plate through three games in the postseason, and Detroit's Game 3 victory will ensure he receives at least three more opportunities to start behind the plate against the Mariners.
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Bo Naylor C | CLE
Guardians' Bo Naylor: Pops first career playoff homer
Naylor went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's victory over the Tigers.
Brayan Rocchio broke a tie with a solo shot with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and Daniel Schneemann tacked on an additional run with an RBI double. Naylor then added some big insurance runs with a three-run blast off lefty reliever Brant Hurter. It was the first hit of the wild-card series and the first career postseason home run for Naylor, who hit a career-high 14 out of the yard during the regular season.
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Adley Rutschman C | BAL
Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Viewed as top catcher over Basallo
Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias said Monday that Rutschman remains "front and center" as the organization's top catcher, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
Though Baltimore signed Samuel Basallo to a $67 million extension in August, the 21-year-old is regarded as a bat-first prospect who won't yet be entrusted to handle a full-time catching role in the big leagues. Basallo instead projects to see most of his reps at first base and designated hitter in 2026 while occasionally mixing in behind the plate, so long as Rutschman maintains health. When available this past season, Rutschman continued to provide value defensively, but his offensive production continued its downward trend from his 2022 rookie campaign. Over 365 plate appearances in 2025, Rutschman turned in a .673 OPS and supplied underwhelming counting statistics (nine home runs, zero steals, 37 runs and 29 RBI) in his 90 games. Set to turn 28 in February, Rutschman still has time to regain his prior form at the plate, but investing in him in 2026 fantasy drafts may require some blind faith on the part of fantasy managers.
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Carter Jensen C | KC
Royals' Carter Jensen: Monster homer in win
Jensen went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Sunday's victory over the Athletics.
Jensen capped Sunday's regular-season finale with three hits, highlighted by a towering 482-foot homer in the seventh inning that stretched the lead to six. The young catcher hasn't looked overmatched since his Sept. 2 call-up, batting .300/.391/.550 with six doubles, three homers and 13 RBI across 20 games. Despite having a disappointing 2025 in which they missed the postseason, the Royals may have a future star behind the plate in Jensen, especially as Salvador Perez ages.
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Ryan Jeffers C | MIN
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Swipes first bag
Jeffers went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, a stolen base and a walk in Sunday's extra-inning loss to Philadelphia.
Jeffers singled and stole his first and only base of the year in the fourth inning before knocking an RBI double in the sixth. He produced two straight multi-hit performances to end the year, but he also finished with an 18-game homerless drought. Jeffers hit .266 with a .753 OPS, 35 extra-base hits and 47 RBI through 464 plate appearances.
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Yainer Diaz C | HOU
Astros' Yainer Diaz: Smacks homer in season finale
Diaz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an RBI single during the Astros' 6-2 win over the Angels on Sunday.
Diaz got Sunday's scoring started with an RBI single in the first inning before giving the Astros a 2-1 lead with a solo shot in the fifth. His long shot was his 20th of the season, and he has reached the 20-homer mark in two of the last three years. With the Astros eliminated from playoff contention, Diaz will end the year with a .256/.284/.417 slash line with one steal, 56 runs, 25 doubles and 70 RBI over 567 plate appearances.