MLB Player News
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Colt Keith DH | DET
Tigers' Colt Keith: Idle against southpaw
Keith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.
Keith and fellow left-handed hitter Riley Greene will head to the bench Wednesday for the day game after a night game while the Pirates send southpaw Bailey Falter to the hill. With Keith out of the lineup, Zach McKinstry will occupy third base and Jahmai Jones will enter the lineup at designated hitter.
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Ben Rice DH | NYY
Yankees' Ben Rice: Belts clutch homer Tuesday
Rice went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 5-4 win against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
Rice couldn't reach base in any of his first three plate appearances, but he came through when it mattered most, swatting a solo homer in the ninth inning to break a 4-4 tie. It was Rice's first homer since June 24, a span of 16 games. The young slugger has seen fewer opportunities since Giancarlo Stanton returned from an extended stint on the injured list. Rice has started just three times in the Yankees' past seven contests.
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Jahmai Jones DH | DET
Tigers' Jahmai Jones: Homers off bench Tuesday
Jones went 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit, two-run home run in Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Pirates.
Jones went deep in the eighth inning against Pittsburgh lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson, his third home run of the season. While Jones doesn't see much action against righties and has only a .453 OPS in those matchups, he has a scintillating .951 OPS when facing southpaws. This makes the 27-year-old more of a platoon player and limits his fantasy ceiling, but Jones has some value in the right spots.
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Trevor Larnach DH | MIN
Twins' Trevor Larnach: Taking seat Tuesday
Larnach isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers.
Larnach will step out of the starting nine Tuesday after beginning the second half 2-for-11 through four games. Ryan Jeffers will replace him as Minnesota's DH, allowing Christian Vazquez to start behind the dish.
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Joc Pederson DH | TEX
Rangers' Joc Pederson: Taking BP
Pederson (hand) resumed taking live batting practice Tuesday, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Pederson is expected to take another round of batting practice Wednesday, and if everything goes smoothly, he could be sent out on a rehab assignment shortly thereafter. Given that he's been on the shelf since May 25 due to a right hand fracture, Pederson could require multiple games in the minors to get his timing back at the plate, though manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday that he doesn't expect the 33-year-old's assignment to last very long.
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Yandy Diaz DH | TB
Rays' Yandy Diaz: Slugs 16th homer
Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Monday against the White Sox.
Diaz slugged his 16th home run of the season in the seventh inning to continue his strong performance in July. He's hit .306 across 72 plate appearances during the month with three homers, 11 RBI and 11 runs.
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Kyle Manzardo DH | CLE
Guardians' Kyle Manzardo: Homers in win
Manzardo went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double and a walk in Monday's 10-5 win over the Orioles.
Manzardo gave the Guardians a 6-5 lead they wouldn't relinquish with a solo homer in the sixth inning before being pinch hit for in the seventh to avoid a lefty-on-lefty matchup. The 25-year-old appears to be heating up, having homered three times while collecting hits in four of his past five games. For the year, he's slashing .219/.295/.453 with 16 long balls, 38 RBI, 28 runs scored and one steal across 308 plate appearances.
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Yordan Alvarez DH | HOU
Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Takes another step forward
Alvarez (hand) was cleared to begin hitting off slow toss Monday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Alvarez was given the green light to resume swinging a bat Friday and took another step in the right direction Monday by swinging against slow toss. He's expected to take some cuts again Tuesday, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The team has yet to provide an exact timetable for Alvarez's return, but it seems the slugger will continue to make his way through a hitting progression and could return at some point during the current road trip in the DH slot if all goes according to plan.
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Jorge Soler RF | LAA
Angels' Jorge Soler: Resting Monday
Soler is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
Soler will get his second day off in the Angels' first four games of the second half after he went 3-for-8 with a solo home run and two walks during the team's three-game series in Philadelphia over the weekend. LaMonte Wade will cover right field in Soler's stead.
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Anthony Santander DH | TOR
Blue Jays' Anthony Santander: Weeks away from swinging
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Monday that Santander (shoulder) isn't expected to resume swinging a bat for at least a couple more weeks, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Schneider noted that he's hopeful Santander will play again this season, but the 30-year-old clearly hasn't progressed as well as the Blue Jays had hoped since he was placed on the injured list May 30 due to left shoulder inflammation. Even if Santander is cleared to ramp up his hitting progression within the next few weeks, he's still likely to require an extended minor-league rehab assignment after that. With that in mind, a mid-to-late-August return may represent a best-case scenario for Santander, and the uncertainty of his timeline makes him difficult to warrant stashing in most redraft leagues that have limited injured reserve spots.