MLB Player News

Hampson is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's NL Wild Card Series Game 1 against the Phillies.

Jon Berti will start at shortstop and bat eighth with Joey Wendle joining Hampson on the bench. Hampson drew steady action at shortstop over the final few weeks of the regular season, but it seems he's being viewed as a super-utility option off the bench in Miami's best-of-three series at Philadelphia.

Berti is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Tuesday in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies.

Garrett Hampson drew the majority of starts at shortstop in the closing weeks of the 2023 regular season, but the Marlins will ride the hot hand with Berti after he slashed .500/.609/.944 with four homers and two steals across his final 46 plate appearances of the regular season. Hampson is on the bench in Game 1, with Luis Arraez (ankle) returning at second base and Jake Burger manning third base. Joey Wendle will also ride the pine.

Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said Tuesday that Luciano will be given the chance to open the 2024 season as the team's everyday shortstop, Danny Emerman of KNBR 680 San Francisco reports.

Luciano mostly struggled offensively between his two different stints in the majors this season, but the 22-year-old owns a career .834 OPS in the minors and tallied 15 homers in 74 games this summer between Double-A Richmond and Triple-A Sacramento. He also has a bit of speed and an improving defensive reputation.

Lawlar has made the roster for the Diamondbacks' NL Wild Card Series matchup against the Brewers.

Lawlar went 4-for-31 (.129) with zero extra-base hits after being promoted Sept. 7 from Triple-A Reno, but he is a highly talented 21-year-old infielder with the ability to provide a spark off the bench. Prior to his call-up last month, Lawlar registered an .874 OPS with 20 homers and 36 steals in 105 games this summer between the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

Duran is not on the Rangers' AL Wild Card Series roster, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

Duran was a revelation for the Rangers in the first half, but he faded badly after the All-Star break and hardly played down the stretch, so his exclusion from the team's first-round roster doesn't come as a big surprise. The Rangers are carrying three catchers on their roster.

Correa (foot) told reporters Monday that he's ready to go for the American League Wild Card Series against the Blue Jays, Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Correa hasn't played for the Twins in two weeks due to a flare-up with the plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He's been participating in simulated games in Minneapolis, though, and says his foot is feeling better. Correa batted only .230/.312/.399 for Minnesota this season while battling through the nagging foot issue, but he's certainly capable of providing a big boost in the playoffs, if healthy.

Allen went 3-for-4 with an RBI single, a double and a run in a loss to the Angels on Sunday.

Allen headed into the offseason on a high note with his fourth three-hit game of the season and 10th multi-hit tally of the campaign overall. The 24-year-old's .221/.263/.287 slash line at the big-league level this season naturally left plenty to be desired, although Allen did slightly improve on the .207 batting average and .256 OBP he'd produced in his rookie 2022 campaign. Allen did at least seem to be making solid strides over the final week-plus, as he hit .385 (10-for-26) with Sunday's double, a triple, two RBI, two walks and four runs in his last nine games.

Schmitt went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Schmitt was responsible for all of San Francisco's offense in the loss. He got the Giants on the board with a homer off Ryan Pepiot in the sixth inning, just his second in his last 86 games, before adding another long ball in the fifth. After going 26-for-76 (.342) with a .851 OPS in his first 20 major-league games, Schmidt struggled to a .147 average (26-for-177) in his final 70 contests. The 24-year-old infielder will wrap up his rookie campaign with a .206/.255/.324 slash line, five homers, 30 RBI and two stolen bases across 277 plate appearances.

Abrams went 2-for-6 with an RBI, a run and two steals in Sunday's 10-9 win over Atlanta.

Abrams finished off 2023 with back-to-back multi-hit efforts and cemented his name in the franchise record books. His eighth-inning steal brought him up 47 for the year which broke the single-season record for the Nationals. He finishes the year hitting .244/.299/.413 with 18 homers, 64 RBI, 83 runs and a 32:118 BB:K in 614 plate appearances. Abrams was one of four players this season to hit at least 15 home runs and steal at least 45 bases, joining Ronald Acuna, Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt.

Baez went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Guardians.

It was a nice game for Baez but a disappointing season, as he finishes with a .592 OPS, nine home runs and 59 RBI across 136 games. Excluding the condensed 2020 campaign, it was the first time the shortstop finished with fewer than 10 long balls since 2015. Baez has so far not come close to living up to the six-year, $140 million contract he signed with the Tigers before the 2022 season, though he figures to be a regular again in 2024 and will look to turn things around in Detroit. Baez does have an opt-out in his contract, though it seems financially unwise that he would take it.