MLB Player News

The Orioles claimed Soto off waivers from the Angels on Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

Since early February, Soto has gone from the Angels to the Orioles, back to the Angels and then back to the Orioles via the waiver process. Soto has managed a .375/.414/.531 batting line in 71 career plate appearances, but his .244/.339/.331 line from the minors is a better representation of his talent level. The 23-year-old will provide organizational infield depth for Baltimore.

Caballero went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Angels.

The shortstop took Jose Soriano deep to lead off the second inning, giving Tampa Bay its final run of the game. It was Caballero's first long ball of 2024, but he's had a blistering start to the campaign at the plate, batting .351 (13-for-37) through 11 games with three doubles, five steals, six RBI and seven runs in addition to Wednesday's homer.

Ahmed went 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Nationals.

The bottom of the Giants' batting order drove the offense in this one, as Ahmed (the No. 8 hitter) and Tyler Fitzgerald (No. 9) combined for half of the team's 12 hits, both its extra-base hits and eight total runs plus RBI. Ahmed hadn't had a multi-hit performance since Opening Day, but the veteran shortstop is having a solid start to his first campaign in San Francisco, batting .282 (11-for-39) through 13 games with three runs and six RBI.

Tovar went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Tovar hit atop the Rockies order for the second time this season, though both came with Charlie Blackmon out of the lineup. He's likely to move back down the lineup for the foreseeable future, but he has hit well to start the campaign by collecting at least one hit in 10 of 13 games. While the sample is small, Tovar has shown some promising changes in his batted ball profile, including increased launch angle and barrel rate.

De La Cruz went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-2 loss to Milwaukee.

De La Cruz's fifth-inning homer was his third in three games. He's reached base safely in all 12 games thus far, going 14-for-44 (.318) with three walks and a hit-by-pitch. It's a nice start to the season for De La Cruz, who has dazzling advanced metrics: 93.1 mph average exit velocity (89th percentile), 51.9 hard-hit percentage (85th) and 14.8 barrel percentage (87th). Unfortunately, his .458 BABIP suggests a correction is due; De La Cruz's expected batting average is .244.

Kim went 2-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over Chicago.

Kim came around to score San Diego's second run of the game on a fielder's choice play after reaching on an infield single and later stealing third. The shortstop then added a triple in the fourth before coming around to score a second time as the Padres jumped back out to a two-run lead. Kim is still batting just .182 in April following the two-hit performance, though he's now hit safely in three of his last four contests. It also marked his second triple in his last three games.

Holliday went 0-for-4 with an RBI during Wednesday's 7-5 win over the Red Sox.

Holliday looked like a rookie Thursday, going hitless in four at-bats while also failing to reel in a flyball while tracking back into right field. However, he didn't come away completely empty-handed Wednesday, collecting his first RBI on a ground out to second. At 20 years old, Holliday is one of the youngest players in MLB and will almost certainly endure growing pains, but his talent and upside should bear plenty of fruit for fantasy managers willing to be patient.

Gonzalez started at shortstop and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to Baltimore.

Gonzalez made his first start as part of planned platoon at shortstop. He was in the lineup against Orioles left-hander Cole Irvin, and the lefty-hitting David Hamilton will fill the strong side of the platoon. Hamilton is expected to start Thursday against righty Grayson Rodriguez.

Alexander went 2-for-2 with a walk and solo home run in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Rockies.

Alexander bopped his second home run of the season in the second inning and has hit safely in four consecutive games. He's been the primary fill-in at shortstop since Geraldo Perdomo injured his knee. In the six games since the injury, the righty-hitting Alexander has started five, four against lefties and one against a righty. The lefty-hitting Jace Peterson, who started the one game Alexander didn't, is around and could see action against right-handers. Kevin Newman could also see action in short, but that would counter the organization's desire expressed during spring training to give its prospects consistent at-bats.

Hamilton is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Hamilton will take a seat on the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Reese McGuire, Enmanuel Valdez and Wilyer Abreu as the Red Sox stock up on some extra right-handed bats against Orioles southpaw Cole Irvin. With Trevor Story (shoulder) lost for the season, Hamilton is expected to get an extended look in a strong-side platoon role at shortstop.