MLB Player News

Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary leave for the remainder of the 2025 season, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

Ortiz has been on leave since July 3 as MLB investigates a possible gambling-related offense. The 26-year-old's locker was cleared out at the beginning of August, so Friday's update doesn't come as much of a surprise. Teammate Emmanuel Clase, who's under investigation as well, will not return in 2025 either.

Clase is expected to remain on the restricted list and administrative leave for the remainder of the season as MLB continues its sports-betting investigation, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

The news comes as no surprise, as Clase's locker at Progressive Field was cleared out at the beginning of the month. The right-hander has been away from the Guardians since late July and there's no word on when MLB's investigation could conclude. The reliever's future in baseball is very much in doubt.

Seymour is slated to start Sunday's game against the Nationals.

The rookie southpaw will stick in the rotation after a magnificent first MLB start Monday, when he struck out eight Guardians and allowed just two baserunners over five scoreless frames. Seymour owns a 3.18 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 34:9 K:BB in 28.1 innings over his first 13 big-league appearances, and the Rays should have a permanent spot available for him if he continues to excel. Seymour will get a prime opportunity to build up more job security against a Nationals offense that has produced an 80 wRC+ versus left-handers this season.

Story went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Orioles.

Story put Boston on the board early with a first-inning home run, his second in three games and 22nd of the season. His most timely impact, however, came in the fifth inning with his glove. With runners at second and third and the infield playing in, the shortstop dove to his left to snag a line drive and doubled up the runner at third base. It's been a remarkable turnaround for Story, who had three injury-marred seasons after joining the Red Sox in 2022 and endured a challenging May, slashing .158/.200/.232 over 25 games. He was in danger of losing playing time but rebounded in June and is having a strong second half. Since July 29, Story has slashed .305/.371/.571 with seven homers and 23 RBI over 27 contests, putting himself in the mix for AL Comeback Player of the Year.

Jimenez agreed to a minor-league contract with the Blue Jays on Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Jimenez slashed .278/.335/.397 with three home runs in 167 plate appearances with Triple-A Durham in the Rays organization before being released in July. He will give the Blue Jays some experienced depth at Triple-A Buffalo in the corner outfield and at designated hitter.

Altuve went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Rockies.

Altuve kicked off the scoring for the Astros by going deep in the first inning, his 23rd homer of the season. He's had mixed results in August, as he's hit just .229 across 96 at-bats, though he's also smacked five home runs and swiped three bases. Overall, he's topped 20 long balls for the first time since 2022 and should reach double-digit steals for the fourth consecutive campaign.

Fulmer is dealing with a right elbow strain and probably won't return to pitching this season, per MLB.com.

Fulmer was originally diagnosed with elbow inflammation when he landed on the injured list Sunday, but further testing revealed a strain. The injury may not require surgery, but it's serious enough to likely end his 2025 campaign. If that's the case, Fulmer will finish the season with a 5.83 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 26:11 K:BB over 29.1 innings across 13 appearances with the Angels.

Strickland (shoulder) is progressing in his recovery from a right shoulder strain but isn't yet throwing, per MLB.com.

The details of how Strickland is "progressing" aren't clear, but it's nonetheless the first positive report on the reliever since he landed on the IL with a right shoulder strain July 7. While the injury was considered significant, it didn't require surgery, and there remains a possibility that Strickland could be back with the Angels sometime in September. However, in order for that to happen, he'll likely need to begin a throwing progression in the relatively near future.

Slater (hamstring) has resumed some baseball activities and on-field drills, per MLB.com.

Slater injured his hamstring while running to first base on a groundout Aug. 4 and was tabbed with a 4-to-6 week timeline to return. He's approaching the early end of that timeframe, but it doesn't appear that he'll be ready to be activated right at the four-week mark. It remains feasible, however, for Slater to be activated before the midway point of September.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Judge's timeline for returning to the outfield remains uncertain, per MLB.com.

It was a step forward for Judge to begin throwing from the outfield to the bases Sunday, but the slugger still hasn't done so at full velocity. He'll certainly need to do so before he's cleared to return to playing the outfield in a game for the first time since July 25. Because Judge has been limited to serving as the DH since his return from the IL on Aug. 5, Giancarlo Stanton has had to pick up a glove and log time in right field while also moving in and out of the lineup -- Stanton has started just four of New York's past seven contests.