MLB Player News
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Justin Slaten RP | BOS
Red Sox's Justin Slaten: Struggles continue
Slaten allowed two runs on two hits and one walk over a third of an inning in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
Slaten entered with Boston up a run and loaded the bases before getting the hook (10 pitches, four strikes). He was replaced by Steven Matz, who allowed a two of those inherited runners to score. Slaten was expected to be a bullpen asset when the Red Sox activated him from the injured list in late August, but the right-hander has been pummeled in six outings. Slaten has allowed seven runs on 12 hits and two walks over 5.1 innings.
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Jack Flaherty SP | DET
Tigers' Jack Flaherty: Looks sharp in eighth win
Flaherty (8-13) tossed five scoreless innings to earn the win in Wednesday's 11-1 victory over the Yankees. He allowed two hits and a walk, while striking out seven.
Flaherty has been up and down recently, and Wednesday's sharp outing continued the trend. In his last four starts, he's alternated clunkers (eight runs allowed in five innings and four runs allowed in 4.1 innings) with good outings (one run allowed in 5.2 innings and no runs allowed in five innings). Overall, Flaherty is sitting with a 4.69 ERA across 151.2 innings this season, which is a sharp jump from the 3.17 ERA he posted in 162 regular-season innings last year while playing for both the Dodgers and Tigers. He is at least continuing to miss bats at a high rate with a 10.6 K/9 in 2025, down slightly from 10.8 in 2024. The veteran righty will look to string together some good starts, starting with his next scheduled trip to the mound Tuesday against Cleveland.
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Kyle Harrison SP | BOS
Red Sox's Kyle Harrison: Makes Boston debut
Harrison allowed three hits, hit a batter and struck out two over three scoreless relief innings in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
Harrison pitched the final three innings in a piggyback outing that was started by Payton Tolle (two innings). Harrison isn't fully built up after a series of stops and starts over the last couple of weeks that included an ankle injury. He could be a factor later in September, as he unlikely has the same innings limits of rookies Tolle and Connelly Early.
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Payton Tolle RP | BOS
Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Struggles in abbreviated start
Tolle allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two over two innings in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
The plan was for Tolle to make an abbreviated start -- one time through the order -- after he threw three troubled innings (77 pitches) in his previous start Friday. Working on four days' rest. Tolle was touched for a home run in both innings, and the rookie has allowed four long balls in his last five innings. Teams appear to be sitting on Tolle's fastball, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. He's thrown fastballs 55.7 percent of the time, and cutters (a fastball variant) 24.7 percent of the time.
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Adolis Garcia RF | TEX
Rangers' Adolis Garcia: Possible return this weekend
Garcia (quadriceps) could be activated for this weekend's series in New York against the Mets, MLB.com reports.
Garcia took live batting practice Tuesday, and Texas manager Bruce Bochy said the outfielder is doing much better than expected. Following the session, Bochy entertained the possibility of Garcia being activated Friday. His estimated return date has been fluid, bouncing from this weekend to possibly next Monday and now back to this weekend.
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Kyle Manzardo DH | CLE
Guardians' Kyle Manzardo: Goes yard in loss
Manzardo went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to Kansas City.
Manzardo responded to the Royals jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning with a two-run blast in the bottom of the frame. It was the fifth home run in the last 11 games for Manzardo, who is 12-for-37 (.324) with six extra-base hits, 10 RBI and seven runs scored during that stretch. He's second on the team with 28 homers and is having a strong second half, slashing .282/.381/.542 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI over 43 games since the All-Star break.
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Brayan Rocchio SS | CLE
Guardians' Brayan Rocchio: Fills in at shortstop
Rocchio started at shortstop and went 2-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Royals.
Rocchio made a second consecutive start at shortstop with Gabriel Arias nursing a wrist injury. Arias will play through the injury while the Guardians compete for a playoff spot, but it's unclear what level of activity he can tolerate. Rocchio, who has been the primary second baseman, may see more action at shortstop going forward. His season numbers are negatively skewed by an unproductive first two months (.530 OPS), which prompted a demotion to the minors. Since returning to the majors July 1, Rocchio's been much better, slashing .276/.330/.412 over 63 games.
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Gabriel Arias SS | CLE
Guardians' Gabriel Arias: Will play through injury
Arias (wrist) will play through his injury while the Guardians continue a push for a postseason spot, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.
Arias consulted with the team's medical staff and hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham, and it was determined he could play through the issue. Arias initially injured the wrist in a win over the Mariners on Aug. 29 and aggravated the issue Monday. He's sat the two games since with Brayan Rocchio filling in at shortstop.
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Sean Burke SP | CHW
White Sox's Sean Burke: Strikes out five in no-decision
Burke didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Rays, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out five.
Burke continues to struggle providing length, failing to reach five innings in five of his last six major-league starts. The right-hander has managed to yield fewer than six hits in each of those outings, though he's issued multiple walks in four of them. Burke has a 4.28 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and 115:58 K:BB over 122 frames overall, and he'll be looking to work deeper into his outing in his next scheduled turn in the rotation against the last-place Orioles.
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Leonardo Rivas 2B | SEA
Mariners' Leo Rivas: Plays hero with walk-off blast
Rivas went 1-for-1 with a two-run, walk-off homer Wednesday in a 4-2 extra-innings win against the Cardinals.
Rivas began the game on the bench but entered as a pinch runner for Jorge Polanco in the 11th frame. He stuck around in Polanco's DH spot when the contest moved to the 12th, then got a turn to bat in the 13th. Rivas made the most of the opportunity, launching a two-run blast to right field to send Seattle home with a victory. Though Rivas has been up and down between the majors and minors and has found playing time sporadic while with the big club, he's been productive when called upon, posting a .288/.416/.397 slash line with two homers, nine RBI, 17 runs and four steals over 38 games. Perhaps most impressively, he's posted a 16.9 percent walk rate with a tolerable 21.3 percent strikeout rate.