MLB Player News

Tovar went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Astros.

It was a much-needed jolt for Tovar, who had just one hit in his last 18 at-bats entering Thursday's action. The defensive-minded shortstop has put up respectable numbers since the start of July, batting .263 with 16 extra-base hits, 13 RBI, 21 runs scored and two stolen bases over his last 133 at-bats. Colorado's next nine games will come at Coors Field, which offers Tovar a prime opportunity to build on those figures. He has a .973 OPS at home as opposed to a .532 OPS on the road in 2025.

Fernandez went 2-for-2 with a solo home run Thursday against the Astros.

Fernandez has gotten minimal playing time since late July, generally starting once every three games. He was in the lineup for the first time in four contests Thursday and took advantage by slugging a solo home run in the fifth inning -- the second of his career. Fernandez has only a .621 OPS across his first 87 plate appearances, though the sporadic playing time likely isn't helping him find a rhythm at the plate.

Kim (shoulder) is slated to be activated off the injured list when rosters expand next week, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Kim began a minor-league rehab assignment Aug. 21 and has fared fine so far, slashing .273/.292/.273 through six games. Of note, he recently began playing left field with Triple-A Oklahoma City, which may be a sign that the Dodgers plan to use him at that position to some extent when he returns to the big club. By waiting until after rosters expand to activate Kim, Los Angeles won't need to clear room for him with another transaction.

Kopech (knee) is expected to be activated off the injured list during the Dodgers' next road trip, which begins Tuesday in Pittsburgh, per MLB.com.

Kopech is six outings into a minor-league rehab assignment, during which he's posted a 7.20 ERA, 2.40 WHIP and 4:6 K:BB over five innings. While those numbers aren't pretty, three of the four runs he's allowed came in his first rehab appearance, and he followed that matchup with four consecutive scoreless outings. By waiting until after Sept. 1 to activate Kopech, Los Angeles won't need to make a corresponding roster move, as the veteran reliever is slated to be one of the team's two players added when rosters expand.

King (knee) will throw at least one more simulated game before being activated off the injured list, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

King tossed 44 pitches in a three-inning sim game Saturday, so his next sim game will likely take place within the next few days. The right-hander may not need to go on a minor-league rehab assignment before returning to San Diego's rotation, though a concrete plan for his activation hasn't been shared. King has made just one big-league start since May 18 -- he tossed two innings against Boston on Aug. 9 in his return from a shoulder issue but subsequently landed back on the IL due to left knee inflammation.

The Cardinals are expected to select the contract of Prieto on Thursday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

The Cardinals acquired Prieto in 2023, and he's spent the last two full seasons at Triple-A. He has a solid .811 OPS across 450 plate appearances, good for 113 wRC+. The team's plans for Prieto are unclear, though they'll need to formally select his contract before the move is official.

Pham went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Cardinals.

Pham slugged the homer in the first inning, his eighth of the season. Three of those long balls have come in his last nine starts, while half have come since Aug. 1. After a dreadful start to the season, Pham is hitting .309 with 20 RBI, 19 runs scored and two stolen bases across 41 contests since the start of July.

Cruz went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base Thursday against the Cardinals.

Cruz started his third straight game since being activated from the injured list. He has yet to record a hit in nine at-bats, though he has reached base via walk in all three contests. Cruz also swiped his 35th bag Thursday, which is the fourth-highest mark in the league.

Sasaki (shoulder) completed 3.2 innings in a minor-league rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four batters.

Sasaki's third rehab appearance can best be characterized as uneven; he didn't finish with an impressive stat line but did show some promising signs of improvement. Among the positive aspects of the start were the right-hander's four punchouts (he had combined for just two over 5.1 innings across his first two rehab outings) and his fastball velocity, which reached 98.8 mph, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Though Sasaki got only two whiffs on his heater, he did get an impressive seven swings-and-misses on the 31 splitters he threw. It remains to be seen what's next for Sasaki -- though he seems to be near-ready to be activated from the IL from a workload perspective, his stuff doesn't yet appear to be sharp enough to get big-league batters out consistently. There also currently isn't any room in the Dodgers' rotation for Sasaki, so he may remain in the minors for multiple more starts to try to iron out his repertoire further.

Lindor went 3-for-5 with one run scored in Thursday's 7-4 loss to the Marlins.

This was Lindor's 10th multi-hit effort in his last 15 games, a span in which he's batting .455 (30-for-66). All three of his hits were singles Thursday, and he has a modest nine extra-base hits (four home runs, five doubles) during that hot stretch. The shortstop is up to a .269/.336/.457 slash line with 25 homers, 27 doubles, 24 stolen bases, 73 RBI and 91 runs scored over 132 contests this season.