MLB Player News

The Phillies placed Covey on the 15-day injured list Saturday with lower back pain.

Covey served as a solid middle-relief option for Philadelphia this season and will finish the 2023 regular-season campaign with a 3.77 ERA and 1.51 WHIP through 43 innings across 29 appearances. Luis Ortiz was promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.

Almonte (knee) was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehab assignment Saturday.

Almonte has been out since he injured his right knee while pitching in Colorado on Aug. 11. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has said that the pitcher probably would not be ready until around the start of the NLCS. If the Dodgers get to that point, the 29-year-old will have gone over two months since the injury.

Stephenson went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Friday's 19-2 win over St. Louis.

Stephenson's 13th home run of the season was the Reds' third of the fourth inning and sixth and final long ball of the night, leaving the team one shy of matching a single-game franchise record. Though the Reds are one of the few teams in baseball still competing for a playoff spot in the final series of the regular season, Stephenson isn't necessarily a lock to start behind the dish Saturday and Sunday. He and Luke Maile have been splitting work at catcher of late, with the latter starting four games to Stephenson's three over the past seven contests.

Marte went 2-for-5 with a solo home run -- his second of the season -- and an additional RBI in Friday's 19-2 win over St. Louis.

Marte slugged one of six Reds home runs on the night, one shy of matching the franchise single-game record. Cincinnati was able to keep its faint hopes for a wild-card spot alive with the win, and Marte has been an integral contributor to the team's postseason push. The 21-year-old rookie has recorded at least one hit in 14 of his last 15 starts and is slashing .357/.400/.471 in September.

Kinley (0-4) allowed one earned run on two hits while striking out one to take the loss Friday against the Twins.

Kinley entered the game in the ninth inning with the score knotted at 6-6. He allowed a pair of singles to begin the frame before ultimately allowing the game-winning run to score on a sacrifice fly. Despite maintaining an ugly 6.46 ERA and 1.70 WHIP across 15.1 innings this season, Kinley has earned three of Colorado's last four saves and is likely to be called upon if a save situation arises in the team's final two games.

Garcia went 2-for-5 with a double and a run in Friday's 10-6 win over Atlanta.

Since returning to the majors Sept. 8 after a five-week stint at Triple-A Rochester, Garcia has restored some faith that he might be the Nationals' long-term answer at second base. After going just 2-for-22 in his first eight games following his call-up, Garcia has caught fire at the plate and has climbed up the batting order accordingly. He's slashing .419/.457/.721 with seven extra-base hits over his last 12 games and has batted out of the No. 5 spot in five straight contests.

Ruiz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs in Friday's 10-6 win over Atlanta.

Ruiz extend his hit streak to five games with a single in the fourth inning, then kicked off the scoring in the Nationals' three-run sixth inning with his 18th home run of the season. The young backstop has rebounded from a slow start to the season to emerge as a low-end No. 1 catcher or high-end No. 2 catcher in most 12-team mixed leagues -- roughly in line with how he had been valued heading into the season. He's hitting .291 in the second half and has provided nine of his 18 home runs and 32 of his 63 RBI since the All-Star break.

Acuna went 1-for-2 with a run scored, an RBI and two stolen bases before being replaced by Kevin Pillar in the third inning of Friday's 10-6 loss to the Nationals.

There were no injury concerns with the 25-year-old superstar; he simply got some extra rest with Atlanta having locked up the top seed in the National League playoffs. The steals were the 71st and 72nd of the season for Acuna, and he's now tied with Otis Nixon's 1991 campaign for the third-most in franchise history and the most in the modern era -- only King Kelly's 84 in 1887 and the original Billy Hamilton's 83 in 1896 rank ahead of him.

Alu went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 10-6 win over Atlanta.

The 26-year-old has been holding down a near-everyday role since the beginning of August, but despite playing regularly, he hasn't offered much fantasy utility outside of very deep mixed leagues or NL-only leagues. His home run Friday was just his second of the season, and Alu's contributions in other categories (.231 average, 16 RBI, 14 runs and five stolen bases in 49 games) haven't been enough to compensate for the lack of power.

Thomas went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's 10-6 win over Atlanta.

The home run was Thomas' 28th of the season, giving him an outside chance of joining the 30-homer, 20-steal club if he's able to continue the power binge during the Nationals' final two games. A late-round selection in most fantasy drafts this spring, Thomas has likely been an unsung hero for his managers. He's been a useful asset in each of the five major rotisserie categories, batting .266 and chipping in 99 runs and 86 RBI in addition to his home-run and stolen-base production.