MLB Player News

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said Saturday that Gasper has emerged as the team's preferred option at catcher against right-handed pitching, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Following a May 7 promotion, Gasper initially saw most of his opportunities at designated hitter with Roman Anthony (finger/wrist) on the shelf. Masataka Yoshida and Andruw Monasterio have since settled into a platoon at DH, but Gasper has poached starts behind the plate from Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong. Since his call-up, Gasper is slashing an impressive .340/.380/.404 across 51 plate appearances. With zero home runs or steals, eight runs and two RBI over 16 games, however, he isn't providing much fantasy value, and his batting average has been fueled by a .432 BABIP.

Duran went 1-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 7-6 win over Kansas City.

Duran recorded the first walk-off plate appearance of his career, capping a ninth-inning, three-run rally with a flare single to right field. The versatile Duran has made himself indispensable as a fill-in at several positions for injured regulars, but he's played well enough to remain a lineup staple even when the roster gets healthy. Across 50 games this season, Duran is slashing .289/.343/.453 with four home runs, 29 RBI, five steals and 24 runs.

Hoerner went 2-for-6 with a stolen base and an RBI in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Cardinals.

After a strong start to the season, it's mostly been a slog lately for Hoerner. He's batting just .206 in 27 May games with four stolen bases. In 31 games before May, the infielder batted .291 with seven steals. Hoerner's MLB track record suggests his numbers will climb again soon, and his ability to rack up stolen bases quickly continues to drive his fantasy value.

Pederson went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Saturday's 7-6 win over the Royals.

Pederson ignited a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning with a leadoff homer. That was the first of five consecutive hits, culminating with Ezequiel Duran's walk-off single to wipe out Kansas City's lead. The home run was Pederson's second in as many games and the fifth across his last five contests.

Langford (forearm) served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored in a rehab game for Triple-A Round Rock on Saturday.

Langford kicked off a rehab assignment Saturday. He should see time in the outfield in the minors in the coming days and is projected to return from the 10-day injured list when the Rangers' next homestand gets underway Friday against the Guardians, per MLB.com.

Pagan (hamstring) underwent an MRI exam Friday that showed positive results, MLB.com reports.

As a result, the reliever has been cleared to run on an anti-gravity treadmill. Pagan was removed from a game May 5 and placed on the 15-day injured list the next day due to a hamstring strain. He's eligible to return at any point but he's still well within his original return timeline of four-to-eight weeks.

Fernandez started at third base and went 0-for-3 in Saturday's 5-1 loss to Seattle.

Fernandez was a late addition to the starting lineup after Nolan Arenado (undisclosed) was scratched. Arenado has been battling a groin injury since Tuesday but made an appearance as a pinch hitter and DH on Friday, only to foul a ball off his leg and get hit by a pitch on the arm in his two plate appearances. Fernandez has gone 3-for-12 with two doubles and an RBI this week as a fill-in at third base.

Lawlar (wrist) started in center field and went 1-for-1 with a double, a walk and a hit by pitch for the Diamondbacks' Arizona Complex League affiliate Saturday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Lawlar also had an outfield assist while playing all seven innings. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Saturday that Lawlar will play at least one more game in the ACL before shifting to a higher level to continue his rehab assignment.

Puk (elbow) allowed one hit and struck out one over one inning in a rehab appearance for the Diamondbacks' rookie-level Arizona Complex League on Saturday.

The outing was Puk's third in the ACL while on a rehab assignment. He's allowed two hits and struck out two over three scoreless appearances. The reliever is expected to shift his rehab to Triple-A Reno on Tuesday.

Fien has exclusively played in the outfield for Single-A Fredericksburg this season, seeing four games in center field and seven in right field while also DHing in five games.

The 19-year-old was drafted as a shortstop by the Rangers with the 12th overall pick in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft, but since being acquired by the Nationals in the offseason MacKenzie Gore trade, he's been shifted to the outfield. Eli Willits, the first overall pick in that draft class, is also at Fredericksburg and is a better defensive shortstop, while Ronny Cruz and Devin Fitz-Gerald are both ahead of Fien in the pipeline at High-A, so a position switch may have been prompted by a need to make sure he gets consistent at-bats. Fien hasn't yet found his rhythm at the plate since returning from a wrist injury in mid-May, slashing .174/.296/.283 with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 54 plate appearances.