Yandy Díaz smashes RBI double in loss to Royals

Springer lined a hot smash to the right of shortstop Ben Williamson to knock in Yohendrick Piñango and put the Blue Jays up 2-1. He’d later add a double, but was stranded on the basepaths. Springer is hitting .237/.286/.407 over this last 15 games with two homers and is probably on the cut line in mixed leagues at this point, but perhaps this will get him going.

He knocked in the only run the Rays would manage against Shane Bieber with a soft liner to right field that Yohendrick Piñango perhaps should have caught. Díaz has slumped of late, hitting .242/.265/.364 over this past 15 games, but is hitting .307/.382/.467 on the season with 14 homers and two stolen bases in 98 games.

The 25-year-old right-hander has averaged more than 100 mph on his fastball so far on his rehab assignment, hitting as high as 102.3 mph. He’ll probably need several outings there and will probably have to show that he can go on back-to-back nights before he’s ready to join the Angels’ bullpen.

Ho-hum. Varland struck out two of the three top-of-the-order Rays and got Yandy Diaz to hit a soft grounder for his other out. Varland has been one of the premier waiver wire finds of the season in most leagues with a 1.04 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched.

Seymour’s whiff rate remained about what it was in his start against the Red Sox last week, but he allowed just six hard-hit balls in 87 pitches after giving up five in 61 against the Sox. The left-hander’s fastball remains one of the slowest in the league at 91.2 mph but as long as all his offspeed stuff is going this well, he can remain a usable mixed-league starter. Seymour draws the Rangers at home in his next scheduled appearance.

Bieber allowed only five hard-hit balls, which is good because he carried just a 21 percent whiff rate over 86 pitches. It’s still a concerningly-low strikeout rate as he managed only three today and has just 22 in 30 2/3 innings so far. Bieber has reeled off three consecutive starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed to lower his ERA from 9.00 to 4.70, but he still feels like a tenuous option at this point. He’s lined up against a good Nationals lineup for his next start.

The Phillies also released Rutledge back in the middle of June and then re-signed him to a minor league pact a week later. The 27-year-old hurler has spent the majority of the season at the Triple-A level where he has registered a 3.47 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and an 18/13 K/BB ratio over 23 1/3 innings in his 23 appearances. He’s now free to explore opportunities on the open market.

The 29-year-old outfielder has been shelved since the start of May due to the knee issue and underwent arthroscopic surgery near the end of June. He’s likely going to need at least a few games’ worth of at-bats on his rehab assignment before he becomes an option to rejoin the Brewers.

He’ll then get a day off on Friday and if all is well, he’ll have his rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A Toledo for the remainder of the weekend. Báez has been shelved since late April due to a high-grade ankle sprain but is finally making tangible strides toward a return. Barring any setbacks, it’s possible that he rejoins the Tigers before the end of July.

Tyler Locklear moved into the lineup in his place, with Tim Tawa and Ildemaro Vargas switching positions. Consider Marte to be day-to-day.