Francisco Alvarez homers, collects three RBI

The 28-year-old southpaw has made 21 appearances out of the Phillies’ bullpen this season, posting a 4.95 ERA, 1.55 WHIP and a 20/6 K/BB ratio over 20 innings of work. Jose Urquidy was added to the Phillies’ active roster in a corresponding move on Friday.

Marsh will take a seat with left-hander Zac Thornton toeing the slab for the Mets. It’s the third time in the last seven games that the 28-year-old outfielder has found himself left out of the Phillies’ starting nine. That may have something to do with the fact that he’s slashing an anemic .182/.240/.242 with just two homers and 12 RBI in 181 plate appearances since the All-Star break. Edmundo Sosa will start in his place in left field and bat sixth for the Phillies on Friday night.

Walton has been functioning as the A’s regular second baseman down the stretch but the 32-year-old infielder will get a breather in this one. Michael Stefanic will start in his place and will bat eighth against Guardians’ right-hander Daniel Espino on Friday evening.

Mitchell had missed each of the team’s previous two games due to tightness in his neck. The injury was termed precautionary from the start and he’s right back out there in center field and batting seventh against Orioles’ southpaw Cade Povich on Friday evening.

He’ll replace Joshua Báez for the last week and change of the season. Prieto is ultimately just a depth piece for the Cardinals, though perhaps he’ll find some work against lefties.

This effectively ends his season. Báez hit .230/.278/.510 with seven homers and two stolen bases in 29 games with the Cardinals, including an electric three-homer debut at Wrigley Field. The 23-year-old will likely be in the Cardinals plans for 2027 in left field or at designated hitter. The power and speed he showcased will make him a popular fantasy sleeper even despite the sub-par batting average.

He hit .091 in 11 plate appearances with the Cubs. The 26-year-old has hit better than that with Iowa, but he was not in any position to crack the lineup in a real role with the Cubs.

Swanson will take back over an every day role for the last week and change of the season. The low batting average has taken its toll on Swanson’s fantasy value, as he’s hitting .216/.300/.404 with 18 homers and 17 stolen bases. Still, he could be useful in deeper leagues for the final bit of the season.

This was rumored to be close on Thursday and it gets done on Friday. This extension buys out one year of free agency as well as his arbitration seasons before considering the team option. The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum reports the deal is worth $47 million guaranteed and that the option is worth $23 million. Cavalli, starting tonight’s game for the Nationals, has posted a 3.12 ERA in 31 starts while striking out 194 batters over 164 2/3 innings. He’s been even better than that as of late, with a 2.83 ERA since the start of June. The 28-year-old will be a part of the Nationals rotation plans going forward and has made the leap to extremely useful fantasy pitcher this season. It’s a success for the Nationals to get him locked up for the long-term.

That makes two of the last three games on the bench for Caglianone, who may not be completely over getting beaned in the forearm on Tuesday (or his elbow injury that kept him out for much of last week) at this point. John Rave will be in there against RHP Paul Skenes.