Hunter Brown strikes out eight against Blue Jays

If they didn’t think he was going to play tomorrow, he probably wouldn’t be traveling with the club. We’re expecting Griffin to be starting on Friday, the first day he’s eligible to come off the 60-day injured list.

It does appear that Ohtani’s performance last night, exacerbated by him not hiding his physical discomfort late in the game, has made the Dodgers more open to the idea. Roberts said he plans to talk to Ohtani and the Dodgers’ training staff to gauge what is best for Ohtani going forward. At the very least, we could see more days off for the 32-year-old superstar in September. “I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup,” Roberts said. “(That) if he’s upright, he should play. I respect that. But if he’s feeling the way that visibly looks, then really not helping anyone.”

Santander probably won’t be worth a pickup even if he does make it back to the majors this year, but it’s good to see him taking some real steps towards returning after missing the entirety of the season to date.

Valdez was a great story earlier this year, and he should certainly get a chance to compete for a lineup spot in 2027, but he has really struggled of late. In 39 games since the All-Star break, he is hitting .189/.335/.379 with six home runs and 18 RBI but also a 39.6 percent strikeout rate and just a 71.7 percent zone contact rate. Those contact issues are going to continue to be a major obstacle to his fantasy value unless he can find a fix, and he does not need to be rostered in redraft leagues right now.

Early in August, it had seemed like Smith had turned a corner. He was pulling the ball in the air more and making more authoritative contact. However, over his last 15 games, he’s hitting .122/.156/.317 with a 29 percent strikeout rate. He’s only 23 years old and prospect growth is not linear, so we wouldn’t turn the page on Smith completely, but he’s hard to trust in redraft formats for the remainder of this season. LaMonte Wade Jr. will start in left field and bat ninth.

Since Cox stole 58 bases in the minors last year and had 34 steals in 55 minor league games this year, you may think of him as just a speed threat, but he also has a 13 percent barrel rate and 43.6 percent hard-hit rate with the Giants this season. Since being recalled again on August 14th, Cox is hitting .302/.362/.581 in 16 games with three home runs, eight runs scored, seven RBI, and four steals. He has played his way out of a short-side platoon role at the moment and could be worth a look in deeper formats.

This would appear to just be a routine rest day for the 36-year-old with a day game after a night game. Sean Keys will be the designated hitter and bat fifth on Thursday.

This is great news for a Red Sox bullpen that currently has all of Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten, Zack Kelly, and Tyron Guerrero. Houck has plenty of experience in high-leverage innings and can help provide some relief to a tired relief corps. It may take him four or five appearances before the Red Sox feel comfortable bringing him up, considering he hasn’t appeared in a game since May 12th of last season.

Sisk allowed three runs on no hits but three walks on Tuesday and then did not pitch on Wednesday. He had a 3.16 ERA in 42 2/3 innings for the Pirates so far this season.

Dotel has flashed upside in his rookie season, but a lat strain over the summer led to some poor results, and he has a 4.71 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and a 31/13 K/BB ratio over 28 2/3 innings with the Pirates this season.