Masataka Yoshida (illness) held out again Sunday

Yoshida is back at DH and hitting fifth after sitting out a pair of games over the weekend due to illness. The 33-year-old is hitting a robust .297 (19-for-64) with two homers and 10 RBI across 20 games since last month’s All-Star break.

Abreu receives some extra time off to recover after being hit by a pitch above his shin guard during Friday’s game. It was a bit surprising to see him on the initial lineup card in the first place with rookie left-hander Gage Jump taking the ball for the Athletics. The 27-year-old has put together a phenomenal season, slashing .256/.331/.462 with 20 homers, 62 RBI and seven steals in 429 plate appearances over 113 games. It’ll be Eli White moving over to right field with Jarren Duran getting into the lineup in the opposite corner. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

The Red Sox are going to roll with Eli White and Jahmai Jones as their lefty-mashing specialists, in addition to Nick Sogard seeing regular time at second base, with Gonzalez going to the minors in the wake of their trade deadline moves. The 29-year-old infielder has hit just .185 (12-for-65) with one homer, seven RBI and one steal in 19 games this season.

White bolsters Boston’s bench mix and should get some chances against left-handed starters over the final two months. The 32-year-old has been a key role player for Atlanta over the last two years.

Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Yoshida all homered off Emmet Sheehan in a four-batter span in the third to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead. Yoshida’s homer was his fifth of the year, with four of those coming in his last 24 games, and he’s hitting .264/.341/.388 in 255 plate appearances overall. It looked like he might lose some playing time when the Red Sox acquired Curtis Mead, and that still could be a danger if the Red Sox try to add offense again prior to Monday’s deadline.

The Braves wanted to add an outfielder who could start against lefties, and Thomas fits nicely there, as long as they don’t get overexcited and start using him versus righties, too. Thomas has an .800 OPS against lefties and a .660 OPS against righties this year. For his career, he’s at .850 against lefties and .669 versus righties. The Braves didn’t have to part with any top prospects, so it’s a solid pickup. With Thomas in the mix, the Braves might move on from Eli White. Isaac Collins and Josh Rojas should get more time in Kansas City with Thomas out of the mix.

The Red Sox could have easily acquired Mead a few months ago, but they’re obviously much bigger believers now after he hit .254/.352/.500 with 17 homers in 327 plate appearances for the Nationals. And he does look like a perfectly legitimate major league hitter at this point. However, his bat speed and exit velocity numbers are all pretty average, and he just doesn’t offer much defensive value as a well-below-average defensive third baseman and potentially adequate first baseman. The Red Sox will likely make him their primary DH for now, allowing him to maintain some mixed-league value. Still, if they’re ever at full strength, he might not warrant starts against righties. Time will tell, but giving up Early here seems like a misstep. With Mead likely to see significant time at DH, Masataka Yoshida will again become a reserve, though perhaps a Jarren Duran trade could put him in left field for a time.

Unless Early is damaged goods — and he obviously currently is on the IL with elbow inflammation — this seems like a pretty weak return for the Red Sox. Mead has broken out nicely with a .256/.351/.505 line this year, but not with the kind of exit velocity numbers that suggest he’s going to be an above average regular going forward, especially given his lack of defensive value. The Red Sox figure to use him a lot at DH for now and then mix him at third and first if Roman Anthony gets healthy and the outfield gets overcrowded again. Masataka Yoshida will lose at-bats in Boston. The Nationals will recall Brady House to replace Mead, according to Spencer Nusbaum.

Yoshida is slashing .355/.394/.645 in nine games in July with two home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI, so it makes sense to try and get him as many at-bats as possible in this one. Anthony Seigler, who has been slumping of late, will head to the bench with Romy Gonzalez starting at second base and batting sixth.

Yoshida only plays against right-handed pitching, but he’s hitting .326/.380/.609 in his last 15 games with three home runs, 10 runs scored, and eight RBI. The Red Sox are allegedly looking to add a bat at the trade deadline and, if they don’t trade another starter, could mean that Yoshida gets pushed out of more designated hitter at-bats.