Bennett allows four runs in loss to Pirates

He’ll fill in on the bench while Nasim Nuñez is on the bereavement list.

He’ll miss an undetermined amount of time, but most bereavement list stays are fairly short. Nuñez leads the league with 46 stolen bases this year despite hitting .210/.290/.244.

deGrom blocked the move with his no-trade clause, but it is clear that the Braves are open to moving Strider, who is owed $22 million in each of the next two seasons. He’s been out indefinitely with right elbow inflammation, with the most recent news being that he may return as a reliever this year. The 27-year-old former ace would seem to be an available high-upside swing in the upcoming hot stove trade market.

Mauricio Dubón is at second base and hitting fifth against Rays RHP Nick Martinez. It appears to just be a routine day off. Albies is 1-for-18 in Atlanta’s last five games and has produced nearly a carbon-copy of last year’s line with a .247/.303/.407 batting line and 21 homers. In 2025, he hit .240/.306/.365 with 16 homers.

He’ll get a rare rest against Braves LHP Martin Pérez. Aranda has played 141 of Tampa’s 145 games this year and has been hot of late; it’s certainly possible he pinch-hits. He’s hitting .277/.360/.427 in a disappointing year for his power but has been a reasonable 1B option in deep or OBP-leaning leagues.

Rodríguez is now hitting .321/.412/.565 with 25 home runs, 85 RBI, and 10 steals in 112 games split between High-A and Double-A. He’s hit 21 home runs since moving to Double-A and is just the fourth teenager since 2019 to hit 25 home runs in a season. The 19-year-old is the top catching prospect in baseball and arguably one of the top 10 prospects in all of baseball. He should start 2027 in Triple-A with a real shot to push for MLB at-bats by mid-season.

Hopkins moved to a bullpen role in the middle of the season after posting a 5.96 ERA and 1.89 WHIP in 19 starts. Since then, he has a 2.25 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 12 relief appearances and even hit 102 mph on the radar gun on Wednesday. There is no indication yet that this is a permanent move for Hopkins, and the Rays have done this with plenty of starting pitching prospects, like Ian Seymour. That being said, Hopkins is thriving as a reliever right now.

Proat was called up on Monday to serve as a reliever. However, he walked four batters in the ninth inning on Wednesday night, and Brewers manager Pat Murphy did not mince words when discussing the performance: “It’s unacceptable. You’ve got to throw the ball over the plate, or you can’t be a major league pitcher...You can’t let it snowball like that.” Sproat will continue to work on his command and approach in the minors, but there’s a good chance that we don’t see him up with the Brewers again this season.

Gray has been working back from Tommy John surgery and then a subsequent flexor strain. He has not pitched in an MLB game since throwing just 8 1/3 innings in 2024. The right-hander threw 80 percent strikes with a 20 percent swinging strike rate in his one inning, but it was just 10 pitches. He sat 90.2 mph on his four-seamer and only threw one of them, so that will be something to monitor as he lengthens out his appearances.

Ryan has been on the minor league injured list since late June with a hamstring strain. He was subsequently traded to the Tigers as part of the Tarik Skubal trade, so this was his debut as a member of the Tigers organization. He struck out two and didn’t walk a batter while throwing 74 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 17 percent swinging strike rate. His four-seamer averaged 97 mph with an elite 17 inches of vertical movement. He looked like a potential difference-maker in this one, but he also threw just 23 pitches across two innings, so he will need a few more starts to ramp back up and might not return in time to pitch for the Tigers this season. He could be stashed in keeper leagues though.