MLB Player News

DeCaster was up for three days last month, but he didn’t get an at-bat. With Jose Bautista available to act as a backup at the same positions that DeCaster plays, an expanded role isn’t likely. He’ll only hang around until Joe Randa comes off the DL.

Yoshida draws his second consecutive start in the leadoff spot against a right-handed starter while Mickey Gasper got a turn atop the lineup during Friday’s contest. Yoshida is hitting .200 (10-for-50) with zero homers and three RBI over his last 215 games. He’s been a complete non-factor for fantasy purposes this season and figures to lose playing time once Romy Gonzalez (shoulder) is back from the injured list later this weekend.

Chisholm was at the epicenter of a bizarre lollipop controversy earlier this week, but he’s had a solid month at the plate from a fantasy perspective, launching six homers and swiping 10 bases, despite hitting just .189 (14-for-74) since the start of June. The 28-year-old takes a seat with rookie lefty Jake Bennett taking the ball for the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon. It’ll be José Caballero filling in at second base.

All signs point to Gonzalez making his season debut by facing veteran lefty Carlos Rodón during Sunday’s series finale at Fenway Park. The 29-year-old missed the first three months of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. His presence should provide a significant lift for the Red Sox against left-handed starters.

No surprise here with a quick early-afternoon turnaround after Dingler handled the catching duties during Friday night’s series opener. The 27-year-old backstop somehow wasn’t a finalist for the American League in All-Star balloting, but he deserves to be there on the strength of a 19-homer breakthrough campaign. It’ll be Jake Rogers behind the plate on Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Alvarez celebrates his 29th birthday by taking a seat for the just the second time all season after going hitless in three consecutive games. It’s his first time out of Houston’s lineup since May 24. The 29-year-old slugger has been arguably the best pure hitter in baseball this season, slashing .314/.427/.619 with an American League-leading 25 homers and 56 RBI through 83 games. His 182 wRC+ is tops in baseball by a considerable margin. It’ll be Yainer Diaz taking a turn at DH with Brice Matthews handling left field.

Carter clobbered a leadoff homer and reached base safely in all three of his plate appearances during his rehab debut. He also logged five innings in center field. The 23-year-old will likely get a couple additional contests under his belt to get back up to speed before returning to the Rangers lineup. He’s been out with a minor right oblique strain since mid-June.

Ramos walked twice, reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances during his latest rehab contest. The 26-year-old corner outfielder could potentially rejoin San Francisco’s lineup this weekend or when they kick off an extended road trip against the Diamondback on Monday. He’s been on the shelf with a quad strain since mid-May.

The probability feels extremely high that Hernández will be activated from the injured list at some point this weekend or early next week. The 33-year-old veteran slugger went deep for the third consecutive rehab contest on Friday evening while playing six innings in left field. The original expectation was that he would be ready for Monday’s series opener against the Athletics, but he could potentially make it back for the final two games of their current series against the division-rival Padres.

Báez possesses stratospheric raw power potential, and while he’s made some strides recently in the contact department, he’s still struck out nearly 27 percent of the time since the start of June. He’s launched 10 homers during that 20-game sample size, which matters exponentially more. However, the persistent strikeout issues are probably the biggest reason why the Cardinals are having him continue his development on the doorstep of the majors as opposed to bringing him up and exposing him to big-league arms. His time is coming later this summer, and he projects as an immediate power/speed combo source, which makes Báez a worthwhile stash candidate in all fantasy leagues.

Schultz got his pitch count up to 74 (52 strikes) in his third rehab start as he continues to work his way back from a knee issue that put him on the shelf back in late May. All signs point to the exciting 22-year-old rookie making it back to Chicago’s rotation at some point in the middle of next week.