MLB Player News

Manager Felipe Alou has been willing to hit Todd Greene higher than eighth, but Alfonzo has remained locked into that spot even though he’s been the far better player of late. He has five homers in 74 at-bats since being called up to replace an injured Mike Matheny.

The Rangers are calling the spasms “minor,” and that Seager is currently day-to-day. The 32-year-old has struggled considerably to begin the year, and unfortunately injuries have been a large part of his otherwise-successful career. Ezequiel Duran will handle shortstop with Seager out.

Sogard figures to see action all over the diamond for the Red Sox after logging time at five different positions last year. The versatile 28-year-old doesn’t offer much from an offensive standpoint. He’ll likely see some time at shortstop with Trevor Story on the injured list, but most of those opportunities figure to go to Andruw Monasterio and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

The move is now official. It’s unclear whether Story will require surgery to address the groin issue that Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters has been bothering him pretty much all season. The lingering physical issue certainly helps explain his abysmal performance at the plate where he’s batted .206/.244/.303 triple-slash line with three homers and four steals through 41 games. It would make sense for the Red Sox to consider moving former top prospect Marcelo Mayer back to shortstop, but all indications are that Andruw Monasterio is going to be their short-term stopgap at the position with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Sogard taking the occasional turn. There should be some additional clarity on Story’s return timeline relatively soon.

Varsho’s extra-inning single brought home the Manfred Man and helped Toronto eke out a narrow victory on a day where six different relievers combined to limit Detroit to just one run over 10 innings. The 29-year-old center fielder is hitting .286 (16-for-56) with two homers, seven RBI and one steal over his last 15 games.

Piñango took Tigers reliever Kyle Finnegan deep for a game-tying solo shot in the seventh inning at Comerica Park. The 24-year-old rookie smashed a line-drive shot traveled just 348 feet and barely cleared the right-field wall. He’s been an unexpected revelation for the Blue Jays this season, hitting .364 (16-for-44) with seven RBI through 15 games. There’s some sneaky fantasy appeal here, especially if he’s going to continue hitting near the top of Toronto’s strong lineup.

Varland struck out pinch-hitter Colt Keith to extinguish a ninth-inning threat and send a tie ballgame to extra innings before coming back out to protect a one-run lead. The hard-throwing 28-year-old coaxed ground balls from Jake Rogers and Kevin McGonigle before striking out Dillon Dingler to end it. It doesn’t go down as a save, but fantasy managers will take the win, his second of the season. He’s been phenomenal this season, converting five saves to go along with a microscopic 0.38 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 34/9 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings. He certainly looks like Toronto’s primary closer right now.

Miles took over after opener Mason Fluharty and threw 56 pitches (36 strikes) during a strong bulk relief outing on the road at Comerica Park. It’s a bit challenging to forecast whether Miles makes sense as a traditional starter for the remainder of the year, but he’s certainly shown an ability to excel in a multi-inning relief role. He’ll help fill the void left in Toronto’s rotation left by José Berríos undergoing elbow surgery. Despite his recent success, he’s not a recommended streaming option in an extremely challenging road matchup against the Yankees on Thursday.

Mize looked extremely impressive in his return to Detroit’s rotation, limiting Toronto’s formidable lineup to just a pair of hits while inducing some ugly looking swings. He generated 10 swinging strikes, with half of those coming on his slider, and needed an economical 71 pitches (51 strikes) to navigate six innings. Clearly, the Tigers didn’t want to push him from a workload and stamina perspective in his return from the injured list, which is why he didn’t work deeper into this contest. He’s compiled an impressive 2.43 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 39/11 K/BB ratio across 37 innings over seven starts this season. He’ll face the Guardians his next time out on Thursday.

Strzelecki fortifies Milwaukee’s relief corps heading into Saturday’s game against the Twins. The well-traveled 31-year-old has bounced around between a couple different organizations, making 77 appearances between the Brewers, Diamondbacks and Guardians since 2022. He’ll operate in middle relief situations and can be ignored for fantasy purposes.

Crow returns to the minors after allowing one run over five innings on Friday in a spot start against the Twins. The 25-year-old pitching prospect has allowed just three runs with a 7/1 K/BB ratio over 10 1/3 innings across a pair of starts in the majors this season. He figures to get a more permanent look in Milwaukee’s rotation at some point down the road, but that seems unlikely to happen this summer, barring something unexpected. He’ll continue to be up-and-down as an emergency spot starter moving forward.