MLB Player News

Can’t hit. The 25-year-old Santos was batting .263/.309/.435 with a 78/21 K/BB ratio in 315 at-bats for Fresno. Although we’re as low on Lance Niekro as anyone, Santos is a clear downgrade at first base. The Giants may give him a week or two as a regular, but little should be expected. Mark Sweeney is a far better player, and the club needs to be looking elsewhere for help.

The Orioles scored their first run with two outs in the top of the ninth to turn this into an extra-inning game. Both teams went scoreless in the 10th and plated one in the 11th. In the 12th, the Orioles took a lead on a Samuel Basallo single before Taveras appeared to finish things. The Royals, though, came back with three runs before making an out in the 12th, only to sputter out afterwards. Taveras came into tonight as a lifetime .280 hitter with the bases loaded, but he’d never gone deep in 50 plate appearances. He’s been a great surprise in the early going, hitting .341/.453/.554 to take over as the Orioles’ primary center fielder. His success might get Colton Cowser demoted at some point.

The run came on a Jac Caglianone homer, so all of those other runners were erased of stranded. Bradish became the first pitcher since Ubaldo Jiménez in 2016 to allow 13 baserunners but only one run. Incredibly enough, Jiménez was also pitching for the Orioles and facing the Royals in that game. Bradish will likely make his next start Sunday against Boston.

Nunez got some help in the 10th. With two on and none out, Jac Caglianone flew out to center. Leody Taveras’s throw to third got away, causing automatic runner Lane Thomas to take off, but he was tagged out, resulting in an odd double play. Nunez got through the inning scoreless and then allowed only the automatic runner to score in the 11th before the Royals won in the 12th. It’s the first big-league win for Nunez, who turned in a big spring to make the Orioles after totaling just 16 2/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A.

Lugo walked four tonight for just the 12th time in 128 career starts, but it hardly mattered since he gave up just one hit, a double from Taylor Ward. The other five hard-hit balls against him produced six outs, with one turning into a GIDP. Lugo now has a 1.15 ERA, though he possesses just one win to show for it. He’s yet to give up a homer in 31 1/3 innings. Last year, he gave up 27 in 145 1/3 innings, and that was before the Royals moved in their outfield walls. He’ll face the Angels next.

Erceg walked Gunnar Henderson on seven pitches, only to pick him off afterwards. Another walk and a groundout followed. Facing Pete Alonso, Erceg got ahead 1-2 but walked him after a couple of borderline check-swings weren’t called. Samuel Basallo then singled to tie the game. Erceg’s stuff is down a notch this year, but he actually had great velocity tonight, throwing 1-1.5 mph than his season averages. Still, he certainly can’t afford to walk batters like this when he’s just not getting many strikeouts. This might open the door for Matt Strahm and/or Daniel Lynch IV to receive save chances.

Getting on base four times raised Basallo’s OBP from .234 to .275. His two run-scoring singles, which tied the game with two outs in the top of the ninth and provided the Orioles a lead in the 11th, gave him his first runs batted in of the year that didn’t come on homers. He entered the night with four RBI, the product of two solo shots and a two-run homer.

Loftin gave the Royals a shot with his bases-loaded double in the bottom of the 12th, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a loss. What it really should be enough to do is get him a real look at second base. Michael Massey hasn’t done anything to deserve this many chances, and Loftin is becoming a little more interesting with his strikeout rate going from good to great this year (he’s fanned four times in 44 plate appearances between Triple-A and the majors). The Royals have nothing to lose at this point.

Isbel went 8-for-14 with two homers in his first four games and then 4-for-13 with a double in his next four games. Since then, however, he’s 1-for-26 in 11 games. His OPS is down to .675, though that’s still a little better than what he did any of the last four years (.603, .662, .654 and .654 again).

Guerrero Jr. smoked a two-run shot off Reid Detmers to give Toronto a 2-1 lead in the third frame. The 27-year-old has only homered twice in the first three weeks of the season, but it’s hard to complain too much about a hitter slashing .354/.442/.488 in his 21 games. Not many hitters have the ability to make that a sustainable slash for more than a week or two. Guerrero is one of them.

Hoffman has been awful to begin 2025, but this looked good. The 33-year-old did allow a hit, but he struck out the heart of the Angels’ order to procure his third save of the season while lowering his ERA to 6.97. The Blue Jays are showing faith in Hoffman, and for now, fantasy managers should reticently do the same.