MLB Player News

Donald has made the Indians, but since Jose Lopez did too, he probably won’t get quite as much playing time as hoped. Expect most of his starts to come against left-handers, leaving him with little value in AL-only leagues.

Yastrzemski hit ninth tonight and was pulled after the Cubs brought in a lefty to replace Colin Rea, but he made the most of his two plate appearances. The homer was his first in 127 plate appearances this season. He apparently used them all up while crushing six as one of the Grapefruit League’s best performers this spring.

Holmes gave up just one hit, an Alex Bregman homer with one out in the fourth. However, he lost the strike zone immediately afterwards, walking the next three batters he faced. The last two of those were on four pitches. Moisés Ballesteros probably could have worked a walk, too, but he ended up hitting an RBI groundout instead, and Dansby Swanson then struck out after failing to challenge a 1-0 slider that would have been overturned into a ball. Holmes threw 39 pitches in the fourth, so he wasn’t brought back out for the fifth. That worked out nicely anyway, as Didier Fuentes hadn’t pitched in six days and was ready to go long. As it turned out, that homer Holmes surrendered was the only Cubs’ only hit of the game in the Braves’ 5-2 win. Holmes will face the Red Sox on Sunday.

Grant Holmes exited down 2-1 after four, and Fuentes was put in line for third win after the Braves came back with four in the bottom of the fifth. In five appearances since being recalled Apr. 28, Fuentes has allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings, notching two wins in the process. He threw a mere 36 pitches tonight, so he should be ready to pitch again by Friday.

Iglesias struck out one in the 13-pitch inning. He’s still yet to allow a run in 11 2/3 innings this season.

Rea entered with a 21 percent strikeout rate that’s up a little from the last couple of years, but he finished with just one K and two misses on 42 swings tonight. He ended up surrendering five barrels, producing two homers and a double. The loss leaves Rea 4-2 with a 4.68 ERA. He’ll look to bounce back against the White Sox this weekend.

Smith was a lineup fixture against right-handers while Sean Murphy was out, but last week, he was twice on the bench versus righties so that Drake Baldwin could DH while Murphy caught. That won’t be an issue again for a little while now, as Murphy returned to the injured list today with a finger fracture. Smith is batting .363/.391/.550 in 88 plate appearances this season.

Bregman took Grant Holmes deep in the fourth. It was one of three balls hit at least 100 mph for him tonight, so that’s encouraging from a struggling hitter. He did enter the night with a fine 45 percent hard-hit rate, but about half of those hard-hit balls came in at 95-99 mph. He’d hit balls at least 100 mph 23.6 percent of the time.

Bradley was able to play catch from a distance of 90 feet as he resumed throwing for the first time since hitting the injured list with pectoral inflammation over the weekend. It’s an extremely encouraging development for the Twins, and fantasy managers, that he’s already back throwing, but there won’t be a definitive return timetable until the club gets his MRI results back on Wednesday. There should be a clearer idea of his status soon.

Mikolas gave up three hits, walked two and struck out two. The 37-year-old right-hander tossed three scoreless innings before getting into trouble in the fourth inning. Mikolas allowed two hits and a walk before an RBI groundout. Then he walked the next batter before he was pulled from the ballgame. One more run scored on a Brady House fielding error, but Mikolas was off the hook. He has a 7.00 ERA on the season. Mikolas is lined up to face the Orioles at home on Sunday.

Holliday played six innings at third base in his fourth contest since restarting a minor league rehab assignment last week. The 22-year-old struck out twice in this one and has gone hitless in 10 at-bats over those four games. Not great. He’s been out all season working his way back from surgery to repair a hamate fracture in his right wrist.