MLB Player News

Zavada had been pitching with the independent league Gary SouthShore RailCats, where he posted a 1.65 ERA. The left-hander hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2009.

Mooney reports that Jed Hoyer, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, has insinuated that the Cubs plan to be aggressive at the deadline to capitalize on their strong season. Shaw’s “defense has been spectacular, and his offensive production has been lacking,” which means the Cubs could look to add a more consistent option at third base for the playoff push.

The Giants really haven’t gotten much in terms of production out of the catcher position from Patrick Bailey and Andrew Knizner this season, so bringing in the veteran backstop seems to make sense as a depth addition. Barnes hit just .214/.233/.286 with zero homers and two RBI in 44 plate appearances before he was cut loose by the Dodgers.

With Royce Lewis set to return from the injured list on Tuesday, the Twins needed to free a spot on their active roster and Bride became the unfortunate casualty. The 29-year-old has slashed a ghastly .170/.248/.188 with zero homers, five RBI and a 39/11 K/BB ratio in 125 plate appearances between the Twins and Marlins this season.

Greene victimized Twins’ right-hander Chris Paddack for his 381-foot (102.6 mph EV) solo shot in the fourth inning that extended the Tigers’ lead to 2-0. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night, but proved to be more than enough run support for Tarik Skubal and company. Greene has had an outstanding first half, slashing .296/.348/.539 with 19 long balls and 63 RBI.

Vest wasn’t messing around in this one, getting Matt Wallner on a fly ball to left field, Byron Buxton on a swinging third strike and Ryan Jeffers on a ground ball to shortstop, needing only eight pitches (six strikes) to get the job done. On the season, the 30-year-old right-hander boasts a 2.37 ERA and a 42/10 K/BB ratio over 38 innings to go with 13 saves and five victories.

The 28-year-old southpaw allowed just two baserunners in the ballgame — a single into right-center by Ty France in the fifth inning and a one-out walk to Christian Vazquez in the sixth. That’s it, and neither of those runners advanced past first base. Skubal got a whopping 22 swings and misses on 93 pitches in the ballgame — 15 of them on his changeup — while registering an absurd CSW of 45 percent. He hasn’t lost since his second start of the season and now sports a brilliant 10-2 record, 2.15 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and a 138/14 K/BB ratio over 109 innings through his first 17 starts on the season. Best of luck to the Guardians’ hitters that have to face him next Saturday in Cleveland.

Skubal had retired each of the first 13 hitters that he faced before France blooped a single into right center that Kerry Carpenter couldn’t quite catch up to. That would be one of just two hits by the Twins in the ballgame as they were shut out by Skubal and company. On the season, France is hitting .263/.325/.374 with only six homers and 42 RBI.

Paddack punched out three batters on the night and didn’t allow a base on balls. He served up solo homers to Kerry Carpenter in the first inning and Riley Greene in the fourth, then the Tigers added another run on an RBI triple by Carpenter in the fifth that chased Paddack from the ballgame. He got 10 swings and misses on 91 pitches on the day, registering a CSW of 23 percent. He’ll bring a 4.70 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and a 63/24 K/BB ratio (90 innings) into Saturday’s showdown against the Rays.

Carpenter got the scoring started in the ballgame with a solo blast off of Chris Paddack in the opening inning. He then added a run-scoring triple in the fifth, but appeared to grab at his hamstring while coming out of the box on that one and was ultimately replaced by Wenceel Perez as a pinch-runner at third base. Look for the Tigers to provide an update on the 27-year-old slugger’s status as soon as more information becomes available.

The 26-year-old backstop is having a solid season at the Triple-A level, slashing .277/.416/.465 with seven homers, 35 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 51/49 K/BB ratio over 267 plate appearances. He has the ability to play second base and third base in addition to helping out behind the plate and could provide Brewers’ skipper Pat Murphy with another versatile weapon to deploy on a nightly basis. No word yet on what the corresponding move would be.