MLB Player News

He held visiting Beloit to four hits while spinning 72 of his 99 pitches for strikes. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the 25-year-old. Duval has been very well-traveled this year, appearing in games for Kane County, High-A Visalia, Short-Season Hillsboro and even the team’s Arizona League affiliate. The results have mostly been solid for Duval, who carries a 3.55 ERA over 14 outings (11 starts) in 2016.

Despite hitting .147/.261/.173 in 27 games in June, the Mets continue to play Baty at second base against right-handed pitching. Ronny Mauricio has made only one start in the last month, so there doesn’t seem to be any threat to Baty’s playing time. We would not be trusting him in fantasy leagues, though. Tyrone Taylor will make his first start against right-handed pitching since coming off the injured list, starting in left field and batting ninth.

Vlad Jr. had missed Tuesday’s game with back tightness, but it was never expected to be a serious issue. Perhaps another day or two off could have helped the slumping first baseman with a mental reset, but he will be back in the lineup, and it’s hard to keep him out of fantasy lineups unless you’re in a shallow league and were able to claim multiple difference-makers off the waiver wire. Sean Keys will start at DH and bat eighth with George Springer on the paternity list.

Smith had hit .218/.316/.248 in 117 plate appearances with the Rangers at the start of the season before being demoted to Triple-A. The 28-year-old is not in the lineup on Wednesday, with Justin Foscue playing second base and batting first against a left-handed pitcher and Nicky Lopez playing shortstop and batting ninth. It remains to be seen if Smith will play over Foscue when right-handers are on the mound.

Seager has played just 51 games for the Rangers this year, hitting .182/.292/.374 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI. He’s also sporting a career-high 26.9 percent strikeout rate. The Rangers will want to ensure that he’s 100 percent healthy before bringing him back, but they are also sitting in first place in the AL West and will want to hold onto that advantage. We should have a better idea os Seager timeline at the end of the week.

The Mets are in the midst of a disappointing season and have already fired manager Carlos Mendoza, with many also calling for Stearns to step down as the team is just 208-202 in his tenure and headed toward a second straight postseason miss. However, Steve Cohen made it clear that it would not happen: “It’s a mixed record. I’m not gonna say it’s going great, but it’s too early to really make evaluations...We’ll figure out what changes need to be made. But the change that’s not going to be made is moving David out at this point. I’m just not going to do it.”

The 28-year-old has a 12.46 ERA in 4 1/3 innings for the Tigers this season. He will be used in bulk relief for the time being.

Vest last pitched on June 27th and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits in one inning. He clearly wasn’t right during that outing, and now we know why. He will undergo further imaging to determine how long he will be sidelined.

It seems like a routine day off for Goldschmidt, but the veteran is just 11-for-51 (.216) in his last 14 games. Of course, four of those hits have been home runs, but he is sporting a 14/2 K/BB ratio over that stretch as well. He was never going to keep swinging as hot a bat as he had been at the beginning of the month, but we’re not ready to say the fun is completely over.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that a few members of the team are dealing with food poisoning, so perhaps Jones is one of them. The 25-year-old is hitting .225/.313/.366 in his 80 MLB plate appearances this season with a 42.5 percent strikeout rate and a 20.5 percent swinging strike rate. With Trent Grisham (hamstring) set to return this weekend, Jones may be headed back to Triple-A. Jose Caballero will start in center field on Wednesday with Oswald Cabrera at third base and Amed Rosario at designated hitter.

The Red Sox will throw their third left-handed starter in this series, and while Abrams has started the last two, they will give him a day off on Wednesday. Nasim Nunez will slide over to shortstop with Jorbit Vias entering the lineup at second base and batting seventh. Andres Chaparro will also make his third straight start and bat third while Luis Garcia Jr. heads to the bench.