MLB Player News

Carrera struggled mightily in the upper minors in 2018, batting just .193/.244/.262 in 158 plate appearances between the Triple-A affiliates of the Braves and Mets. The 31-year-old outfielder got regular playing time at the MLB level with Toronto in 2017, but that probably won’t happen again -- definitely not with the Dodgers.

Cabrera was staked to a six-run advantage by the fourth inning of his Cubs debut and had little trouble cruising to an easy win, scattering one hit and one walk over six relatively stress-free frames. Chicago’s big-time offseason trade acquisition generated 15 swinging strikes, topped out at 98.1 mph with his fastball and allowed just two hard-hit balls in this one. He’ll close out a two-start week with a favorable road tilt against the Guardians.

Johnson wasn’t particularly sharp in his season debut, walking four batters and only notching a pair of strikeouts. However, he didn’t get any help from his fielders on several occasions, most notably with two outs in the opening frame when a pop up to shallow center field inexplicably got over the head of second baseman Oswald Peraza, allowing a pair of runs to score on the play. Yoán Moncada committed a mental mistake in the third inning that led directly to another two runs crossing the plate. Neither play technically goes down as an error, but they certainly didn’t help matters. He’ll aim for better results against the Mariners at home on Sunday to finish off a two-start week.

Leiter gave up one homer to Gunnar Henderson. He also gave up a fly to Tyler O’Neill that would have been a homer in 24 ballparks, but it was an out in Texas. Just 26 of Leiter’s 92 pitches were fastballs or sinkers. He didn’t get a single whiff on any of those, but his 66 secondary offerings produced 21, giving him a fine 36-percent CSW for the night. That he gives up so much hard contact on his heaters has been reason to be skeptical about his upside, but if he can get all of these outs without throwing them, he might have something to offer in mixed leagues. He’s due to face the Reds on Sunday. With Chase Burns also slated to pitch, it would be a matchup of the second overall picks from the 2021 and 2024 drafts.

Alexander just got his second career save Saturday in the 10th inning against the Phillies after both Chris Martin and Robert Garcia worked in regulation. Now he has three, probably because Martin, Garcia and Cole Winn were all unavailable after working in both games over the weekend. We wouldn’t expect the lefty, who has usually been employed as a swingman, to keep adding to that total with any regularity, but then it’s not like the Rangers have any sure things in their pen.

Bassitt was unusually wild in his Orioles debut, but his worst throw came when he tried to retire Brandon Nimmo at home on a comebacker in the first and spiked the ball past Adley Rutschman behind the plate. At least his velocity was good, and instances like this of him of struggling to find the strike zone should be few and far between. He’s just an AL-only guy at this point, but he does have a nice matchup coming up against the Pirates.

Henderson, Team USA’s best hitter in the WBC, was 1-for-12 with zero hard-hit balls coming into the night. His homer off Jack Leiter left the bat at 105.3 mph and was protected at 410 feet.

Dubón was caught stealing, and he also made his second error of the year. It’s still a successful evening for the 31-year-old, who drove in two runs on a double and another on a single. With Ha-Seong Kim out of action until at least June — likely longer — Dubón has a long leash as the starting shortstop for Atlanta.

It wasn’t a save situation, but Iglesias was able to work a scoreless frame while not allowing a hit or walk, while not picking up a strikeout and needing just seven pitches to get the job done. Robert Suarez worked a scoreless eight as well, as Atlanta now has one of the better late-inning combos in the National League.

Acuña picked up his first steal of the season, but was also caught for the only negative to the contest. The 28-year-old scuffled in the series against Kansas City, but those two hits along with two free passes improves his slash to .214/.353/.286 over the first four contests.

As is often the case, Lopez struggled to find the strike zone during Monday’s start, as he walked five and threw just 46-of-91 pitches in the zone. He also didn’t strike out a single hitter and generated just four swings and misses, so he wasn’t fooling hitters even when he did throw strikes. Yuck. Lopez will try and rebound Sunday against the Astros.