MLB Player News

Rodriguez is now protected from selection in the Rule 5 Draft. The 21-year-old slashed .289/.379/.470 with 10 homers and 15 steals in 100 games played this past summer between Low-A and High-A ball.

Okamoto continues to get comfortable at the dish. He stayed hot on Saturday with a solo blast off Joey Cantillo in the fourth inning, his third homer in six games and team-leading fifth of the season. He added a base hit in the sixth and brought home another run with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. It was the fourth multi-hit day in his last seven games. The 29-year-old slugger is hitting .237/.324/.419 with 12 runs scored and 11 RBI across 105 plate appearances.

Fry got the rare start against a right-handed pitcher on Saturday, starting in right field. He took Kevin Gausman deep for a solo homer in the seventh inning for his first of the season. The 30-year-old slugger remains mostly limited to starts against left-handing pitching, mixing in at catcher, right field, and designated hitter.

Varland got the nod in the ninth inning to close out the game against the Guardians with a three-run lead. This one nearly got away from him. He recorded one quick out, then gave up a run on three straight hits before striking out the final two batters to preserve the win with his second save. The 28-year-old right-hander had not given up a run going into the day. He figures to remain in the saves mix in part of a committee until Jeff Hoffman gets right and is ready to resume ninth-inning duties.

Gausman retired the first six Cleveland batters before Juan Brito led off the third inning with a double and scored on a pair of groundouts. He pitched into the seventh, giving up a solo homer to David Fry and recording two outs in the frame. Gausman’s day would be done at 91 pitches, 63 for strikes. He collected three strikeouts. The 35-year-old right-hander has been excellent over the first month, posting a 2.57 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and a 38/6 K/BB ratio across 35 innings. He’ll take on the Twins in Minnesota on Thursday.

Cantillo kept the Blue Jays off the board through three frames until Kazuma Okamoto took him deep for a solo blast to lead off the fourth. He tossed a scoreless fifth, then allowed the first two batters to reach in the sixth, ending his day at 89 pitches. Both inherited runners would come in to score, diminishing an otherwise solid day on the mound. He scattered six hits in all and issued one walk with four strikeouts. The 26-year-old left-hander will take a 3.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and a 34/13 K/BB ratio across 30 1/3 innings into a start against the Athletics in Sacramento on Friday.

It just continues. Despite having some of the worst speed in baseball, Naylor has now stolen four bases, and he has yet to be caught in 23 attempts since joining the Mariners. That’s helped compensate a bit for a .208/.283/.317 slash, but it’s worth noting those numbers have improved considerably over the last week.

Wetherholt cut a 2-0 deficit in half with a solo homer off Bryan Woo to leadoff the game for the Cards; one of four homers that St. Louis hit off Woo before he exited. The rookie second baseman now has a .240/.370/.385 slash with four homers and 12 RBI. That’s not the goal, but there have been enough games like this to be excited about Wetherholt’s future.

Young launched his third homer of the season with a solo shot off Matthew Liberatore. The 22-year-old also doubled, singled and improved his slash to .255/.342/.398. That’s a respectable enough line, but it’s even better when you consider Young is 22-years-old and already one of the best defensive infielders in baseball.

Church not only hit the ball over the fence twice, but he robbed Mitch Garver of his own as well. The 25-year-old has homered four times on the season, and more than held his own as a regular to open the season. His roster spot seemed to be in jeopardy with Lars Nootbaar not far from a return, but it’s hard to imagine this version gets sent down.

Rodríguez blistered a two-run shot off Matthew Liberatore into Big Mac land in the first inning. That’s just the second homer of the season, and the steal was his third. Rodríguez is a notoriously slow starter — as notorious as a 25-year-old can be, anyway — but the three-hit night improves his slash to .250/.336/.333 over 28 games.