MLB Player News

Taylor was released by the Cubs last week and didn’t take long to find a new home. The 27-year-old righty has yet to reach the majors after being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He made just three relief appearances for Triple-A Iowa before being cut loose.

Haase passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment last week. The 33-year-old backup catcher hit .162 (12-for-74) across 33 games for San Francisco this season. His experience should enable him to catch on somewhere in the next few weeks, but he’ll likely have to settle for a minor league pact.

Leonard heads out west after slashing .287/.371/.502 with 12 homers and eight steals in 288 plate appearances for Triple-A Nashville in Milwaukee’s system earlier this season. The 25-year-old infielder has yet to reach the majors despite being a noteworthy prospect for the Dodgers and Tigers within the last half-decade. He could get a look with the Giants following their impending fire sale at the upcoming trade deadline.

Thaiss was a first-round pick of the division-rival Angels back in 2016 and never really went on to be a highly impactful contributor at the highest level. The 31-year-old has bounced around between several organizations over the last two years, including a stop with the Red Sox most recently where he hit .201 with three homers in 170 plate appearances at Triple-A Worcester. He’s merely emergency organizational depth at this stage of his career, but he still qualifies as an interesting addition given his former prospect status.

No surprise with rookie southpaw Mitch Bratt toeing the rubber for Arizona to open the contest. It’ll be Andrés Chaparro getting the nod at the cold corner. García has been the subject of trade rumors recently and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him on the move at the trade deadline since he’s set to reach free agency at the conclusion of next season. It also helps his trade value that he’s launched a career-high 21 homers through 96 games so far.

Misner bolsters Philadelphia’s outfield depth at Triple-A Lehigh Valley heading into the home stretch after being jettisoned by the Royals earlier this week. The 28-year-old hit .220 (9-for-41) with three steals in 18 games for Kansas City this season. He got into a career-high 71 contests as a platoon outfielder with the Rays last year.

Berroa loses his spot on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster following the trade acquisition of Kameron Misner from the Royals. The 27-year-old outfielder went 1-for-7 at the dish during six games for the Phillies earlier this season.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo is switching things up against lefty Foster Griffin, moving Carroll into the leadoff spot after he had spent most of the season batting third. Ketel Marte drops to the cleanup spot as a result. It’s unclear whether the lineup tweak is a one-game wrinkle or the start of a larger trend against lefties. The 25-year-old franchise cornerstone has been shockingly-good against southpaws this season, hitting .353 (41-for-116) with four homers.

It’s a decent spot for Vásquez considering the opponent and setting since loanDepot park is a notoriously pitcher-friendly setting. The 27-year-old hurler tossed three scoreless innings against the Royals in his first outing back from the injured list last Sunday. He doesn’t offer enough strikeout potential be a streaming option for fantasy managers outside of extremely deep leagues, but he should be able to hold onto a rotation spot with the Padres for the final two months.

Suarez was on track to return from the injured list earlier this week before an illness disrupted those plans. Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters that the veteran southpaw is feeling better and could potentially take the ball for Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays since they want to keep rookie Payton Tolle on schedule for Monday’s series opener in West Sacramento against the Athletics.

Gallen was given the green light to resume throwing after a visit with specialist Dr. Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that Gallen has been throwing for the last couple days. The 30-year-old was shut down to undergo evaluation and imaging after hitting the injured list with elbow inflammation prior to the All-Star break.