MLB Player News

No word yet on exactly how long Pasquantino will be sidelined after making an early exit from Friday’s contest against the Orioles with right shoulder discomfort. The 25-year-old first baseman has delivered an underwhelming .247/.324/.437 triple-slash line with just nine homers and 26 RBI across 260 plate appearances this season.

Johnson was in Marlins camp as a non-roster invitee this spring after appearing in a career-high 31 games between the Orioles and Giants last year. The well-traveled 30-year-old is a decent emergency stopgap solution as a reserve outfielder but that’s pretty much it at this juncture of his career.

Higashioka had just missed a home run on a foul ball in the third inning before knocking a base hit. He then got all of one in the fifth, taking George Kirby deep for a two-run blast, his first home run of the season. The 35-year-old catcher is backing up starter Danny Jansen, but has shown some power upside if he gets the opportunity to play as a regular.

Donovan jumped on Nathan Eovaldi right away, taking the first pitch of the game deep to right field for a solo blast. He added a base hit in the third for his second hit of the game. The home run was the third of the season for the 29-year-old infielder. While not exactly known as a power hitter, Donovan is pulling the ball more than ever. If he can sustain that profile, he could certainly tap into more power than he’s previously displayed, with a career-high 14 in 2024.

Junis entered for the ninth inning with a one-run lead for his second save chance in as many days. He gave up a pair of base hits before generating two fly outs and a groundout to end the game with his second save. The 33-year-old veteran right-hander has clearly worked his way into the saves mix for the Rangers, but this remains a fluid situation while Junis isn’t particularly skilled with closer material. Still, he’s worth an add in deep leagues at the moment if chasing saves in the early going.

Eovaldi served up a solo homer to Brendan Donovan on the first pitch of the game. He recovered to retire the next three batters on ten pitches. After settling in for three more scoreless frames, the Mariners would bring one more run across on a pair of hits in the fifth. Eovaldi completed five innings for the first time in three starts and went on to strand two runners in the sixth. He generated an incredible 22 whiffs to collect seven strikeouts. The 36-year-old right-hander will look to string together another excellent start when he takes on the Athletics in Sacramento next Monday.

Kirby worked four scoreless innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Two hits brought a run in and left a runner on for Kyle Higashioka, who took Kirby deep for a two-run blast to give the Rangers the lead. Kirby would complete three more scoreless frames, completing eight innings before the Rangers closed the door on Seattle in the top of the ninth. Kirby threw 68 of 90 pitches for strikes, walking no batters, and generated a ton of contact with 12 groundouts. He struck out four. Overall, it was a nice bounce-back for the 28-year-old right-hander. Kirby lines up for a start against the Astros in Seattle next Monday.