MLB Player News

An elite speedster with an improving bat, Stafura represents an interesting lottery ticket for Reds in the early stages of the second round. The 18-year-old middle infielder is a long way off from the majors, but there’s plenty to work with here from a tools perspective and he could make a major impact for Reds down the road.

Manager Dave Roberts indicated last night that Ohtani would lead off, but Smith jumping ahead of Freeman is a little bit of a surprise. It does make sense, particularly since it allows the Dodgers to go lefty-righty-lefty-righty at the top. Teoscar Hernández, as expected, is in the cleanup spot that’s typically been manned by Smith.

Crawford probably won’t play tonight, but that’s just because he usually doesn’t; his start Sunday was his first appearance in 11 days. He’s appeared off the bench just twice all season, both in blowouts (the Cards lost the two games by a total of 22 runs).

After a slow start, Crews was up to .274/.343/.446 in a rather tough hitting environment in the Eastern League (he was actually hitting .317/.394/.512 in road games). With James Wood ahead of him in line for an outfield spot, Crews remains something of a long shot to make an impact in the majors this season. Stranger things have happened, though.

The internal brace gives him a better chance of returning next summer, but a 2026 return still might be the most likely scenario here. The Orioles figure to pay the $2 million or so necessary to keep him around next year in the hopes that it will pay off down the road.

Rogers hadn’t pitched since giving up two runs in two-thirds of an inning Wednesday. The former Oriole and National had giving up seven runs and struck out two in 9 1/3 innings out of the Rockies bullpen.

Lawrence missed three weeks with a shoulder strain. It’ll probably take a little while, but he should work his way back into the closing mix for the Rockies as the year goes along. That’s no reason to roster him at the moment, though.

Bird had a 6.10 ERA in 19 appearances before going on the injured list with elbow inflammation last month. He’ll try to win back a setup role.

Chivilli has gotten the call to the majors a couple of times by virtue of already being on the Rockies’ 40-man, but he’s not ready just yet. He allowed five runs over 5 1/3 innings in his two weeks with the team.

DeGrom was limited to fastballs today, but it’s still a big step. He’s still several weeks away from beginning a rehab assignment.

Gonzalez missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. He’ll mostly play second base against lefties for now. Once Vaughn Grissom returns, the Red Sox figure to demote either Gonzalez or Enmanuel Valdez.