MLB Player News

The vote was reportedly unanimous as every owner approved of Oakland owner John Fisher’s plan to force his team out of California. The A’s still have a lease to play in the Oakland Coliseum in 2024, but will not have a permanent home until 2028 when they will now move into a $1.5 billion facility on the Las Vegas Strip.

It was a bullpen game for both teams, as there was a lengthy rain delay cut Davis Martin’s start short. The White Sox ended up using seven pitchers on the day, which wasn’t ideal with the way things have been going over the past few days. The save for Richards didn’t come easy, as he walked two batters, threw a wild pitch, and also gave up a sacrifice fly. Still, he got the job done. With the way saves are handed out like candy these days, it’s fairly astounding that Richards only had two career saves given that he’s had 257 relief appearances dating back to 2021. Assuming the White Sox have a normal day soon, we doubt Richards will have more saves in his future.

Smith, who was selected fifth overall in 2024, got the call with the White Sox in need of some fresh arms this weekend. The southpaw came in handy after a lengthy rain delay interrupted Davis Martin’s start. Smith threw just 25 out of his 49 pitches for strikes, so the control was shaky, but he also didn’t allow a hit and struck out three. Smith is unlikely to provide fantasy value in the short-term, but it was a memorable debut for the 22-year-old.

Ramírez singled in a run in the first inning prior to the rain delay. He later came up as the tying run in the ninth inning and flew out to center field to drive in a run. Rhys Hoskins followed with a fly out of his own to end it. The Guardians have lost seven out of their last nine games and Ramírez has really struggled during this stretch while dealing with wrist inflammation, but hopefully Sunday is the start of a turnaround. This was his first multi-hit game since July 29.

Díaz has two of the four hardest-hit balls of the day, but none of the five balls he put in play today had a launch angle over 11 degrees. That’s par for the course, but it’s been another solid year for Díaz, who also now has 65 RBI and 63 runs scored thanks to Tampa Bay’s surprise season.

Kenley Jansen threw the ninth inning and also struck out the side, so it was Holton who was called on to protect a two-run lead in the bottom of the 10th. He would go on to strike out the side and pick up his second save of the season. Kyle Finnegan had also pitched earlier in this one, so we’re not ready to say Holton is the Jansen handcuff, but Holton is having another really strong season for the Tigers.

Clark got off to a tremendous start to his MLB career during his first two games in Sacramento. In the seven games since, he has gone 6-for-28 (.214) with four RBI, one extra-base hit, and an 11/3 K/BB ratio. He also has yet to attempt a stolen base in the Majors despite being a stolen base threat in the minor leagues. Overall, it’s been a solid enough early stretch for Clark, but the lack of stolen bases and inconsistent power production may keep his ceiling in check from a redraft fantasy perspective.

Gilbert has become the regular starter in center field against righties and came into the day hitting .250/.362/.250 in 16 games since the All-Star break. He does have eight runs in those games, but he’s not producing in enough categories to carry much fantasy value apart from his on-base percentage.

Webb walked one batter and struck out two in this one while throwing 66 percent of his pitches for strikes. Shockingly, he had just three total whiffs and a three percent swinging strike rate. Yes, three percent. Webb has just a 10 percent swinging strike rate on the season and has notched more than five strikeouts in a game once since June 14th. You’re getting plenty of ratio help with Webb, but the lack of strikeouts dampens some of his fantasy value.

Wetherholt hasn’t had a ton of chances to drive in runs from the leadoff spot, but including Wednesday’s in a 3-1 win over the Yankees, he’s come up with a pair of big two-run doubles in the last five days. The Rookie of the Year candidate is batting .249/.353/.387 with 16 homers and 45 RBI on the season. It’s quite possible we’ll end the year with Wetherholt and Sal Stewart as the NL ROY favorites and Wetherholt potentially doubling Stewart’s WAR and Stewart doubling Wetherholt’s RBI total.