MLB Player News

There had been some speculation that Randolph — who managed the Mets from 2005-2008 — would bring some veteran experience and expertise to the first-year manager’s coaching staff. Mendoza specifically mentioned Randolph during his introductory press conference, calling him a close friend and noting that Randolph has had a big impact on his coaching career. Expect Mendoza to name a bench coach soon, and while it won’t be Randolph, someone with managerial experience seems like a good bet.

Peña added that he doesn’t have an exact return timeline yet, but believes he’s moving in the right direction. The 27-year-old is at the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career, but won’t play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Truist Park as he recovers from a fractured rib that he suffered in late June. There should be a clearer return timetable once he begin ramping up baseball activities after the break.

Hartwig heads overseas after making 32 relief appearances for the Mets since 2023. The 27-year-old righty posted a strong 29 percent strikeout rate this season for Triple-A Syracuse, but never wound up getting the call back to New York. He was cut loose earlier this month to pursue a more lucrative opportunity over in Japan.

Drellich and Rosenthal add that the finalized sale is expected to be completed as early as September and that the Zalupski group plans to keep the club in the greater Tampa area with a preference for Tampa over St. Petersburg. It’s the first change in ownership for the franchise since Stuart Sternberg purchased the club for $200 million back in 2004.

Ohtani closed out the first half with a senior circuit-leading 32 round-trippers and a sparkling 1.00 ERA across nine innings (five starts). The 31-year-old two-way sensation spearheads an absolute Death Star of a lineup that features Atlanta’s primary igniter Ronald Acuña Jr., in addition to a pair of his Los Angeles teammates in Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Here is the full lineup that will take the field on Tuesday evening at Truist Park in Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic: Ohtani (DH), Acuña Jr. (LF), Ketel Marte (2B), Freeman (1B), Manny Machado (3B), Smith (C), Kyle Tucker (RF), Francisco Lindor (SS) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF).

Judge headlines a formidable American League lineup, which features Mariners slugging backstop Cal Raleigh — who leads the majors with a staggering 38 round-trippers — in the cleanup spot, for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic at Truist Park in Atlanta. It also features three members of the American League-leading Tigers, who finished the first half with 59 victories. Here’s the full lineup: Gleyber Torres (2B), Riley Greene (LF), Judge (RF), Raleigh (C), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Ryan O’Hearn (DH), Junior Caminero (3B), Javier Báez (CF) and Jacob Wilson (SS).

Jankowski’s well-known affinity for the Mets likely means he’ll stick around as extra organizational outfield depth rather than elect free agency after going unclaimed on waivers. The 34-year-old speedster was only up for a couple weeks with New York, getting into four games and finishing with a grand total of exactly one plate appearance.

Herget passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week after Atlanta claimed lefty Joey Wentz from Minnesota. The 34-year-old journeyman has made a pair of relief appearances this season in the big leagues between the Mets and Braves.

Bañuelos was up for Sunday’s first-half finale against the Marlins before being jettisoned from Baltimore’s 40-man roster. The hope for the Orioles is that Jacob Stallings and Alex Jackson can handle things until Adley Rutschman (oblique) is back from the injured list, most likely before the end of July.

Mantiply was released by the Diamondbacks on July 2, and it took a bit for the former All-Star reliever to find a new home. He’ll head to Triple-A Buffalo to try and find that form — or at least a semblance of it — and could be an option for the Toronto bullpen at some point this summer. The Blue Jays will need to add him to the 40-man roster for that promotion to take place.

Saucedo pitched in just one game in this stint with Seattle while firing a scoreless inning to end a 15-7 blowout. The 32-year-old will likely be back at some point this summer.