MLB Player News

There were reports that the Rangers considered opening the season with three catchers on the active roster but ultimately decided against it. While Huff isn’t known for his defensive prowess, he can still swing it, hitting .298/.399/.548 with 17 homers across 321 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock. He’ll provide depth at catcher in the upper levels of the Rangers’ minor league system.

This is not a bad gamble for the Diamondbacks, who had to remove Paul Sewald from the closer’s role last week. Santana had a 6.05 ERA over 41 2/3 innings this season for the Pirates, but he was solid for them as a late-inning reliever last season and could regain some value in Arizona. He’s unlikely to be trusted with save chances, however.

It’s been quite a year for Casas on the injury front. He was making his way back from surgery to repair a ruptured patellar tendon when he suffered an abdominal injury. He then hurt his wrist as he was working back from the abdominal injury, and now had to have surgery on that wrist. An arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure, which is good news, but it’s unclear what kind of timeline we’re dealing with for Casas. The 26-year-old is unlikely to play again this season, but he is under contract for two more years under arbitration, so his time as a contributor for the Red Sox may not be over yet.

This is Ballesteros’ third straight start since being traded to the Angels and his first behind the dish. It seems like the Angels may give him some chances back there to see if he can catch at all for them in 2027. Him getting enough starts to qualify at catcher next season would be huge for his fantasy value.

Even against lefties, like today, Butler has been a fixture in the A’s lineup of late. Over his last 15 games, his slashing .295/.373/.568 with two home runs, nine runs scored, seven RBI and one steal. He may finally be getting healthy.

Both of his hits were singles. We should also note that Gelof played center field in this one, which means he would likely return to the Athletics as an outfielder and could cut into playing time for Henry Bolte or Carlos Cortes, rather than take second base reps away from Donovan Walton.

Montes hit a tiny rough patch early in July when he was first promoted to Triple-A, but he has been on fire lately. He has hits in 10 of his last 11 games and has gone 17-for-46 (.369) over that stretch with four home runs and 11 RBI. Montes is the Mariners’ third-ranked prospect and MLB Pipeline’s 26th overall prospect. It’s unclear if Seattle has the room to give him MLB at-bats this season, but he is pushing for a starting job in 2027.

Bericoto has been on the injured list since July 10th with an oblique strain. With Heliot Ramos now playing for the Yankees, there is a good chance that Bericoto could see regular playing time when he returns from the injured list. He’s slashing .293/.305/.552 in 59 plate appearances with the Giants while hitting four home runs. He doesn’t walk much at all, but he has a 46.5% hard-hit rate and a 91.5 percent zone contact rate, so he will do damage on pitches in the zone. He just needs to chase a bit less.

The Rockies acquired Norby on Monday and kept him in Triple-A, where he was in the Marlins organization. The 26-year-old hit .205/.313/.325 with four home runs and six steals in 233 plate appearances for the Marlins this season. There is currently no room at the inn in Colorado for Norby, but he started at second base in this one, which is an indication that that’s where the Rockies may view his best path to the majors. Right now, that job is being held by Willi Castro, who is also under contract for next season.

Miller struck out three, didn’t walk anybody, and threw 60 percent of his pitches for strikes. He sat 96.9 mph on his four-seam fastball, which is down from where he usually sits but still pretty solid. He got plenty of swings and misses on his curve, but he really struggled to command his changeup and slider. Still, it’s nice to see Miller back on the mound after dealing with shoulder soreness all season

Holobetz may have only struck out two batters, but he threw 79 percent of his pitches for strikes and had a 15 percent swinging strike rate. He got into plenty of two-strike counts, but had most of his swings and misses earlier in the count. His cutter was his main bat-missing piece in this game, but he also commanded his curveball well. The 24-year-old has allowed one run in 9 2/3 innings in his first two Triple-A starts and has a 3.96 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 101/25 K/BB ratio in 88 2/3 innings overall this season.