MLB Player News

All four hits he allowed were singles. Kikuchi likes facing the Yankees, having gone 5-3 with a 3.24 ERA against them in his career. Yimi García, Genesis Cabrera, Trevor Richards and Chad Green finished the shutout today. Kikuchi will take a 2.79 ERA into his next start against the Mariners.

The deal is pending a work visa and physical. The outfielder had been with Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League, where he had a ridiculous 19 home runs in only 107 plate appearances. The 26-year-old came up with the Marlins, but was outrighted off their roster last season. The Giants have four outfielders currently on the injured list so it’s not hard to see why they might give Encarnacion another chance in the majors soon.

Heyward was with the team at Dodgers Stadium on Thursday and manager Dave Roberts told reporters he will be activated soon. It remains a question what the corresponding move for Heyward’s activation will be. Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor have both struggled this season, but they can also play multiple positions and Taylor is owed $13 million in 2025. James Outman was a revelation last year, but he has options remaining and is hitting .147 this year. Outman could be the de facto choice. Heyward slashed .269/.340/.473 in 124 games with the Dodgers last year.

“He’s going to play, a lot,” manager A.J. Hinch said. Baez has the lowest OPS (.422) among qualified hitters by nearly 100 points. The Tigers still owe Baez $72 million after this season. Something has to give at some point, but the Tigers will keep playing him for now.

Hall is scheduled to start for the High-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Sunday. Acquired in the trade with the Orioles for Corbin Burnes this past offseason, the 25-year-old left-hander has been on the injured list since late April with a left knee sprain.

De La Cruz might break the century mark in the stolen base department, if he sustains this surreal pace. He was thrown out attempting a fifth steal in the seventh inning of Thursday’s showdown at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The 22-year-old burgeoning fantasy superstar is still striking out 30 percent of the time, but some improved plate discipline has enabled him to reach base more frequently this season and show off his field-tilting speed. He’s batting .277/.378/.516 with 35 runs scored, nine homers, 22 RBI and 30 steals following the first four-steal performance of his career out in Los Angeles. There’s still some room for improvement, but De La Cruz is rapidly evolving into one of the premier five-category impact contributors in the entire fantasy landscape.

Benson has homered in two of the last three contests out of Cincinnati’s leadoff spot. He’s shown glimpses of immense five-category fantasy potential, but the plate skills simply haven’t improved to the point that he can really put it all together and make the leap to superstardom. He’s struck out in 39.5 percent of his 162 plate appearances through 42 contests, which has contributed greatly to a lackluster .196/.290/.406 triple-slash line. He’s up to six homers and eight steals already, which puts him on pace to set new career-high marks in both categories. However, the plate skills need to improve if he’s going to make a massive impact in shallow mixed leagues down the road.

It was a rare dud for Glasnow, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts at the outset of his Dodgers debut. The 30-year-old righty will bring a and 81/16 K/BB ratio across 62 innings (10 starts) into a home outing on Tuesday against the division-rival Diamondbacks.

It was a quiet night for the Oakland offense. Gelof recorded his first hit and RBI in his third game since returning from the IL. He needs to regain his power stroke if he’s even going to approach the impact fantasy managers expected from him before the season.

The home run was the first of Loperfido’s major league career. He’s now up to a .324/.378/.441 line in 37 plate appearances. He should continue to see regular playing time against right-handed pitching while Chas McCormick is on the IL.

Diaz opened the scoring with a bases-clearing double in the third inning off Joey Estes and the route was on from there. He hit 23 home runs in 104 games last year, but his power is noticeably down this year. His .119 ISO is well below his .256 ISO from last year. Diaz doesn’t walk often, but has cut his strikeout percentage to 13 percent so far this year. He’s not going to fall off a cliff if that keeps up, but he’s not exactly delivering on his lofty preseason draft price so far either.