MLB Player News

Plesac had been cruising through Friday’s start against the Tigers, then suddenly forgot how to throw strikes with two outs in the third inning. He’ll continue to work through his issues at the Triple-A level. Andrew Wantz was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday to provide a fresh arm in the Angels’ bullpen.

O’Hoppe was checked for a concussion after a plate at the plate during Friday’s win against the Rangers, and he’s not going to start Saturday’s contest. Sebastian Rivero will handle catching duties in O’Hoppe’s absence.

Merrill missed Friday’s game while dealing with soreness in his ribs. The 23-year-old is good to go for Saturday’s contest, however, and will hit sixth while patrolling center for San Diego in the middle contest against the A’s.

Gurriel was removed from Friday’s game with tightness in his hamstring, and imaging revealed the strain. The 32-year-old will be out at least a week and a half — likely more — and Tommy Troy is up to take his spot on the roster.

Troy gets the nod with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain. The 24-year-old was the Diamondbacks’ first-round pick back in 2023, and while his development has been up-and-down at best, he’s hit well in Triple-A this year with a .307 average and .846 OPS for the Aces. The 24-year-old will likely see time in the outfield with Gurriel unavailable, but fantasy managers should take a wait-and-see approach rather than rushing to the waiver wire.

16 total bases for hitters in this game and Walker was responsible for nine of them. The rest of the Astros had four, while the Cubs singled three times. Walker came into the game in a 6-for-52 slump that had dropped his OPS from .950 to .808, but he’s back up to .861 now. He’s tied for ninth in the majors with 13 homers and 12th with 34 RBI.

The Giants better turn catcher Jancel Villarroel into a legitimate prospect because giving up on Teng over the winter is looking like another clear miscue for Buster Posey and company. Despite never throwing more than three innings in a game previously this season, Teng has won back-to-back starts against the Rangers and now the Cubs, pitching 11 scoreless frames in the process and now has a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings overall. Unfortunately, assuming the Astros stick with their six-man rotation, it looks like he’ll face the Brewers at home rather than the Rangers on the road next week, making him a much poorer streaming option in mixed leagues.

Two saves in two days for King, who did need to throw 21 pitches while giving up one hit today. He and Enyel De Los Santos will probably both be off Sunday, opening the door for Bryan Abreu to potentially get a save chance.

Two line-drive homers from Christian Walker accounted for all three runs. The second of those was a homer in only three ballparks. Rea allowed just two other hits and struck out four in his longest outing of the season. He’ll take a 4-3 record and a 4.83 ERA into his next start in Pittsburgh.

None of Peña’s four balls in play today were hit hard. He’s 4-for-20 with no walks since coming off the injured list earlier this week and he’s batting just .238/.279/.302 in 15 games overall, so perhaps he shouldn’t be leading off right now. Alas, the alternatives aren’t great, either. Besides Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes (currently hitting third, fourth and second, respectively), the only healthy Astro with a .300 OBP this year is Christian Vásquez at .324.

Alvarez told reporters that he won’t be in the lineup for the tilt against Chicago, but he cautioned reporters that Sunday was a scheduled day off for the slugger. The 28-year-old exited with back discomfort during Saturday’s game against the Cubs, but it sounds like this was more of a precaution than a serious injury. It’s something fantasy managers do have to keep a close eye on from a player who has dealt with injuries over the past few campaigns.