MLB Player News

Robert Jr. had been struggling mightily as of late, but this was a nice reminder of just how talented the 26-year-old is. The steal is the 14th of the season for the outfielder, and that number is more impressive when you keep in mind he’s only played 54 games, and that he hasn’t been caught while attempting a theft yet. The question now is if the White Sox — who have lost 15 straight games and have guaranteed a losing record despite it being only July 29 — will move Robert Jr. before the deadline Tuesday.

Vázquez homered off Jameson Taillon in the third and then singled in a second run an inning later. Playing more than expected to Yainer Diaz out, he’s hit .258/.324/.430 with 16 RBI in 104 plate appearances. It seems pretty crazy now that he had to settle for a minor league contract on March 7 in order to stay in the league.

Arrighetti walked four and hit two batters, but that only shortened his day. He struck out five and allowed just two hits. Technically, he allowed two hard-hit balls, but they were 95.7 and 95.3 mph. None of the other 10 balls in play checked in at over 89 mph. Arrighetti’s ERA is down to 1.32, even though he has a 40/25 K/BB in 41 innings. He’s allowed only one homer, even though he’s sporting a 35 percent groundball rate. This run of great luck should come to an end at some point, but it probably won’t be next week in a very favorable road matchup against the Rangers.

King came in with two on and two out in the eighth and got what he thought was an inning-ending groundout, only for Jeremy Peña to make a throwing error. King, though, retired Nico Hoerner on another grounder afterwards and then pitched a perfect ninth. It’s his fifth save, while both Enyel De Los Santos and Bryan Abreu recorded their third holds. King definitely seems like the Astros reliever worth rostering right now, but Josh Hader is still trending to return at the end of the month.

The wind saved Taillon from giving up a homer to Cam Smith in the second, but it couldn’t stop Christian Vázquez’s blast two innings later. Taillon also gave up seven other hits for a .438 BABIP that was more than twice as high as his season mark of .211. He fell to 2-4 with a 5.20 ERA. That his velocity is trending up some is a good sign — he averaged over 92 mph with his fastball today for a second straight start after never once doing so in his first eight — but he’s a tough play in mixed leagues right now. He’ll pitch in Pittsburgh next week.

Crow-Armstrong’s homer off Steven Okert, which accounted for the Cubs’ only runs in a 4-2 loss, was his second off a lefty and sixth overall this season. After a nice start to his month of May, he entered the day in a 4-for-37 slump over his previous 11 games.

Just an ugly game for Suzuki, who had seven men on base in his first three at-bats and did nothing with any of them. He is 7-for-43 with one extra-base hit and 16 strikeouts in his last 11 games, dropping his OPS from .975 to .802.

Hinch also noted that Skubal is now on a five-day progression, simulating where he would be when he’s back on his normal schedule. It sounds like he’s going to require at least one minor league rehab start before returning to the Tigers’ rotation, but it now looks increasingly likely that he’ll be back in early June.

Díaz left Tuesday’s game after he was hit on the fingers of both hands by a pitch from Yennier Cano. X-rays came back negative for any fractures though and he was given Wednesday off as a day to recuperate. He’s right back in there as the Rays’ designated hitter and batting cleanup against Yankees’ right-hander Gerrit Cole on Friday evening in the Bronx.

Lukes has a planned day off from his rehab assignment on Friday. He’ll then play in two games on Saturday and Sunday before joining the Blue Jays to be reevaluated on Monday. If all goes well, he’ll be cleared to rejoin the team then. The 31-year-old outfielder has been shelved since the final week of April due to a left hamstring strain.

Smith is getting some additional testing done on Friday. If he’s forced to head to the injured list, Brenan Hanifee would be recalled from Triple-A Toledo to take his spot in the Tigers’ bullpen. Stay tuned.