MLB Player News

Interesting. On Tuesday, Roberts said that Betts would return to his shortstop position upon his return. Now he’ll be playing right field instead. The Dodgers’ skipper noted that he had a long discussion with Betts about it, and the versatile 31-year-old is more comfortable in right field at the moment — which also affords the team the luxury of keeping Gavin Lux at second base with some combination of Miguel Rojas and Amed Rosario covering shortstop for now. Either way, it’ll be a welcomed sight for fantasy managers to have Betts back in their lineups next week.

The ball got the top of Emerson’s foot, just below the extension on his shin guard. Hopefully, the top prospect is day-to-day. He might have been in line to make his MLB debut next week if Brendan Donovan required an IL stint, but it looks like Donovan is going to be OK.

Brandon Lockridge pinch-ran for him after a fourth-inning single. A Frelick IL stint might get Luis Matos a look; he’s thus far been on the bench in four straight games since being acquired from the Giants.

It sounds like Donovan, who was relieved to find no problem related to the hernia surgery he had after last season, might be back in there Sunday or Monday. Leo Rivas is playing third base in his place tonight.

The hope for fantasy managers is that this type of effort finally gets Carpenter going after an ice-cold start to the year that seems to have cost him the leadoff spot. The 28-year-old slugger took Cardinals starter Dustin May deep for a two-run homer in the opening frame before adding a sacrifice fly a couple frames later. He stands to benefit from a run-producing opportunity standpoint hitting in the middle of Detroit’s lineup with young standouts Colt Keith and Kevin McGonigle getting on-base consistently.

Is the breakout finally happening? It’s way too soon to say anything definitive, but the early returns have been extremely encouraging. Walker’s fifth-inning grand slam off Tigers reliever Drew Anderson left his bat at 113.7 mph and traveled 459 feet into the left-field seats. It was his first career grand slam and trimmed St. Louis’ deficit to a single run at the time. The 23-year-old former top prospect’s three-hit performance raised his early-season batting average to .296 with two homers and eight RBI through eight games.

Flaherty continues to struggle throwing strikes and working through opposing lineups a third time. He was all over the place against his former team in this one, throwing just 47 of 86 pitches for strikes while handing out four walks and hitting three batters. He finished with six strikeouts but was unable to complete five frames against an underwhelming Cardinals lineup. He’ll bring a lackluster 7.56 ERA into a road tilt against the Twins on Thursday afternoon.

Not great. May took a 104-mph line drive off his lower right left from Tigers leadoff man Colt Keith but was able to remain in the contest. That decision led to the floodgates opening with seven hits, including a pair of homers, before he was pulled in the fourth inning at 79 pitches. He served up a two-run homer to Kerry Carpenter as part of a 33-pitch opening frame and gave up a two-run blast to Zach McKinstry in the fourth before departing. He struck out four and handed out two walks. He’ll bring a preposterously high 15.95 ERA into a home outing against the Red Sox on Friday. He’s the definition of a stay-away for fantasy purposes.

Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports that Donovan underwent imaging Saturday, and the team is still processing the results. The 29-year-old will miss the the contest against the Angels, and if he does need a trip on the injured list, it could open up a spot for top prospect Colt Emerson. Fantasy managers should be prepared.

Reynolds knocked a base hit in the first inning, then reached on an error and scored in the fourth. After drawing a walk in the fifth, he doubled in the bottom of the ninth and scored the game-winning, walk-off run on a double by Nick Yorke. The 31-year-old outfielder is 8-for-34 (.235) with a pair of homers in the early going.

A day after pitching the eighth, Santana was summoned in the ninth on Saturday in a tie game. He pitched a clean inning, striking out the final batter before the Pirates walked it off in the bottom of the frame to give Santana the win. Gregory Soto was likely unavailable after pitching in three of the last four games. The early usage has raised questions surrounding Santana’s role. He and Soto seem likely to work in a matchup-based committee.