MLB Player News

Garcia’s home run was his 22nd of the year. He hit a three-run shot off Jack Kochanowicz in the first inning. It’s been a rough year for Garcia. He’s hitting .222 with 72 RBI and 11 stolen bases. This is what the floor looks like for the 31-year-old outfielder, who will likely be a steal in drafts next year provided he bounces back.

Cease will hit the shelf after leaving Sunday’s start against the Pirates with mild left hamstring discomfort. The 30-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter isn’t expected to face a lengthy absence, but he wasn’t going to be able to take the ball later this week against the Orioles. The Blue Jays don’t have a ton of starting pitching depth in the upper minors and they’ll have to piece things together against Baltimore later this week. There should be a definitive return timeline once Cease resumes throwing in the near future, but fantasy managers should anticipate a multi-week absence.

Hernández returns for Monday’s series opener against the Rockies after missing the first eight weeks of the season recovering from last year’s elbow issues. The 34-year-old offers a ton of defensive versatility in a bench role, but he can be safely ignored in all fantasy formats.

Espinal loses his roster spot with Enrique Hernández returning from the injured list after hitting just .220 (9-for-41) with one homer and four RBI in 44 plate appearances over 26 games.. The 31-year-old was a surprise addition to Los Angeles’ season-opening roster as a non-roster invitee during spring training. He’s bounced around the last couple years as a bench infielder.

Davis’s fourth homer was a 413-footer to left in his third at-bat of the day. He previously struck out on three pitches and popped up a bunt attempt with no one on base for an out. Davis is hitting just .144/.246/.288 through 119 plate appearances. He has 15 hits in 104 at-bats, which as it happens, is also where he finished at in 2024.

The run came on a Michael Busch homer in the fifth. Mlodzinski allowed five hits, walked three and struck out two. He’s given up a total of five runs in his last four starts, even though he’s struck out only six in 21 innings over the span. Although he’s been very solid with his 3.76 ERA, there is a chance he’ll be sent to the pen to make room for Jared Jones. As is, he’s due to make his next start this weekend against the Twins.

Soto is sporting a 32 percent strikeout rate, and even though his groundball rate is at an all-time low, he’s allowed only one homer in 25 1/3 innings to date. Soto also earned a save on Sunday, so he’ll probably be unavailable on Tuesday. Mason Montgomery or Dennis Santana might close then.

He generated 16 whiffs today and needed only 83 pitches to get his 18 outs. Brown is still winless as a starter, but he’s allowed a total of four runs over 19 innings in his four outings since moving from the bullpen to the rotation. He’s worth rostering in mixed leagues at this point, and he should be playable again versus the Cardinals this weekend.

Alvarez is back at DH and hitting third following a brief one-game absence due to back discomfort. The 28-year-old middle-of-the-order force is hitting .208 (15-for-72) with three homers and four RBI in 21 games since the start of May. Back issues can be tricky and sometimes recurring, but there doesn’t appear to be significant concern moving forward, which is a relief for fantasy managers.

Seiya Suzuki struck out in his place with a lefty in the game in the ninth. Ballesteros was in a 1-for-33 slump, which has cost him some playing time. Still, he has now DH’d in three games in a row after being held out of the lineup in five of the Cubs’ previous six games. He should be back in there on Tuesday after the nice showing today.

Happ was given a mental break in being held out Saturday and Sunday. Besides the walk, his three at-bats today produced an infield pop, a weak grounder and a strikeout, dropping his average to .211. Of course, he’s far from the only Cub floundering during the team’s current nine-game skid.