MLB Player News

The contract is a major-league deal, with an additional $250,000 in incentives, so the 37-year-old Pham will be firmly in the mix for a starting outfield job in Pittsburgh. 2024 was a busy season for Pham, who hit .266/.330/.380 with five home runs and six steals in 297 plate appearances for the White Sox before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the trade deadline. When the Cardinals fell out of playoff contention, they placed Pham on waivers after just 77 plate appearances. He later signed with the Royals and struggled to a .228/.250/.337 slash line in 104 plate appearances. Pham is a career .258/.346/.427 hitter who can play all three outfield spots, so he likely gives the Pirates a better bat in right field than Joshua Palacios or even Henry Davis, both of whom were expected to compete for that role.

Santander took a couple games off earlier this week due to lower back discomfort. He’s technically in the mix for a postseason roster spot, if Toronto makes it that far, but he’s barely played over the last two years due to shoulder issues. He’s more of a complete Wild Card as opposed to a sure thing at this stage of his career.

Ward has received some buzz as a potential postseason roster candidate given his game-changing speed on the bases. The 27-year-old speedster would provide the Red Sox with a legitimate weapon off the bench, which could wind up making the difference in a shorter playoff series, especially since they’re struggled to score runs at times. He’s a name to watch in the next couple weeks.

Eldridge, a surprising scratch Friday, banged his head on a low-hanging ceiling at the Giants team hotel. However, he passes tests afterwards, and it sounds like he might have played tonight if the Giants were in the race.

Rebounding nicely from a couple of subpar outings, Glasnow allowed just three hits and three hard-hit balls tonight. He’s now 5-1 with a 3.46 ERA. His last start of the regular season will likely come Thursday against the Padres.

Expectations are low for Díaz at the moment, but he was sharp tonight in throwing 12 of his 17 pitches for strikes while pitching with a six-run lead. He averaged 97.6 mph with his fastball, with his 1.3 mph better than his season norm, and he lowered his ERA from 11.85 to 11.05.

Perdomo did a nice job limiting the damage in an outing in which he allowed six hits, walked three and struck out just one. He’ll probably make a final start next week against the Twins.

We don’t want to jump the gun, but it sure looks like DePaula is going to be on the Dodgers’ postseason roster, even if he’s not a starter following Shohei Ohtani’s return. He’s at .238/.448/.476 with a ludicrous 2/8 K/BB through 29 plate appearances.

France is now hitting .301, though he’s going to need 37 plate appearances in the Padres’ final eight games to qualify for the batting title. He’s just a little short of the leaderboard at the moment or else he’d be seventh in the majors in average and ninth with an .887 OPS.

Pivetta allowed four hits, walked one and struck out four to win for the second time in three starts since coming off the IL. He got up to 76 pitches tonight after throwing 63 and 69 in his first two starts back. Things are lined up for him to face the Dodgers next week and then start Game 2 of a potential Wild Card series for the Padres.

The Marlins are still being very aggressive, even though the postseason is almost certainly out of reach, and that meant yanking Phillips with a 1-0 lead in the fourth tonight. Cade Gibson did finish that inning without a run scoring, but then he and Tyler Zuber combined to give up six runs in the sixth. Phillips was also pulled in the fourth last time out. He has a decent enough 4.08 ERA in his 19 starts, but the Marlins don’t trust him to pitch more than twice around the order. He’ll face the Cubs next.