MLB Player News

That’s more homers than Ahmed has hit in either of the last two major league seasons. (He had two in 198 PA in 2023, and two in 210 PA in 2024.) Ahmed is competing for a bench spot that probably doesn’t exist at the moment. Perhaps the Rangers could carry him and send down Ezequiel Duran, but that’s not the current plan. Josh Smith is already set to function as the primary utilityman.

Walls returns to Tampa Bay’s lineup after missing three straight contests due to hamstring tightness. He’s back at shortstop and hitting ninth on Saturday afternoon against Angels starter Reid Detmers.

Williamson managed to avoid serious injury after being hit by a pitch on the left forearm during Friday’s series opener in his return from the injured list. The 25-year-old infielder is hitting .272/.357/.342 with zero homers, 14 RBI and four steals through 40 games in his Tampa Bay debut.

Carter takes a seat against righty Seth Lugo with Michael Helman getting an opportunity in center field. The 23-year-old former top prospect has been struggling for a couple weeks, batting .136 (12-for-88) with three homers and five steals over his last 30 games.

Paredes has been struggling of late, hitting .164 (9-for-55) with three homers and five RBI over his last 15 games. Astros manager Joe Espada has opted to move him down in the order after mostly hitting second in recent weeks. It’ll be red-hot sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker moving up to second and third in the order to pick up a few additional at-bats with Taylor Trammell moving into the cleanup spot.

Sulser returns to Tampa Bay’s bullpen following a minimum stay on the injured list recovering from a lower back strain. The 36-year-old journeyman has compiled a respectable 3.68 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 16/9 K/BB ratio across 22 innings of work this season.

Bigge earned a ticket back to the minors following an eighth-inning meltdown against the Angels on Friday night where he allowed all three batters he faced to reach safely and failed to record an out. The 27-year-old holds an abysmal 6.98 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 14/14 K/BB ratio across 19 1/3 innings this season.

Gonzalez gets the call to the majors on his 24th birthday, replacing an injured Munetaka Murakami (hamstring) after a torrid stretch on the doorstep of the majors, slashing .317/.419/.688 with a career-high 19 homers and eight steals across 238 plate appearances over 52 games. He’s absent from Saturday’s lineup with lefty Framber Valdez taking the ball for Detroit. The versatile infielder Chicago’s first-round pick back in 2023 and was a bit of an afterthought prior to this season’s unexpected power breakthrough. It’s worth noting that Triple-A Charlotte was the most pitcher-friendly environment in entire International League last year, according to Baseball America’s park factors. There’s enough evidence based on a noticeable uptick in exit velocity this season to suggest that Gonzalez has made a legitimate breakthrough and could be an impactful fantasy contributor in deeper mixed leagues.

White Sox manager Will Venable said Murakami is likely facing a multi-week absence. The 26-year-old rookie sensation will undergo an MRI this weekend to determine the severity of the injury. He’s been an unexpected revelation in his Chicago debut, slashing .240/.378/.560 with 43 runs scored, 20 homers, 41 RBI and one stolen base across 246 plate appearances through 57 games. There’s almost no precedent in the Statcast era for a hitter combining a near-60 percent hard-hit rate and elite over-the-fence power while also striking out at a clip north of 32 percent. Even so, Murakami hasn’t looked overmatched in his stateside debut and should remain an upper-echelon fantasy contributor if his contact skills hold at a passable level. A more definitive timetable for his return should emerge later this weekend.

Leasure will be out at least two months after hitting the injured list with a right flexor strain earlier this week. The 27-year-old reliever holds a bloated 6.27 ERA across 18 2/3 innings for the White Sox this season. There’s a strong possibility his season could be over given the nature of the injury, which typically results in extended absences.

Meidroth will get a chance atop Chicago’s lineup to face Tigers lefty Framber Valdez with rookie Sam Antonacci hitting ninth. It looks like a matchup-based decision since Antonacci has excelled out of the leadoff spot since being moved there earlier this month. Meidroth has been on a heater at the dish recently, batting .300 (9-for-30) with two homers in his last seven games.