MLB Player News

Yamamoto’s first start of the year was vastly different than his struggle against the Padres in Japan last year. The right-hander gave up an RBI double to Miguel Amaya in the second, but he went unscatched after that frame while striking out four with just one walk. The 26-year-old didn’t have his best command, but that’s easy to justify on a start that took place in the middle of March. Yamamoto should make his next appearance in the Dodgers next series against the Tigers beginning March 27.

Kepler is still serving an 80-game PED suspension announced in January, so he goes on the restricted list for now. The Diamondbacks will have him go on a rehab assignment in the minors and then decide whether they want him to be a part of their outfield. With Jordan Lawlar and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. getting healthy and Ryan Waldschmidt and Tommy Troy still candidates to step up, ideally, they wouldn’t need Kepler at all. But, then, if they thought that would be the case, they probably wouldn’t have made the signing. Kepler hit .216/.300/.391 in 127 games for the Phillies last season, and if he was cheating then, it didn’t seem to do him much good. He doesn’t offer as much defensive value as he used to, either. Maybe he’ll surprise, but he seems like a weak platoon option at the moment.

Benge has his best major league game to date for a second time in a week. The first was when he homered twice against the Mariners on Tuesday. This one was probably more fulfilling, since it came in a victory. It raised his average from .248 to .265 and his OPS from .682 to .733. Benge’s balls in play ranged from 94.9 mph to 106.4 mph, which produced a 389-foot homer. The triple, on a grounder that made it into the right field corner, was his first as a major leaguer.

The surprising velocity jump Manaea enjoyed in his first outing as a bulk guy did not carry over to today; he averaged 89.7 mph with his sinker, which was also his average for the year before he suddenly surged to 91.7 mph Monday against the Mariners. He proved adequate but nothing more than that today, which might increase the chances of him returning to a more traditional relief role after Kodai Senga comes off the IL. Before then, Manaea could face the Braves on Friday or Saturday.

Williams gave up a walk and a double with two outs before striking out Fernando Tatis Jr. to end things. The run is the first Williams has allowed in four appearances since his ugly May 24 outing against the Marlins, when he gave up a walkoff grand slam. He earned a save three days after that, but the Mets haven’t had any save chances in nine games since.

Vásquez missed bats like basically never before at the beginning of the season and got off to a great start, but that seems mostly over now. This was his fifth straight start in which he’s fanned three or fewer, with him totaling 11 strikeouts in 25 innings during the span. His velocity jump has remained intact and he’s still doing a good job of limiting walks, so he might not be completely useless in mixed leagues going forward. However, his ERA, currently at 3.63, will probably continue to climb. He’ll face the Orioles next weekend.

Fermin has two homers and five RBI in two days after opening the season with a .126/.227/.165 line, no homers and four RBI in 119 plate appearances through Friday. Alas, while Saturday night’s homer was huge in a 3-2 win, Fermin didn’t get enough help in a 7-3 loss today. It’ll be interesting to see if the Padres try to ride the hot hand and keep him in the lineup on Monday. He hasn’t started three straight days at any point this season.

Machado has 13 hits in his last 116 at-bats because of analytics, apparently. The Padres continue to show him respect by refusing to bat him lower than fourth in the lineup, but it seems like that needs to change. He’s at just .169/.254/.342 for the season, and while a decent rebound still seems likely, it’s probably time to start thinking of him as more of a .240-.250 hitter going forward.

Soroka allowed three hits, walked two and struck out six for his eighth win. In 13 starts, he’s given up eight runs once, four runs twice and never more than two runs otherwise. That he’s become more of a flyball pitcher while throwing fewer sinkers should have resulted in him giving up more homers, but he’s allowed just five on 17 barrels so far. He’ll take a 3.28 ERA into his next start in Cincinnati.

Cavalli has been an above average starter to date because he’s kept the ball in the yard, but Corbin Carroll and Gabriel Moreno today became the fourth and fifth batters to take him deep this year. Only a modest groundball pitcher (his GB rate is 46 percent right now), he’s due to have less luck in the home run department going forward, though also probably more luck in the BABIP department, considering that he’s at .355 there at the moment. He’s quite intriguing for the long haul and quite fringy for the rest of 2026.

Moreno is hitting .309 with three homers, 12 RBI, 13 runs scored, three steals and nine walks in his last 19 games. He has a good case for being viewed as a top-10 fantasy catcher while healthy.