MLB Player News

The 29-year-old was signed out of the Mexican Independent League after hitting .591/.654/1.136 in 26 plate appearances with three home runs and 10 RBI. He’ll likely serve as a utility player in Triple-A and be a fallback option for the Dodgers at multiple spots in the field.

Early is working his way back from elbow inflammation, and forearm tightness that cropped up during his rehabilitation process, which sent him to the injured list when he was still with the Red Sox back in late June. There’s a chance he makes his Nationals debut before the regular season concludes, but his odds of making a fantasy impact are virtually nonexistent. The biggest takeaway here is that Early should have a normal offseason and begin next year in Washington’s rotation.

Bello also walked two and struck out seven while throwing 60 percent of his pitches for strikes and posting a 12 percent swinging strike rate. Bello threw just 60 percent of his sinkers for strikes, and getting ahead with his fastballs has been a continuous issue for him. However, Bello’s sweeper was electric in this one, posting a 26 percent swinging strike rate and a 44 percent CSW. He’s never had marks that high while also throwing his sweeper over 20 percent of the time. It was a nice start for Bello, who could work in some relief capacity over the weekend as well.

Rodriguez threw just 61 percent of his pitches for strikes in this one with a 23 percent CSW. His changeup posted just a 50 percent strike rate, and that has been one of his best pitches this season. On a positive note, he did post a 15 percent swinging strike rate on his curveball, and he has struggled for most of the season to get whiffs on his breaking balls. Rodriguez will take a 6.28 ERA into a start against the Nationals on Sunday, and wejust can’t recommended using him in that game.

Ewing had been in a prolonged slump, but he now has a modest four-game hitting streak that has seen him go 7-for-15 with one home run and five RBI. Perhaps the rookie is starting to adjust back to how MLB pitchers are attacking him. The 22-year-old has a solid .247/.319/.365 slash line in his rookie season, which began with him at Double-A.

Pauley has now started three straight games at third base and four of the last five. He has not been super productive in those five starts, going 3-for-15 with two home runs, seven RBI, and a 3/3 K/BB ratio. He’s tough to trust in fantasy leagues right now.

While the four runs on four hits is not ideal, three of those runs came on a home run by Graham Pauley in the second innings. Tong struck out seven on the day while walking only one and posting an 18 percent swinging strike rate. Tong threw 63 percent of his pitches for strikes, which is in line with what he’s done in his previous starts for the Mets, but his four-seamer got plenty of called strikes, which put him in good spots to get swinging strikes with his changeup and cutter. He’ll get a bit of a stiffer test next week against the Orioles.

Pérez has now allowed 18 runs (16 earned) on 21 hits in 11 2/3 innings in his last three starts. Those starts have come against the Nationals, Royals, and Mets. For the second straight game, Pérez simply couldn’t find the zone. He threw just 44 percent of his pitches for strikes after throwing just 42 percent in his last outing. The four-seamer was really the only pitch he could consistently throw for strikes, so even though he had a 13 percent swinging strike rate and had five strikeouts, he also walked three and was simply too ineffective. He’s up to 140 innings on the year after throwing 95 last season, so perhaps he’s dealing with some fatigue. Regardless, he’s tough to trust against the Dodgers this weekend.

Bichette is much-maligned, but the third baseman has gone 52-for-181 (.287) since the All-Star break with six home runs, 23 runs scored, and 21 RBI in 46 games. Similarly, he has graded out far better as a defender at third base this season than he was at shortstop over the last two seasons in Toronto.

Murphy will remain on the doorstep of the majors after wrapping up a minor league rehab assignment. The 28-year-old lefty hit the injured list with a flexor strain back in early August.

Ruiz is back handling the catching duties for the second time in three games after missing time for precautionary reasons with a possible head injury last week. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern moving forward.