MLB Player News

Lewis gets the second game of the doubleheader off as the Twins continue to have Lewis in maintenance mode since returning from the injured list. The 25-year-old will begin the contest on the bench with Jonah Bride getting the start at third.

Scherzer struck out seven and walked zero while throwing 56 total pitches. It was an effective start for the 41-year-old, who has battled multiple injuries this season. He will likely need at least one more rehab start before being activated, but it’s possible the Blue Jays could trade him away for a lottery ticket prospect at the trade deadline.

With Jose Ramirez back, the Guardians will likely need to use both Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann in the outfield more than the infield, so Watson was the one who got sent down. The 23-year-old hit .239/.264/.341 in 91 plate appearances with nine steals.

Ramírez was placed on the IL with a fractured hamate bone on June 16th, so he has missed just over a month and will be right back out on the field for the Guardians. We could see a bit of a power dip in the first few weeks back, but Ramírez has always hit for power thanks to how often he pulls the ball in the air and not impressive raw exit velocities, so perhaps he can survive the recovery from hamate surgery better than others. Regardless, he should be back in all fantasy lineups.

The rookie has struggled of late, slashing .140/.189/.220 in his last 15 games with a 15/1 K/BB ratio. He’s been mostly solid in his first MLB season, but there remains a chance that the A’s could move Zack Gelof back to the outfield when he returns from his knee injury and keep Tommy White active in the infield. Bolte’s playing time does not seem as guaranteed as it was a few weeks ago.

Chadwick Tromp had already been on the active roster, so he will remain the backup catcher with both Adley Rutschman (wrist) and Samuel Basallo (shoulder) on the injured list. Rodríguez will likely serve as a small-side platoon bat in the short-term.

Basallo was removed from Sunday’s game with shoulder discomfort after a swing, and the Orioles waited to put him on the injured list because fellow catcher Adley Rutschman (wrist) was already there. Now, the team will be without its top two catchers for at least the next 10 days, which means Sam Huff will continue to be the primary backstop in Baltimore.

Mets manager Andy Green said that Holmes will likely need one more start after that. With recent reports that the Mets are likely to try to trade Holmes before the deadline, this timeline means that he may not be able to start in a Mets uniform before August third. Still, the Mets could entice a team to trade for Holmes if the veteran looks healthy and effective in his next two rehab starts, knowing that he would be able to be activated right after the deadline.

With Luis Robert Jr. off the injured list, there was an expectation that the Mets would rotate through their outfielders, but Robert Jr. is on the bench for this one too. Brett Baty will start in right field, which will allow Jorge Polanco to DH and Marcus Semien to play second base. There will be a logjam at certain positions over the next week or so until the Mets can trade some players away.

Lackey was the third overall pick in this month’s MLB Draft and will get the second-highest signing bonus of all time behind Roch Cholowsky, who was taken first overall in the same draft. The slot value for the third pick in this year’s draft was $9.7 million, so the deal is in line with what was expected for the Georgia Tech product.

After a great MLB debut, it’s been a tough rookie season for Ritchie, who now has a 4.50 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 49/33 K/BB ratio in 54 MLB innings. There will likely need to be some pitch mix changes if he’s going to develop into a usable starter for the Braves at the MLB level.