MLB Player News

The definition of a lottery ticket, Lugo heads to Minnesota after posting a .265/.327/.430 triple-slash line with four homers and four steals over 44 games this season for High-A Greenville. He’s an intriguing talent, but isn’t one of the more highly-regarded prospects in Boston’s absolutely loaded minor league system.

Arrighetti came out of Sunday’s rehab outing fine from a physical standpoint after allowing two runs over 3 2/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo. The 26-year-old was diagnosed with Morton’s neuroma, a condition that leads to swelling around the nerves, in his right foot earlier this month. There’s a chance he’s ready to make his Blue Jays debut later this week, but that won’t be made official until after his upcoming bullpen session.

It was widely assumed that Correa would miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his ankle back in mid-May. Now, it seems like there’s a decent chance he’s back at some point in September. He was cleared to resume swinging a bat earlier this month and is probably close to starting a minor league rehab assignment in the next few weeks.

Jung has progressed to jogging in addition to fielding ground balls and hitting as he makes his way back from a calf strain that put him on the shelf in late July. It’s taken much longer than originally anticipated for him to ramp up baseball activities. He’s at least a couple weeks away from making it back to the Rangers’ lineup.

Leiter fired 2 2/3 scoreless frames for Triple-A Round Rock last Thursday. The 26-year-old is working his way back from surgery to remove loose bodies from his right ankle back in late June. He’ll continue building up his arm strength and pitch count in the minors this week. There’s a decent chance he’s ready to rejoin the Rangers’ rotation by late August or early September.

Houck is probably going to wind up pitching in relief during the final month of the season given Boston’s rotation depth. He’s been working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery and should be ready for a rehab assignment in the near future.

With the NL MVP Award race heating up between Ohtani and Cubs rising superstar Pete Crow-Armstrong, a return to the mound would be the unexpected X-factor that could swing things in the two-way talent’s favor. He remains without a definitive return timetable to pitching in games for the Dodgers, but he’s inching closer. There should be a clear timeline once he progresses to facing hitters in live batting practice in the coming weeks.

Sheehan is slated to pitch in relief for the Dodgers down the home stretch. He’ll be available for Tuesday’s game against the Rockies at Coors Field behind starter Eric Lauer. The 26-year-old former starter is back in the majors after spending a couple weeks in the minors. He offers very little fantasy appeal as a multi-inning reliever, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see his stuff play up in shorter bursts out of the bullpen.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Díaz is headed back to Los Angeles to undergo further evaluation that will determine his next steps. The 32-year-old former elite closer has been an unmitigated disaster during the first year of a three-year, $69 million contract, recording an 11.85 ERA across 13 2/3 innings. He heads back to the shelf after being clobbered for 11 runs over 7 2/3 innings since returning from the injured list back on July 29. The lone encouraging takeaway is that he’s not dealing with any issues related to his surgically repaired elbow. Tanner Scott seems like the most logical candidate to handle the closing duties for the Dodgers over the final six weeks of the season.

It’s not hyperbolic to say that the Athletics were crushed by injuries to key offensive contributors this season with Soderstrom joining Brent Rooker (knee), Nick Kurtz (thumb) and Shea Langeliers (knee) among those to miss significant time. The 24-year-old hit the injured list with a hip impingement over the weekend and will miss the final six weeks of the year. He finishes with a .245/.338/.472 slash line with 58 runs scored, 19 homers, 56 RBI and two steals across 453 plate appearances in 109 games. He’ll be a top 30-40 range outfielder in fantasy drafts next spring.

Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters Keaschall could get a more extended look atop the lineup, especially against left-handed starters, for the remainder of the season. The 24-year-old former top prospect got off to an ice-cold start at the plate, but has hit .290 (79-for-272) with six homers and seven steals in 86 games since the start of May. A permanent move atop Minnesota’s lineup would be a significant boost to his long-term fantasy value.