MLB Player News

McFarland will likely see interest on the waiver wire despite his 6.89 ERA and 1.85 WHIP over 27 appearances. The 36-year-old will be replaced on the A’s roster by Elvis Alvarado.

Pederson, who is absent from the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the Red Sox, told reporters he’s going to attempt to play through the injury with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season. The 34-year-old, who has occupied Texas’ leadoff spot against most right-handed starters, suffered the injury when he was hit by a pitch over the weekend. The Rangers find themselves in a heated race with the Astros for the AL West division title and sit just one game back entering Tuesday’s action.

With the fantasy playoffs in full swing, it’s worth noting that Alvarez is healthy after missing a pair of games late last week with a minor ankle issue. The 29-year-old fantasy superstar is in the lineup to face Royals veteran righty Michael Wacha on Tuesday night at Daikin Park.

Loperfido provides Houston with a left-handed corner outfield option while Taylor Trammell is away from the club on paternity leave.

Trammell will be away from the club for a couple days on paternity leave. He’s operated in a platoon role for the Astros, seeing action against most right-handed starters in an outfield corner.

Garcia offers some appeal in deeper mixed leagues based on his extensive track record of fantasy relevance. However, he’s endured a lost season due to injury with a muscle strain in his left hand and hamstring issues limiting him to just 73 games. He hasn’t come close to replicating last year’s career-high 16 round-trippers, mustering only three long balls in 309 plate appearances.

Lugo heads back to the minors to make room for Maikel Garcia on Kansas City’s active roster. The ex-Angels prospect hit .143 (2-for-14) during a nine-game stint with the Royals.

Basallo takes a seat for the second consecutive game as he deals with an ongoing right shoulder issue. It’ll be Yohel Pozo handling the catching duties in his absence. Fantasy managers should continue to monitor his status for the remainder of the week. With less than two weeks remaining in the season, there’s little incentive to continue rostering Basallo in shallow mixed leagues.

Larnach will miss his second straight contest with left wrist soreness. It’s possible he’ll require a trip to the injured list after being sent for an MRI earlier this week.

Lewis is back handling first base and hitting fifth after missing just one game with shoulder soreness. The 27-year-old has piled up 14 homers and 14 steals in 462 plate appearances this season, but he doesn’t offer enough batting average upside or counting stats to be relevant outside of extremely deep formats.

Culpepper is back at shortstop and hitting second following a relatively brief two-game absence due to a right shoulder contusion after being hit by a pitch over the weekend. The 23-year-old top prospect has delivered a strong .283 (30-for-106) batting average with three homers, 11 RBI and one steal in 30 games since ascending to the majors last month.