MLB Player News

Not exactly a stunner. A then-26-year-old Fletcher signed a five-year, $26 million deal with the Angels in 2021 and immediately declined. The Angels gave up on him two years later and then got the Braves to take him by accepting Evan White’s similarly ill-fated contract in return. He’s since been in the news twice, first for getting caught up in the Shohei Ohtani/Ippei Mizuhara betting scandal and then when he tried to reinvent himself as a pitcher (he wound up with a 6.39 ERA and a 42/44 K/BB in 100 innings between Double- and Triple-A). He resumed playing the infield last season, but he hit just .180/.213/.268 in 67 games for Gwinnett.

Miller struck out three and walked one, lowering his ERA to 4.01. It wasn’t the most efficient effort, but it was a step in the right direction after allowing five earned runs or more in three consecutive starts. Miller was phenomenal in his initial return from injury this season, but he entered Wednesday with a 7.18 ERA in the second half. He was going to be sent to the bullpen recently, but Emerson Hancock’s injury reopened a rotation spot. He’ll draw the Rangers at home next time out.

Sandoval struck out two, needing 80 pitches to record 12 outs. The left-hander was making his 10th start since returning from elbow surgery, and he’s up to a 4.41 ERA. A seven-run debacle against the Pirates in mid-August is doing a lot of the damage. Still, Sandoval doesn’t have much fantasy upside next time out against his former team, the Angels.

Bello gave up two walks and didn’t strike anyone out. He threw 94 pitches on Saturday, so the turnaround might’ve been a little quick. Until recently, he had one of the best ERAs among all relievers, but he’s now been hit hard twice in a row. He wasn’t that efficient in the outing before those either. Bello won’t pitch again until Sunday at the earliest, but fantasy managers might not want to rely on streaming him for ratios.

Naylor entered last season with 25 career steals, and he surprisingly swiped 30 in his age-28 campaign. That led to plenty of offseason discussion about whether the aggressiveness could continue with another year in Seattle. He’s up to 26 thefts with three and a half weeks to play, but he’s been caught seven times after just twice last season. Naylor’s batting average and counting stats have also declined from a season ago, tying his fantasy value to an unusual source of speed at first base.

That makes four consecutive multi-hit games since Anthony returned from the injured list on Sunday. His homer against Seattle was his first since coming back and his second for the year. Anthony is now 9-for-18 with four extra-base hits in that span. He’s hit leadoff in each of those games, a role he’ll likely carry through the rest of the season.

Pages is going to need at least a couple weeks before he’s ready to return to Los Angeles’ lineup after undergoing surgery to repair a left hand fracture in late August. The widely-held expectation is that he’ll be ready for the start of the postseason. He can be safely dropped in all redraft fantasy formats.

Jose Siri takes over in left field with Lowe getting the night off. The 28-year-old corner outfielder has played almost exclusively against right-handed starters in his Angels debut, posting 10 homers and seven steals in 290 plate appearances. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

Treinen returns to the Dodgers’ late-inning mix following a 10-week absence due to elbow inflammation. The 38-year-old veteran holds a serviceable 3.52 ERA across 23 innings of work this season. He’s been a reliable high-leverage option for Los Angeles when he’s been healthy over the last couple years.

It’s was always a bit unclear how exactly Lauer would fit into Los Angeles’ pitching equation heading into the postseason. He’s probably going to miss at least a few weeks, if not longer. There should be some clarity on his status in the coming days. He was lit up for seven runs over three innings in a loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday night. It’s most likely going to be Emmet Sheehan coming up to fill his rotation spot against the Nationals on Sunday.

Klein hit the injured list with elbow discomfort back on August 1. He’s done for the rest of the regular season. The procedural move frees up a spot on Los Angeles’ 40-man roster for veteran reliever Blake Treinen.