MLB Player News

It’s a little surprising McCormick couldn’t get a guaranteed deal, given that there were so few free agent outfielders available capable of handling center field. Still, he has a clear path to a roster spot on the Cubs. McCormick started out strong with the Astros in 2021, putting together three nice years as a semi-regular before struggling and missing times the last two seasons. The 30-year-old is a lifetime .247/.321/.413 hitter, though he’s at .211/.273/.301 in 383 plate appearances since the beginning of 2024. He should be the Cubs’ fourth outfielder, unless Matt Shaw perhaps overtakes him.

It’s an undeniable fact that Tatis hasn’t lived up to fantasy managers’ lofty expectations as a borderline first-round pick in most leagues based on his unexpected power outage. However, he’s at least found a way to be productive in other ways recently, hitting .417 (10-for-24) with two steals over his last seven games. He reached base safely in all four of his plate appearances and picked up his 13th steal of the season in this one. It may be impossible to salvage this season overall, but there’s no reason to think Tatis can’t be an impactful fantasy contributor, just not a five-category superstar, for the rest of the year.

Schwarber took Padres starter Griffin Canning deep to right field in the opening frame for his first big fly since missing three games due to illness last week. The 33-year-old veteran slugger has done most of his damage since the start of May, leaving the yard an astounding 10 times in 20 contests during that span. He’s spent the last few years cementing his legacy as one of the most consistent power hitters of his generation and is on pace to eclipse the lofty 45-homer plateau for the fourth time in the last five years.

Duran got the call to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and managed to work around a two-out single by Ty France, needing just 17 pitches (nine strikes) to end it. The 28-year-old stopper has converted all 10 of his save opportunities this season to accompany a microscopic 1.72 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 23/5 K/BB ratio across 15 1/3 innings of work.

San Diego appeared to have Luzardo on the ropes on several occasions, but he managed to wriggle out of multiple jams with traffic on the basepaths to record his third consecutive quality start since May 14. The 28-year-old southpaw recorded six punchouts and only issued a pair of walks. His signature moment in this one came in the opening frame when he escaped a bases-loaded quagmire by striking out Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill before getting former teammate Nick Castellanos to ground out. He’s in line for a tough assignment to close out a two-start week with a road matchup against the red-hot Dodgers on Sunday.

Canning was burned by the long ball in this one, despite limiting Philadelphia to just three hits into the seventh inning. Unfortunately, two of those left the yard, as Kyle Schwarber drilled a first-inning solo homer and Brandon Marsh added a seventh-inning blast, accounting for all of the damage against him. He struck out five and issued three walks, delivering back-to-back respectable outings on the heels of blow ups against the Cardinals and Brewers earlier this month. He’ll square off against the Nationals in a road matchup to close out a two-start week on Sunday.

Sandlin will likely operate in multi-inning relief capacity for Chicago after posting a 0.75 ERA and 17/6 K/BB ratio across 12 innings across four starts for Triple-A Charlotte. The 25-year-old righty was the big prize the White Sox received from the Red Sox by taking on Jordan Hick’s albatross contract back in February. Sandlin will be making his big-league debut when he gets into a game.

Wood crushed a tone-setting 412-foot leadoff homer to right-center field that left his bat at 107.7 mph, per Statcast. It was his 14th home run of the season and his fourth leadoff blast. He accounted for one of six Nationals homers in a one-sided rout, with Curtis Mead recording his first career multi-homer game while CJ Abrams, Jacob Young and Luis García Jr. also went deep. The 23-year-old emerging franchise cornerstone is putting together a remarkable all-around fantasy campaign, slashing .267/.405/.533 with 47 runs scored, 14 homers, 35 RBI and eight steals through 55 games.

Hoskins took Nationals lefty opener PJ Poulin deep in the second inning for his fifth big fly of the year. He struck out his final three times up in the one-sided affair. The 33-year-old power-hitting first baseman is slashing .190/.338/.388 with five homers and 20 RBI through 44 games in his Cleveland debut.

Mead recorded the first multi-homer performance of his career, as he took Guardians starter Tanner Bibee deep to left field in the opening frame before taking reliever Matt Festa deep in the fifth. The 25-year-old former top prospect has ostensibly taken over as Washington’s primary third baseman since Brady House was demoted to Triple-A last week. He’s hitting .283 (13-for-46) with three homers, eight RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. It’s too small of a sample to draw any firm conclusions, but Mead is talented enough to make an impact in deeper fantasy leagues if he’s finally starting to put it together in the majors.

García extended Washington’s early lead with a second-inning blast against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee before adding a two-run single in the sixth to put the Nationals up by a touchdown and a two-point conversion. It was the 26-year-old infielder’s first time going deep since a two-homer outburst back on May 14.