MLB Player News

It’s about time. The Mariners gave Andrew Knizner a major league deal earlier this winter, apparently because they felt that with having baseball’s best catcher as their starter, they could get away with its 80th-best as his backup. Garver, who, according to MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer, will earn $2.25 million if he makes the team, should overtake Knizner and slide into his old role, though he probably won’t see much time DHing against lefties as he has at some points.

The Cubs’ closer is progressing in his recovery from a minor flexor strain in his right elbow, but the club is going to take a cautious approach and not push him too quickly. Expect the Cubs to continue to patch together the ninth inning in his absence with Jacob Webb the most likely candidate to accrue saves.

As reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan on Saturday evening, the 40-year-old slugger joins the Braves on a minor league deal. He’ll report to Triple-A Gwinnett where he’ll function as insurance in the even that Dominic Smith’s recent struggles continue. Santana was just 2-for-24 (.083) with eight strikeouts in his limited action with the Diamondbacks before being released on Friday.

A’s skipper Mark Kotsay told reporters afterwards that it was bothering Soderstrom enough that they had to pull him from the game. He’ll be re-evaluated on Sunday. It sounds like it’s possible the 24-year-old slugger could wind up missing some time with this one. At the very least, expect him to get the day off in Sunday’s series finale against the Halos.

Short was designated for assignment on Wednesday when Francisco Lindor returned from the injured list. It’s unclear if the 31-year-old infielder will accept the outright assignment or hit the open market once again and continue his tour around the league.

The 27-year-old defensive specialist has been shelved since early June due to a left hamstring strain. He should only need a handful of games there before he’s ready to rejoin the Astros, provided there’s a spot available for him on the bench.

The 23-year-old right-hander has been sidelined since June 13 with a right lat strain. He’s only expected to need a couple of tune-ups in the minor leagues before he’s cleared to return. On the season, Dotel holds a 5.89 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 19/9 K.BB ratio over 18 1/3 innings with the Pirates.

He went 0-for-3 with three fly outs in his first game on Saturday. Fraley has been sidelined since May 16 after undergoing surgery to repair a hernia. He’s expected to play in a few games there before moving his rehab assignment to Triple-A Durham next week. He appears to be on the fast track in his recovery and could wind up rejoining the Rays before the All-Star break.

Teng was knocked around for five runs (four earned) over 3 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Tigers on Saturday. With Cristian Javier set to rejoin the rotation next week though, he became expendable. He’ll continue to serve as extra rotation depth for the Astros at the Triple-A level.

Adell is fifth in the majors with 12 HBPs this year, which has helped him post a mediocre .297 OBP in spite of a horrid 81/10 K/BB in 350 plate appearances. It’s odd that he hasn’t hit for more power while showing excellent bat speed and striking out less than usual, but there’s time for things to turn around. He’ll certainly continue to get all of the playing time he can handle on a non-contending Angels team.

Detmers struck out eight. He isn’t a great bet in shallow leagues while continuing to toil for the hapless Angels, but the good news is that it seems quite likely that he’ll be traded to a contender next month. It’s entirely possible that he’ll be a top starter down the stretch if that happens. He’s due to face the Red Sox next weekend.