MLB Player News

Valdez’s slam off Jack Dallas was a 361-foot, opposite-field liner that left his bat at 106.7 mph. An intriguing outfield prospect, Valdez was added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster in November after hitting .286/.376/.520 between High-A and Double-A last year. He’ll likely return to Double-A to open this year, and his chances of getting a look in the second half could hinge on the performance of Jhostynxon Garcia, a rather similar prospect who is clearly ahead of him on the depth chart at this point.

Scherzer returns to take the ball for Wednesday’s series finale against the Phillies at the Rogers Centre following a six-week absence recovering from a forearm strain. The 41-year-old future Hall of Famer’s durability remains his biggest obstacle to sustained fantasy value at this stage of his career, but he’s been an effective starter, when healthy. A wait-and-see approach seems like the best route given his struggles in five early-season starts, but he’ll offer some streaming appeal if he’s feeling right from a physical standpoint again.

Seabold loses his spot on Toronto’s roster with veteran starter Max Scherzer returning from the injured list for Wednesday’s game against the Phillies. The well-traveled 30-year-old struggled in five appearances with the Blue Jays after coming over from the Tigers in a trade back on May 27.

Flores receives the call to back up Endy Rodríguez while starting catcher Henry Davis is away from the club on paternity leave. The 25-year-old went 3-for-15 in seven games with the Pirates last year during his first stint in the big leagues.

Davis will be away from the club for a couple days on paternity leave with Endy Rodríguez handling the bulk of the catching responsibilities.

It doesn’t really make any sense for Toronto to send Varsho to the injured list at this point since he’s already sat out five straight contests. The expectation is that he’ll be ready to return for Friday’s series opener against the Yankees after missing time with a lingering left wrist issue. It’ll be Myles Straw in center field on Wednesday night at the Rogers Centre.

Springer was given a day off to reset mentally during Tuesday’s contest with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. moving up to the leadoff spot in his place. Guerrero is hitting second in this one followed by a red-hot Ernie Clement to face Phillies southpaw Jesús Luzardo.

Griffin told reporters afterwards that he felt fine while throwing at roughly three quarters intensity. The 20-year-old rookie sensation is facing a lengthier absence than originally anticipated after hitting the injured list with a forearm strain back on May 31. It’ll likely take him a couple weeks to ramp up a throwing progression before he’s cleared to return to game action on a minor league rehab assignment, but he remains without an official return timetable for now.

The encouraging development here is that Emerson was able to resume swinging a bat and is optimistic he’ll avoid a trip to the injured list. The 20-year-old top prospect is sitting out his third consecutive game due to back tightness with Cole Young drawing another start at shortstop. Emerson is presumably day-to-day heading into Thursday’s series finale in Baltimore.

Mastrobuoni returns to Seattle’s bench mix as a versatile multi-position specialist after missing the first 10 weeks of the season recovering from a calf strain that he suffered while playing in the World Baseball Classic.

González provides Seattle with a fresh arm for the final two contests of a four-game series against Baltimore. The 26-year-old tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames over four appearances for the Mariners last month during his first taste of the majors.