MLB Player News

Robertson hit just .129/.173/.143 with a 27/2 K/BB as a 27-year-old rookie with the White Sox and Blue Jays last season, but he was really good in the minors, showing surprisingly strong exit velocity numbers. For the Jays’ Triple-A club, he had a 51% hard-hit rate and topped out at 114.8 mph off the bat. The Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Pirates in December and snuck him through waivers the following month, so he’s destined to begin the season in Triple-A.

Refsnyder returns to a lefty-mashing platoon role with Seattle following a one-month absence due to right knee inflammation.

Kennedy has been booted from Seattle’s roster with Rob Refsnyder back from the injured list after going 1-for-10 at the dish in a handful of games.

Toronto is making more of an effort to manage Okamoto’s workload after he played 93 games before the All-Star break. It’ll be Ernie Clement moving over to the hot corner in his place on Wednesday evening.

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be veteran utility specialist Willi Castro taking over at the hot corner in his absence. There should be an update on his status after the contest, especially if he’s dealing with a physical issue.

Schmitt is slated to undergo an MRI after tweaking his left knee during Monday’s series opener at Oracle Park. It certainly looks like an injured list situation where he’ll miss significant time, but that hasn’t been made official yet. There should be a definitive update on Schmitt’s status at some point this week.

Lee is back patrolling right field and hitting fifth following a two-game absence due to elbow soreness after being hit by a pitch over the weekend. The 27-year-old has delivered a strong .302 batting average with six homers and six steals through 96 games this season.

It’s always challenging to forecast catching prospects and Irish looks like he’s going to be another tough evaluation for dynasty managers, especially since he’s already moved off the position. The 22-year-old was selected 19th overall in last year’s draft after a standout collegiate career at Auburn and hit .286/.388/.528 with 16 homers and 20 steals in 343 plate appearances for High-A Frederick prior to the injury. There’s enough power upside to envision Irish making a real fantasy impact in the next couple seasons. The fact that he can chip in a handful of thefts is also a nice bonus.

Manzardo was 4-for-26 with no extra-base hits and an 11/0 K/BB with the bases loaded in his career before taking Chase Burns deep in the first inning today. The Guardians went on to lose the 4-0 lead, falling behind 5-4 in the fourth, but they manufactured single runs in the fifth and eighth to pull this one out. Manzardo is batting .211/.300/.367 with 12 homers in 340 plate appearances this season, and his strikeout rate has jumped from 25 percent last year to 32 percent right now. He came through today, but his short- and long-term future as a platoon starter should be very much in doubt.

Cecconi was handed a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, but he gave it away in another short outing. He finishes July having allowed 21 runs — 15 earned — in 17 innings over four starts, taking his overall ERA from 4.18 to 4.78. The Guardians could consider sending him to the pen and giving Logan Allen another try.

Since rejoining the Guardians on July 3 for his second big-league stint, the 26-year-old Aleman has allowed one run and struck out 15 in 11 innings out of the pen. The Guardians didn’t really need another breakout reliever, but they certainly won’t turn it down.