MLB Player News

Slusser adds that Matos will not make San Francisco’s season-opening roster and needs to pass through waivers since he is out of minor-league options. It’ll be Jared Oliva securing a spot on the Giants’ season-opening roster in his place. It’s possible he’ll go unclaimed on waivers and remain with the organization as extra depth.

No word yet on the reason for the move. It’ll be rookie Sean Keys moving over to cover first base with Ernie Clement at the hot corner and Luis Urías entering the lineup at second. Guerrero has been through a tough season at the plate with just four home runs across 81 games. There should be an update on his status shortly.

It’s phenomenal timing for fantasy purposes as Hicks returns to Miami’s lineup for Tuesday’s showdown against the Rockies at high-octane Coors Field. The 27-year-old has been one of the most impactful backstops in fantasy this season, hitting .278/.359/.472 with a career-high 13 home runs, 53 RBI and one steal in 288 plate appearances through 73 games before requiring a trip to the injured list with a lower back strain on June 20. His return should add some additional thunder to the heart of the Marlins order.

Brzykcy rejoins the Marlins bullpen mix with setup man Anthony Bender hitting the injured list with a stress reaction in his shin. The 26-year-old righty has had a couple stints with Miami but has yet to pitch in a game this year.

No word yet regarding how much time Bender will miss. It’s another hit to Miami’s high-leverage relief depth as Bender has been a valuable bridge to closer Pete Fairbanks. The 31-year-old has notched a pair of saves along with a pristine 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 41/12 K/BB ratio across 34 1/3 innings of work this season.

Pauley loses his spot on Miami’s active roster with Liam Hicks returning from the injured list for Tuesday’s game against the Rockies. The 25-year-old corner infielder has hit .176 (16-fo-91) with one homer, 11 RBI and one steal in 36 games for the Marlins this season.

Valdez has been moved up to the prime spot in the lineup behind future franchise cornerstone Konnor Griffin as he draws his fifth start in the last six games for Pittsburgh. He’ll attempt to extend his home run streak to a remarkable fifth consecutive game on Tuesday night against Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez at hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park. The power-hitting 22-year-old rookie is going to strike out a bunch, but his over-the-fence pop is extremely real. He was the star of last year’s Arizona Fall League and simply hasn’t stoped demolishing baseballs ever since. He’s shown enough in-game pop and is playing often enough to merit a roster spot in deeper fantasy leagues.

Nicky Lopez is at second base to face Guardians righty Tanner Bibee. Cauley went 1-for-3 with a triple and a pair of runs scored in his major-league debut on Monday night in Cleveland. The versatile 23-year-old figures to play regularly against left-handed starters and possesses an interesting mix of fantasy-relevant tools, most notably elite speed on the bases. He’s a name to watch in deeper mixed leagues in case he’s able to carve out a semi-regular role with the Rangers in the coming weeks.

Antonacci takes a seat following 10 consecutive starts in left field since June 19. The 23-year-old rookie has settled in nicely as Chicago’s top-of-the-order table-setter, hitting .291/.391/.413 with 43 runs scored, four homers, 22 RBI and 11 steals in 263 plate appearances through 65 games. He’s definitely lived up to fantasy managers’ most optimistic projections. It’ll be Kyle Teel moving up to the leadoff spot with Junior Perez in left field on Tuesday night.

Greene returns to spearhead Cincinnati’s rotation after missing the first three months of the season recovering from surgery to remove bone chips and loose bodies from his pitching elbow back in early March. The flame-throwing 26-year-old’s velocity was where it needed to be and he threw 82 pitches over 6 1/3 innings during his final rehab start for Triple-A Louisville last weekend. Needless to say, he’ll provide the Reds with a massive injection of life heading into the second half and should make a similar impact for fantasy managers.

Díaz is back at DH and hitting leadoff, as expected, following an early exit from Sunday’s contest against the Diamondbacks with a left shoulder strain. It doesn’t appear to be a significant concern for the 34-year-old on-base machine, who has been at the epicenter of Tampa Bay’s stellar first half along with young slugger Junior Caminero. It’s a situation fantasy managers should closely monitor, but it doesn’t seem like Díaz is going to wind up missing any game action for now.