MLB Player News

Hernández heads to the shelf while continuing to recover from a shoulder issue that ended his season last September. There is no firm return timetable for the hard-throwing 29-year-old reliever at the moment.

White Sox manager Will Venable downplayed concern while speaking to reporters following the contest. Vargas will undergo precautionary evaluation after after being hit in the left hand by a 93.3 mph sinker in the eighth inning of a one-sided affair. He was lifted for pinch-runner Luisangel Acuña at the time, finishing 1-for-4 with a run scored. The 26-year-old, who launched a solo homer during his first career All-Star Game appearance earlier this week, has blossomed into Chicago’s middle-of-the-order force, hitting .245/.356/.490 with a career-high 21 homers, 59 RBI and 11 steals in 95 games this season.

Vogt didn’t rule out the possibility before Friday’s postponement due to poor air quality that Ramírez could return without a minor league rehab assignment. The veteran third baseman is working his way back from left hamate surgery last month and is now nearly five weeks removed from the procedure after initially being given a five-to-seven week recovery timeline. While his return doesn’t appear imminent, he’s already progressed to facing live pitching, leaving open the possibility that he rejoins Cleveland’s lineup within the next couple weeks. It’s an encouraging development for fantasy managers coming out of the All-Star break.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone reiterated on Friday that he believes Judge will return this season, but he remains without a definitive return timetable. The 34-year-old franchise icon told reporters that it’ll be a couple weeks before he undergoes re-imaging to determine his next steps. He remains limited to lower-body work and neck exercises, with no upper-body or overhead lifting at this juncture. He’s been on the shelf with a rib fracture since early June.It’s pure speculation at this point, but even in a best-case scenario, Judge appears unlikely to return before the middle or end of August. There’s also a realistic chance his absence stretches into September. Fantasy managers shouldn’t expect him back anytime soon.

Acuña’s latest minor league rehab game for Triple-A Gwinnett was postponed due to rain on Friday. The 28-year-old is in the final stages of his rehabilitation process from a hamstring strain that put him on the shelf back in early June. The Braves have two games left with the Rangers this weekend before hosting the Padres for a four-game set that gets underway on Monday. It seems highly likely that Acuña will return at some point in the next few days, which is a huge development for fantasy managers coming out of the All-Star break.

The Red Sox extended their winning streak to 11 consecutive games by sweeping Friday’s doubleheader against the division-leading Rays at Fenway Park. Contreras took Tampa Bay reliever Mason Englert deep in the opening frame of the nightcap affair, his first contest back following a five-game suspension for his on-field actions against the Nationals earlier this month. The 34-year-old has served as Boston’s primary offensive catalyst with 21 round-trippers through 89 games. He’s on pace to easily eclipse the 30-homer threshold for the first time in his career becoming the latest example of a veteran right-handed power hitting finding success immediately upon arrival at Fenway Park, much like J.D. Martinez did last decade.

Martin heads to Baltimore after triggering the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with Kansas City. The 30-year-old has yet to reach the big leagues and has spent more than a decade toiling away in the minors. He’s put together a strong season in the upper minors, hitting .284/.414/.441 with eight homers and 33 steals in 255 plate appearances over 64 games this season.

Chaparro’s first homer was projected at 467 feet off José Suarez. He then hit a ball 406 feet off Yunior Tur two innings later. Those drove in five runs and his two singles accounted for three additional runs, giving Chaparro the eighth eight-RBI game in ExpoNats history. The previous two came in 2018, with Trea Turner knocking in eight runs on July 5 and Mark Reynolds driving in 10 two days later in the same series against the Marlins. Chaparro is now hitting .220/.352/.424 in 71 at-bats. He’d typically be on the bench Saturday against right-hander J.T. Ginn, but maybe the huge showing will get him a nod at DH at the expense of Dylan Crews or Jacob Young.

Both runs came on Tyler Soderstrom’s homer in the fourth. Cavalli went without a walk for the sixth time in 21 starts this season and upped his K/BB ratio to 119/32 K/BB in 104 2/3 innings. He might start to run out of gas at some point — his career-high for innings is 123 1/3 — but things continue to look quite good for the short term. He’ll face the Rockies in Coors next week, and while that’s not necessarily a great ERA bet, he should have a pretty good chance at notching another win.

Jump was perfect through two before a walk and three hits produced a three-run third inning. In the fourth, he walked a batter with one out and gave up an RBI double with two outs, resulting in his removal after 87 pitches. It his fourth consecutive loss, leaving him 3-5 with a 3.78 ERA since his callup. He remains one of the game’s most intriguing young pitchers, but in a really tough situation with the A’s, he’s probably just a streaming play at the moment. He’ll likely pitch in Arizona on Wednesday.

It could have been an even bigger night, but Mead lined out while getting to face outfielder Carlos Cortes in the Nationals’ five-run ninth inning. It’s still his first career game with three extra-base hits. He scored four runs for the second time. Mead is 18-for-41 with three homers this month, raising his OPS from .780 to .865.