MLB Player News

Clemens has been leading off against righties, but he sat out the last two games because the Twins were facing lefties. Today, he was inserted into the seventh spot against Cole Ragans and had the game’s biggest hit through seven innings, singling to right with none on and Victor Caratini on first in the second. Alas, Caratini forgot he was a catcher and was thrown out easily trying to take third on the hit. On the plus side, that allowed Clemens to get to second. Clemens then went on to score the only run until the eighth when he was caught napping with two outs. He thought strike two was an inning-ending strike three and was in no-man’s land when Salvador Perez botched the throw to second, sending it into center and allowing Clemens to score. From there, Clemens continued to involve himself by dropping a foul popup and struggling to handle a couple of bouncing throws to first, which, on one occasion, nearly led to him getting trampled by Perez. In the fifth, he walked and tried to steal second base, only to have his helmet fall off and cut him on the nose during his head-first dive, He was out, though it looked like he might be safe because Bobby Witt Jr. initially tagged the unattached helmet. Finally, Clemens hit one of the Twins’ three consecutive homers off Steven Cruz as Minnesota put the game away in the ninth. He’ll likely be back leading off Friday against Joe Boyle and the Rays.

Given how it looked on the field, that’s actually about the best news that the Cubs and fantasy managers could hear at the moment. Whether or not he’ll require a trip to the injured list will likely depend on how he responds on Friday. Ben Brown would likely be the next man up in the ninth inning if Thielbar is forced to miss any time.

The 25-year-old outfielder was removed from Thursday’s game due to left quad tightness. It appears to be only a minor issue though. Fantasy managers should check back on Friday to make sure, but it sounds like Harris dodged a bullet here.

Swanson has mostly been hitting in the lower third of the Cubs order, and we say mostly about “hitting” as the walkoff upped his seasonal line to just .193/.333/.386. At least the power is still there, but Swanson’s got just one stolen base. He’s more of a quality third middle infielder in deeper leagues than a starting fantasy shortstop at this point.

The Nationals needed to clear a spot on their active roster for the promotion of Riley Cornelio on Thursday and it looks like Fernández drew the short straw this time around. The 30-year-old right-hander posted a 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across four innings in three appearances out of the Nats’ bullpen.

He kept them in it. Marsh’s homers were both solo shots, and he also walked and knocked in another run with a single. Our eternally wet man has now hit safely in three straight and has upped his line to .300/.329/.500 in 79 at-bats. He’s certainly elbowing his way into consideration in shallow mixed leagues, though the Phillies probably platoon him too strictly for him to have major fantasy value. He showed why they do that by striking out in a key spot against Riley Martin in the ninth.

The 25-year-old hurler has been dominant through his first four starts at Triple-A Rochester this season, posting a 2.45 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and a 27/8 K/BB ratio over 18 1/3 innings. He’s set to make his MLB debut on Friday against the White Sox in Chicago. Miles Mikolas had been scheduled to start on Friday, it’s unclear if he’s being pushed back or is being shifted to a long relief role. Cornelio makes for a strong streaming option in deeper mixed leagues for Friday’s debut.

Cubs broadcasters speculated it could be a hamstring the way he was holding it. Thielbar, working as the closer a night after Ben Brown went 37 pitches, gave up a game-tying homer to Adolis Garcia before suffering the injury. The Cubs eventually won in extra innings. If Thielbar misses time — and the Cubs remain committed to Brown as a multi-inning man — we could see a very desperate-feeling closer by committee on the north side.

The entire top of the Phillies pen came in fresh on Thursday, so it’s noteworthy that they used their closer early in a tie game. It was the only hit that Keller allowed in what was otherwise an unremarkable inning. The Phillies would tie the game again in the ninth, but go on to lose in extra innings. Keller remains the safest pick to close in Philadelphia’s pen at the moment.

Staked to a 7-2 lead, Cabrera pitched the seventh and allowed a homer, a single, and a double before Justin Crwaford reached on an error by Alex Bregman. Cabrera’s fantasy managers are fortunate that it went down like that, as it ultimately saved Cabrera from two earned runs on the ledger. The Phillies appeared to be sitting on Cabrera’s changeup as he allowed four hard-hit balls against it and decreased its usage sharply compared to his normal rates. Cabrera compensated by getting a 50 percent CSW with his curveball. Cabrera should be fired up with confidence against the Padres next week.

Nothing underneath the hood here was concerning for Sánchez, but the Cubs pounced all over his sinker, missing it just once in 15 swings and notching seven hard-hit balls against it. He allowed long, loud homers to Michael Busch and Ian Happ. The Phillies got him off the hook for the loss against Chicago’s bullpen late in the game, but not an ideal outing for fantasy purposes. He’ll look to rebound next week against the Giants.