MLB Player News

The man some call J-Rod was having a rough game before the knock, although it’s worth noting he had a 111 mph lineout earlier in the contest. He was able to come up with a clutch two-out single to knock in Cal Raleigh in the ninth; the second game-tying hit in just 10 games for the 25-year-old. It’s just a matter of time before Rodríguez starts driving the baseball with more regularity, but the mediocre starts are a bit flustering.

The homer was just his third of the season, as Guerrero is hitting .286 with only a .754 OPS through Sunday. He’s been between 23 and 30 homers the past three seasons, so power wasn’t the primary reason fantasy managers used an early-round selection on him. Still, more pop was expected thus far. Guerrero doesn’t have a ground-ball problem this season, but he has an alarmingly low HR/FB% with one of the lowest barrel rates of his career. He’s hit for a high average while striking out as often as he walks, but the hope is that Sunday’s blast helps him find the power stroke he flashed during last year’s postseason. Sunday was his first time batting second after spending the entire season in the three-hole.

Gausman allowed four hits without walking anyone, lowering his ERA to 3.45 while picking up his third win. He’s performed like his usual self so far in 2026, cutting his walk rate for the second straight season. It’s his lowest K/BB since 2022, and the second-lowest of his career. Gausman’s ever-dangerous splitter will take on the Pirates at home in his next scheduled start.

Louis Varland had three outings of 20-plus pitches this week, including a two-inning performance on Saturday. Rogers filled in during the 4-1 win, but the ground-ball-heavy right-hander will return to a setup role moving forward. The submariner signed a three-year, $37 million deal with Toronto this past offseason.

Flaherty entered Sunday with one of the 10 lowest strike rates among 170+ starting pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched. That explains his 5.77 ERA, with indicators that don’t hint at any positive regression unless he simply begins pitching better. The 30-year-old exercised a player option in his contract to remain with the Tigers this past offseason, but he’s in the final year of the deal. He’ll visit his former team in Baltimore for his next scheduled start.

Winn argued for staying in Sunday’s game, but he was lifted. If he can’t go on Tuesday, then Thomas Saggese or Cesar Prieto could start at short.

Varsho’s three-bagger was an opposite-field poke that scored Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from first base. It was the second straight multi-hit performance for Varsho, and fourth in his past eight games. That doesn’t include his walk-off grand slam against the Rays earlier this week, either. He batted in the three-hole on Sunday, but that coincided with days off for George Springer and Kazuma Okamoto. Varsho mostly hits fifth against righties, and his defense keeps him in the lineup against most lefties as well, though lower in the order.

Both hits were singles as the Tigers failed to record an extra-base hit against Kevin Gausman and the Blue Jays’ bullpen. Sunday was Dingler’s 12th straight start as Detroit has kept him in the lineup as a DH when he isn’t catching. His 165 plate appearances so far this year are tied for eighth among primary backstops. Dingler is posting career-best batted-ball metrics across the board, and many of his expected stats are among the best in MLB.

It’s unclear if Woods Richarson will work behind him of if the Twins might try to get through the game without him. Woods Richardson was lit up by the Marlins last time out, leaving him 0-6 with a 7.71 ERA in nine starts this season.

It’s going to be more than a 10-day stay. The plan is for him to shut it down for a spell and then return to full activities in two or three weeks. Colt Emerson will serve as the regular third baseman for now, the Mariners confirmed.

Perez has been pretty quiet, but that wasn’t the case today, as he hit his seventh homer and drove in multiple runs for the fifth time this year. With his strikeout rate up some and his bat speed trending in the other direction, some decline seems to have set in here. Still, it’d be somewhat surprising if he weren’t a top-12 fantasy catcher the rest of the way.