MLB Player News

With Carter Jensen and Salvador Perez seeing regular action as the Royals’ designated hitter, it makes sense for them to carry a third backstop. The 35-year-old was off to a very slow start offensively at the Triple-A level, slashing .219/.286/.250 with zero homers, one RBI and an 8/1 K/BB ratio in 35 plate appearances. His days of fantasy relevancy are in the rearview mirror.

Caglianone had to be removed from Monday’s game with right shoulder soreness. The good news is that the Royals placed Bobby Witt Jr. (back) on the injured list before this game, but not Caglianone, so he may not need to go on the IL after all. We will find out in another day or two. For now, Starling Marte will start in right field and bat seventh while Isaac Collins will start in left field and hit sixth.

Pearson was designated for assignment by the Astros on Sunday after pitching to a 3.60 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and a 16/12 K/BB ratio over 20 innings. The 29-year-old was a former top prospect with the Blue Jays before injuries stalled his progress. This is an intriguing gamble for the Royals.

Blewett has thrown two shutout innings for the Cardinals this season while striking out two and walking two. His velocity is also up two mph from last season. The Cardinals will likely try to sign him back on a minor league deal.

Dobbins was announced as Wednesday’s starter yesterday, so the move to bring him up is now official. This is likely a spot start in a game that needed to be made up due to a rainout. Dobbins has a 4.03 ERA across 22 1/3 innings over five appearances for the Cardinals this season.

It’s fitting that Velazquez is being brought up now since Dodgers’ OF prospect Mike Sirota just recently fell two games shy of tying Velazquez’s minor league record of a 74-game on-base streak. Velazquez, now 32 years old, is hitting .270/.333/.370 with three home runs and 13 steals in 58 Triple-A games split between the Diamondbacks and Royals organizations this year. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2023.

Kolek was originally placed on the 15-day injured list back on July 19th, so he is now no longer eligible to return until about two weeks before the end of the regular season. That makes it seem likely that he will not pitch for the Royals again in 2026. He is also dealing with a family situation that has placed him on the family emergency medical list twice in the last month, so hopefully this also gives him time to be there for his family.

This felt inevitable after Witt Jr. missed Sunday’s game with a back injury, then returned on Monday, only to leave that game early. The Royals have the second-worst record in the American League and are not in playoff contention, so they will likely be cautious with their star shortstop, especially when dealing with a back injury. We may not see Witt Jr. back for a few weeks. Tyler Tolbert will likely continue to play shortstop in his place.

Gonzalez has sat out three of the last five games as the Pirates have faced plenty of lefties, but he’ll be back in the lineup for Game 1 against Gerrit Cole. The bad news is that the Pirates are set to face three left-handers after that: Max Fried, Shota Imanaga, and Matthew Boyd. Gonzalez may play in at least one of those but is unlikely to start more than that.

That would include Kyle Freeland, Michael Lorenzen, and Tomoyuki Sugano. While they may not seem like major additions, they are experienced veteran starters that playoff contenders could look to add as rotation depth for the final months.

Yoshida is slashing .355/.394/.645 in nine games in July with two home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBI, so it makes sense to try and get him as many at-bats as possible in this one. Anthony Seigler, who has been slumping of late, will head to the bench with Romy Gonzalez starting at second base and batting sixth.