MLB Player News

This was the Luke Raley game. His third inning grand slam momentarily broke this game open before the White Sox stormed back in the bottom of the frame. Then, he pushed their lead back to four with a three-run home run in the seventh that effectively put this game away. He only has four hits over the past week, but three have gone over the fence and have brought his total to eight on the season along with an .890 OPS.

With Nick Castellanos no longer in San Diego, the Padres have been using Gavin Sheets in left field more often, which has freed up first base for Ty France. Since May 1st, France is hitting .292/.313/.508 in 68 plate appearances with three home runs, 10 RBI, and a 48 percent hard-hit rate. That has also come with a 22/2 K/BB ratio, so it’s not all great news, but he is worth a look in deeper formats if he’s going to be a regular in the lineup.

Today was the deadline for the Red Sox to call up Kahne or risk him using his opt-out clause, which he had told the team he would do. Since the Red Sox have only three pitchers in their bullpen with minor league options (Justin Slaten, Greg Weissert, and left-hander Tyler Samaniego), there was some question about how they would fit Kahnle onto the roster. Plus, adding him to the 40-man roster would also necessitate releasing somebody or putting Trevor Story on the 60-day injured list. At the end of the day, it seems that the Red Sox decided to call up the 36-year-old, who has a 1.40 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and a 21/11 K/BB ratio over 19 1/3 innings at Triple-A.

Massey is now hitting .323/.338/.581 with four home runs in his last 23 games. This year, Massey’s bat speed is up two mph, his average exit velocity (91.2 mph) is 2.4 mph above his career average, and his 10 percent barrel rate is almost three percent higher than his career mark. He’s done that by being a bit less patient and positioning the sweet spot of his bat more towards center field as it travels through the zone, rather than being as pull-side focused. That has allowed him to drive the ball into the gaps, but with exit velocities that can still carry it out of the park when he gets out in front of one. He’s worth adding in deeper formats, given his everyday role, and is also worth a look in 12-team leagues while he’s hitting like this.

The Red Sox are set to face left-hander Trevor Rogers, so Mayer will head to the bench. Even with Trevor Story (abdominal) on the injured list, Mayer continues to sit against left-handed pitching. Today, Isiah Kiner-Falefa will play shortstop with Andruw Monasterio at second base despite Monasterio being just a career .249/.343/.380 hitter against left-handed pitching.

Murphy returns to the minors after posting a lackluster 6.75 ERA across 9 1/3 innings for Chicago this season. The 27-year-old lefty figures to return as a middle relief option for the White Sox at some point this summer.

Tonight’s homer was hit 106.8 mph off Michael Lorenzen. Grissom’s .246/.325/.410 line isn’t spectacular, but his 47 percent hard-hit rate, in combination with a tiny 11 percent strikeout rate, is very impressive. It seems doubly painful that the Red Sox traded Kyle Harrison for Caleb Durbin when they could have just gone forward with Grissom instead.

Ureña struck out seven in another solid outing. He’s allowed a total of nine runs over 39 innings in his last seven starts, and he’s now 3-4 with a 2.68 ERA overall. Ureña is still a tough sell in mixed leagues as a rookie in a tough situation in Anaheim, but he’s emerging as one of the Angels’ building blocks.

Lorenzen has lost his last six decisions, and his ERA is up to 8.01. The Rockies probably don’t have anyone they want to replace him with at the moment, but this can’t go on for too much longer. He’s given up 99 hits in 60 2/3 innings. The next highest total in the majors in 86 hits, and that’s from Sandy Alcantara, who has worked 82 1/3 innings.

It was Madrigal’s fourth start in eight games since he was called up last week, and he’s now 6-for-15 in the span. Somewhat interesting is that Madrigal has hit balls 111.6 mph this spring and 113.6 mph in Triple-A this year. Previously, his hardest-hit ball was 106.9 mph for the Cubs in 2023. Maybe it’s enough to turn him back into a viable major leaguer, but he also has to stay healthy, which has been a big issue.

Freeman took Walbert Ureña deep to extend his hitting streak to eight games, and he’s up to .277/.353/.380 for the season. It was his third homer in 157 plate appearances, giving him one more than he had in 428 plate appearances last year.