MLB Player News

Sale pitched well in this game, just not well enough to take down Davis Martin. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d write. Nevertheless, Sale’s velocity was up about two ticks across the board in his homecoming to the south side. While that helped his fastball miss bats, it may have also made it a bit erratic as he struggled more than usual to find the zone with it. In the end, this wound up as more of a good start than a great one for the Braves’ ace. He’s scheduled for a two-start week coming up against the Giants and Brewers with both starts at home.

Freeman was replaced by Enrique Hernández at first base with the Dodgers trailing by five runs entering the sixth inning. He was 1-for-3 at the dish prior to exiting. It feels like a workload management decision by Los Angeles to get the 36-year-old veteran off his feet in a one-sided affair, but he didn’t exactly look comfortable in his final at-bat. We’ll have updates on the situation as they unfold, especially if Freeman’s exit winds up being injury-related.

Cincinnati failed to resolve their crowded outfield situation at the trade deadline earlier this week, but made the decision to promote Rodríguez anyway. The dynamic 22-year-old went 0-for-2 with a walk and scored a run against the Athletics in his big-league debut on Tuesday night. He possesses a fantasy-relevant skillset and is worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues. The big question is whether he’s able to carve out an everyday role over the next few weeks with JJ Bleday, Noelvi Marte, Dane Myers and TJ Friedl still in the mix.

The Cardinals are presumably handling Walker’s situation with an abundance of caution since they have an off-day prior to Friday’s series opener against the Rockies. The 24-year-old rising fantasy star will receive some extra time off to rest and recover as he deals with right knee inflammation. It’s challenging to dismiss the possibility of an injured list stint, but it sounds like Walker will be ready to return later this week.

Ramírez is officially day-to-day with left wrist inflammation. It’ll be rookie Angel Genao taking over at the hot corner in his major-league debut on Wednesday night. Fantasy managers aren’t completely out of the woods regarding a potential injured list trip for Ramírez, but things seem a bit more optimistic at this juncture.

This is now the second straight game with Caballero on the bench. Now that Heliot Ramos is in town and George Lombard Jr. has been called up, it seems that Caballero might be shifting back to being a bench player. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues can hold onto him for a little bit longer given his stolen base upside, but the time may have run out on his consistent fantasy value.

Waldron had put together some solid runs of production since switching to throwing his knuckleball as his primary pitch. However, he had a 7.16 ERA in 32 2/3 innings for the Padres this season. It’s an interesting gamble for the Blue Jays. He’s out of options, so he’ll presumably go right on to the active roster.

A year ago, Grissom Jr. was in the Futures Game. Now he’s looking for a new team. The 25-year-old had breezed through the minor leagues before struggling in Triple-A last season. He was sent back to Double-A this season and has posted a 6.06 ERA in 16 1/3 innings. There will be another team that takes a chance on him as a developmental prospect.

Dotel has a 5.06 ERA in 26 2/3 innings with the Pirates this season. The 23-year-old has slowed down after the impressive beginning to his MLB career, but the future is still bright for him out of the bullpen.

Sisk had been a highly productive reliever for the Pirates before landing on the injured list with elbow inflammation on July 4th.

Ten days away from rehab games would likely mean about three weeks away from returning to the Rangers. That’s a bit longer than was originally anticipated after he was put on the injured list with a left calf strain. There’s still hope that Jung will be back before the end of August, but the uncertainty makes it harder to hold onto him in fantasy leagues where you have no IL spots.