Eli

White

Yoshida was feeling so under the weather on Sunday that he wasn’t even at the ballpark with his teammates. He’s back in the dugout on Sunday and could be available off the bench. Wilyer Abreu is functioning as the team’s designated hitter on Sunday with Eli White starting in right field and batting eighth against J.T. Ginn and the Athletics.

Abreu receives some extra time off to recover after being hit by a pitch above his shin guard during Friday’s game. It was a bit surprising to see him on the initial lineup card in the first place with rookie left-hander Gage Jump taking the ball for the Athletics. The 27-year-old has put together a phenomenal season, slashing .256/.331/.462 with 20 homers, 62 RBI and seven steals in 429 plate appearances over 113 games. It’ll be Eli White moving over to right field with Jarren Duran getting into the lineup in the opposite corner. Fantasy managers should consider him day-to-day for now.

The Red Sox are going to roll with Eli White and Jahmai Jones as their lefty-mashing specialists, in addition to Nick Sogard seeing regular time at second base, with Gonzalez going to the minors in the wake of their trade deadline moves. The 29-year-old infielder has hit just .185 (12-for-65) with one homer, seven RBI and one steal in 19 games this season.

White bolsters Boston’s bench mix and should get some chances against left-handed starters over the final two months. The 32-year-old has been a key role player for Atlanta over the last two years.

The Braves wanted to add an outfielder who could start against lefties, and Thomas fits nicely there, as long as they don’t get overexcited and start using him versus righties, too. Thomas has an .800 OPS against lefties and a .660 OPS against righties this year. For his career, he’s at .850 against lefties and .669 versus righties. The Braves didn’t have to part with any top prospects, so it’s a solid pickup. With Thomas in the mix, the Braves might move on from Eli White. Isaac Collins and Josh Rojas should get more time in Kansas City with Thomas out of the mix.

White missed the first three games of the week to be with his family. He’s hitting .227 with four homers and four steals in 119 plate appearances for Atlanta this season.

White will be away from the club for a couple days on paternity leave. The 32-year-old has been a strong fit with Atlanta as a reserve outfielder the last few years. He’s delivered a respectable .227 (25-for-110) average with four homers and four steals in 119 plate appearances over 53 games this season.

White got the start in right field against the left-handed Sean Manaea. That paid off right away, as White took Manaea deep for a solo homer in the second inning. With the bases loaded in the third, he cleared them all with a double to drive in three more runs. The 32-year-old outfielder is on the short side of a platoon, hitting .229/.274/.404 with four homers and 18 RBI across 117 plate appearances.

It had looked like Harris would miss his third straight game due to a nagging back issue, but he worked out before the game and decided he was able to give it a go. He’ll start in center field and bat fifth for the Braves with Mauricio Dubon shifting to left and Eli White being removed from the team’s starting lineup.

It’s another start for Eli White in Harris’ absence as he simply can’t seem to shake this back injury. Harris probably will get another shot to play over the weekend if the Braves like where he’s at, but shutting him down a few days makes sense giving how long this has lingered.