MLB Player News

Blanton gave up five hits while fanning three and walking none. The 31-year-old right-hander has a 2.70 ERA and 8/1 K/BB ratio over 10 innings during Grapefruit League play and appears to be healthy after missing most of the 2011 season due to an elbow injury. The Phillies are reportedly shopping him with the idea of either sliding Kyle Kendrick into the rotation or possibly making a play to bring back Roy Oswalt.

Hassell was one of the top prospects in baseball a few years ago when the Padres made him the eighth overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and was included as one of the main components of the Juan Soto blockbuster trade. The 23-year-old outfielder put together an impressive performance in spring training before hitting .288/.337/.405 with four homers and nine steals in 43 games this season at Triple-A Rochester. He’ll receive his first call up to the majors with Dylan Crews set to undergo an MRI on Wednesday for a lower back issue.

Six Red Sox relievers combined to throw 6 2/3 scoreless innings after Walker Buehler was tossed in the third inning. Devers’ solo shot off Clay Holmes was his third homer in four games. He’s hit .391 with eight homers, 25 RBI and a 19/17 K/BB in his last 23 games, taking his season OPS from .698 to .931.

Chapman got two groundouts and a fly to center in another quick ninth; he’s thrown a total of 13 pitches in getting two saves the last two days. In spite of that, he’ll probably be down Wednesday. Justin Slaten has also worked the last two days, so perhaps Liam Hendriks or Garrett Whitlock could earn a save.

Solo homers from Carlos Narváez and Rafael Devers in the fifth accounted for all of the scoring in this one, sending Holmes to his third loss. He’s given up five homers in his last three starts after allowing none in his first seven. Still, his luck there was bound to run out at some point, and while the homers have come, he’s still allowed a total of seven runs in his last three outings. He’ll take a 5-3 record and a 3.13 ERA into his next start against the White Sox.

Alonso wasn’t going to be able to maintain his April pace all year, but as brilliant as he was while serving as MLB’s second-best hitter for the first 5 1/2 weeks, it’s a little surprising just how hard he’s crashed in these last two; he’s 8-for-51 with three doubles, no homers and a 22/3 K/BB in his last 13 games. He had a 24/25 K/BB in 36 games leading up to this stretch.

Crews told reporters after making an early exit from Tuesday’s game against Atlanta that he’ll undergo imaging for a left side issue in his lower back that he’s been playing through for the past week. The 23-year-old top prospect went deep for the second straight game when he took Atlanta ace Spencer Strider deep in the second inning — his seventh round-tripper of the season — before aggravating the lingering issue further on a checked swing in the fifth inning. There should be an update on his status at some point prior to Wednesday’s game. It’s possible he’ll wind up requiring a trip to the injured list.

Wood has seven hits and three walks in his last four games, pushing his average up to .285 and his OBP to .380. He and CJ Abrams have had to function as a two-man lineup in recent weeks, but the Nationals have won four in a row anyway and improved to 22-27 on the season.

It looked like this might be a short night for Parker after the Braves opened the second with a homer, a groundout and then three straight doubles, but the left-hander recovered quickly and turned in his best performance in a month. He’s now 4-3 with a 4.39 ERA, and he’s due to face the Giants this weekend.

Finnegan retired Matt Olson, Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies without giving up anything well hit. He’s allowed one run and earned six saves in six appearances this month.

Strider, back from a hamstring strain, gave up three runs on four hits in the first and then a solo homer in the second. His velocity was better than in his rehab start, as he averaged 95.4 mph with his fastball and topped out at 97.0 mph. That’s still down about two mph from his 20-win season in 2023, but there’s a good chance he’ll get a little stronger as the year goes along. He’ll face the Padres next.