MLB Player News

The Royals have yet to make an official announcement. Mazzaro, 25, has a 5.70 ERA in six starts and two relief appearances in the majors this season and should be off the radar in fantasy leagues.

Martinez’s 80-game steroid suspension concluded today, and the Jays decided against rewarding him with a final-week callup, even though he probably belongs on the roster from a talent standpoint. He wound up hitting .304/.360/.522 in 11 games for Triple-A Buffalo while finishing up the suspension. He’ll probably have a chance to compete for a starting job in the infield next spring, unless the Jays load up with veterans.

Although it’s nowhere in the announcement, we assume it’s effective at the end of the season and not immediately with six home games to go. The 38-year-old Blackmon ended up spending his entire career with the Rockies after being drafted in the second round in 2008. His best year came in 2017, when he led the NL with a .331 average, 137 runs scored, 387 total bases and 13 triples in finishing with a 1.000 OPS and placing fifth in the MVP balloting. He made four All-Star teams in his 14 seasons.

Manager Torey Lovullo said Marte was overdue for a night off. Kevin Newman is playing second base tonight.

Great news. Moreno had a setback Sunday with the strained adductor he suffered last month. Jose Herrera is starting in his place tonight. Adrian Del Castillo could be recalled with Moreno limited, but someone would need to go on the IL to make room.

Hayes was hoping to return this month after going on the IL on Aug. 19, but he’s run out of time now. There’s no talk of surgery on his back, but he hopes to be able to better manage his condition going forward. The 27-year-old struggled in 96 games this season, hitting .233/.283/.290 and playing significantly worse defense than usual. It’s possible he’ll surprise next year and get back to playing like he did in the second half of 2023, but it doesn’t really seem like something to bet on at this point.

Alvarez’s X-rays didn’t reveal a fracture, but he is dealing with some inflammation following Sunday’s awkward slide. Maybe he’ll make it back, but we wouldn’t want to have to count on him in fantasy leagues this week. Jason Heyward and Jon Singleton could be in line for extra playing time while Alvarez is out.

Santos was having velocity issues on his rehab assignment, which is why the Mariners were in no hurry to activated him. In his final appearance for Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday, he was down about 3-4 mph from where he was before going on the IL with biceps inflammation. He’ll probably pitch in low-leverage situations initially.

Díaz had pitched just twice since being recalled Sept. 1, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He’ll report to Arizona with the Triple-A season over.

We should know more about Alvarez’s condition soon, but his right knee is sore enough to keep him from DHing tonight, it seems.

He sat out Sunday’s doubleheader with back tightness. Since O’Neill is apparently limited to DH duties, Masataka Yoshida has taken a seat tonight.