MLB Player News

The 33-year-old hasn’t played in the big leagues since the 2016 season. He spent the 2020 campaign with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association where he slashed just .223/.294/.461 with 13 homers, 38 RBI and six stolen bases. He’ll add organizational depth and versatility for the Cubs.

López is expected to have a relatively normal pitch count Saturday after spending the last 2 1/2 weeks on the IL with shoulder inflammation. The Braves are still saving Chris Sale in the event of an elimination game.

Hoskins lives to destroy the Mets. He launched a first inning grand slam after a questionable ball-four put Willy Adames on base ahead of him. That moment of weakness was all Hoskins needed to cast the Mets’ playoff hopes further in doubt. The homer was his 26th in just 130 games this season. Yet, that’s been the extent of his production with a .215/.303/.422 slash line.

The Brewers will likely play this series against the Mets close to the vest with their playoff seed clinched and these same Mets possibly returning next week for the Wild Card Round. With that, Montas only threw four innings. The Mets had plenty of hard contact off him – six of their seven balls in play were hard-hit and their softest was a 92.1 MPH lineout – but couldn’t string together enough hits for a rally. Montas will likely be a central part of the Brewers’ playoff rotation even after an up-and-down few months since they acquired him from the Reds.

Vientos briefly gave the Mets life with his third inning two-run homer to cut the Brewers’ lead to 5-2. Yet, the Mets wouldn’t challenge again until the eighth and never got this game closer than three runs. Alas, Vientos is putting the finishing touches on an excellent season with 27 homers and an .853 OPS in 108 games. It will be fascinating to see where his ADP winds up in drafts this winter.

Manaea just wasn’t right from the jump. Pitching with an extra day’s rest after the Mets strange, rain-filled week, the command of his two-seam fastball was non-existent. He left one right down the middle to Rhys Hoskins who turned it around for a first inning grand slam that set the tone for this game. Without the feel for his two-seamer, Manaea turned to his cutter which he’d thrown exactly one time since July 24th. This was a bad time for Manaea to have his worst start in months – he hadn’t thrown less than 6 2/3 innings in any start since August 10th – as the Mets need every win they can get to get themselves into the playoffs.

Luis Torrens replaced him against the Brewers. It’s poorly timed injury, but he’s just day-to-day for now.

This might’ve been the best Povich has ever commanded his fastball at the major league level. He lived on the hands of right-handed batters and showed no issue moving it high in the zone and was even able to pick off the outside edge a handful of times. It forced six of his seven swings-and-misses as the Twins looked totally disinterested throughout. It’s all hands on deck for the Orioles as they try to piece together their playoff rotation and Povich could be effective next week in more of a long-relief role.

Jones singled in runs in the sixth and eighth. A nice day at the plate, but Jones has been one of the biggest fantasy disappointments after his breakout 2023 campaign with an OPS of .633 that is nearly 300 points behind his .931 mark of 2023. There’s reason to believe he can bounce back, but obviously there’s more risk than hoped for coming into the 2025 campaign.

Hernández hit his 32nd homer of the season with a two-run shot off a completely ineffective Cal Quantrill. That ties a career high for the 31-year-old, and the outfielder will have two more chances for him to set his career high in the friendly confines of Coors Field.

What else is left to say? That’s the 54th homer of the season for the 30-year-old and it went 436 feet to right field. The steal is the 57th, and it’s just a shame there isn’t enough regular season left to see him get to 60-60, although there’s two games left so can’t rule anything completely out. An absolutely spectacular season, and thank goodness we finally get to see him play in a postseason next week.