MLB Player News

Contreras has been added to the Padres’ 40-man roster and will be protected from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The 21-year-old righty missed the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John elbow reconstructive surgery last fall.

This one shouldn’t have been so close, given that the Phillies outhit the Cubs 12-4 in regulation and 16-5 by game’s end. Some baserunning mistakes set them back, though. Marsh was out of the lineup against a lefty, as per usual, but he entered the game in the seventh and wound up with his first career walkoff hit with the bases loaded and no outs in the 11th. He was facing just a two-man outfield at the time, but his shot to center left the bat at 105 mph and traveled 380 feet; even if Pete Crow-Armstrong had been playing straight up, he probably wouldn’t have been able to get to it.

He left with a one-run lead, but it was blown by Matt Strahm in the eighth. Wheeler had a little extra velocity tonight after missing a turn for the birth of his child, averaging 96.6 mph with his fastball. He got 17 missed swings, including nine on his 42 fastballs, and he struck out seven. He’ll probably make his next start Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Romano had given up single runs in three straight appearances, taking losses twice, so he needed a rebound outing, even if he was rather unlucky in the losses. The easy inning tonight should keep him in line for save chances. It also doesn’t hurt his cause that Matt Strahm blew a one-run lead in the seventh tonight.

Boyd has a 25 percent strikeout rate this season, but he actually went without a K tonight. Fortunately, most of the contact against him was pretty weak; just seven of the Phillies’ 22 balls in play were hit hard. We wouldn’t want Boyd giving up this much contact often, but it worked out fine in this one, and he’ll carry a 2.89 ERA into his next start at home versus the Pirates.

Palencia pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th after the Cubs failed to score in the top of the inning, and the Cubs left him in after they took a one-run lead in the 11th. Things went badly after that. J.T. Realmuto immediately tied the game with a leadoff single, and afterwards, the Phillies put down two sac bunt attempts, both of which turned into infield singles. With the bases loaded and no one out, the Cubs went to a five-man infield, and Brandon Marsh launched one to the wall in left-center that probably would have been a double under normal circumstances. Tonight, it was a walkoff single. Palencia didn’t really do anything to hurt his standing, and he’s still the clear favorite for saves in Chicago. He also threw just 14 pitches tonight, so he might be available on Tuesday.

The Pirates are undefeated since the Steelers signed Aaron Rodgers over the weekend. Just saying. Reynolds sliced a tie-breaking triple into the right-center field gap with the bases loaded against Marlins starter Eury Pérez in the third inning. The 30-year-old outfielder’s go-ahead knock opened the floodgates to an eventual lopsided win as Pittsburgh scored 10 runs on 15 hits. He’s started to really heat up in recent weeks, batting .333 (19-for-57) with two homers and 14 RBI over his last 15 games.

Lopez was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning with Miami trailing by nearly a touchdown at the time. The 26-year-old shortstop took Pirates starter Mike Burrows deep in the second inning for his sixth big fly of the season and drew a pair of walks before leaving the contest.

Burrows gave up four hits, including a second-inning solo homer to Otto Lopez, and was unable to stick around long enough to collect a win. He was lifted in the fifth after just 66 pitches (41 strikes), racking up six strikeouts and issuing three walks. He’s not a recommended option for fantasy managers when he faces off against a red-hot Cubs lineup on Sunday at Wrigley Field.

Pérez looked virtually unhittable in the early stages of his season debut, retiring six of the seven batters he faced to open the contest. The proverbial wheels came off in the ensuring frame when Andrew McCutchen connected for a run-scoring single before Bryan Reynolds scalded a bases-clearing, three-run triple. He managed to escape the frame without any further damage, but his night was over after just 70 pitches (43 strikes). He finished with five strikeouts and handed out two free passes. The positive news is that he averaged 98.5 mph on his fastball and generated nine swinging strikes in the abbreviated outing. He’ll close out a two-start week on Sunday with a road matchup against the division-rival Nationals.

The homer was Fraley’s fifth in 118 plate appearances this season. That matches his total from 382 plate appearances last year. Unfortunately, his .218 average this year pales in comparison to last year’s .277 mark, so he has pretty much the same OPS now — .727 — as his .716 in 2024. As a strict platoon guy hitting towards the bottom of the order, Fraley isn’t an option in mixed leagues, even if he does occasionally intrigue with his homer and steal potential.