MLB Player News

It would have been unthinkable a few months ago seeing Pujols hitting in the two hole against righty Zack Wheeler, but he’s turned back the clock and been awesome in the second half. The Cards’ full lineup looks like this: Lars Nootbaar RF, Pujols DH, Paul Goldschmidt 1B, Nolan Arenado 3B, Brendan Donovan 2B, Dylan Carlson CF, Corey Dickerson LF, Yadier Molina C, Tommy Edman SS.

Polanco took Red Sox starter Brayan Bello deep in the opening frame for his fourth round-tripper of the season. The 31-year-old veteran has been limited to DH since early April due to an ongoing side issue, but he continues to thrive in his Seattle debut, hitting .339 (19-for-56) with four homers, 13 RBI and one steal in 16 games. The omnipresent durability concerns aren’t going away, but he’s going to produce when he’s in the lineup, which gives him some sneaky fantasy appeal in extremely deep mixed leagues.

Casas needed this one, badly. It was his second round-tripper of the season and first time leaving the yard since April 3. The 25-year-old first baseman has gotten off to a painfully-slow start at the dish this season, but the Red Sox don’t have much of a choice besides trying to let him figure things out. They’ve slammed the door on the idea of Roman Anthony moving to first base and there aren’t any viable alternatives within the organization. Hopefully Casas can turn things around in the coming weeks and make it a non-issue.

Miller struck out four and issued a season-high four walks. He gave up a ton of hard contact in this one with the Red Sox registering 10 hard-hit batted balls with exit velocities over 95 mph. It wasn’t his sharpest performance, but it wasn’t an unmitigated disaster either. He’ll carry a pedestrian 4.21 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 25/14 K/BB ratio across 25 2/3 innings (five starts) into a favorable home matchup on Sunday against the Marlins.

Canterino went unclaimed on waivers after being jettisoned from Minnesota’s 40-man roster last Friday. The 27-year-old right-hander was one of the more promising pitching prospects in the Twins’ system just a few years ago before injuries derailed his development. He was shut down back in spring training with a shoulder strain and basically hasn’t pitched at all in the minors since 2022. There’s probably a team out there willing to roll the dice, but he’s nothing more than a high-risk reclamation project now.

We’re not sure whether Ramírez would have started today if he hadn’t reached three times in his debut game Monday, but he was in there and even elevated to the cleanup spot. He’s now 5-for-6 with two doubles and two walks to begin his MLB career. He’s a huge question mark behind the plate, but if he keeps hitting, the Marlins have plenty of room to carry him as a first baseman and DH. It’d just be a matter if they think he might benefit more from catching regularly in the minors after Nick Fortes returns. Of course, they also don’t really have anything to lose from just letting him catch in the majors.

Cabrera allowed five hits, walked two and struck out seven while regularly pitching in the high-90s tonight. It’s not at all likely that this is the year he harnesses his plus stuff and becomes an above average starter, but there’s always the chance. Right now, he has a 6.14 ERA through three turns. He’ll take on the Dodgers next.

Anthony Veneziano, Lake Bachar, Anthony Bender and Faucher all gave the Marlins scoreless innings tonight. Jesus Tinoco, who earned saves both Sunday and Monday, was probably unavailable for this one. Faucher and Tinoco both have two saves on the season. Bender, who has been the most effective of the trio, has one. We’re not sure any are truly worth rostering in mixed leagues at this point.

Martinez was at just 65 pitches through five innings, so he was left in to face the top of the order for a third time with a 3-1 lead in the sixth. He got two outs, but then Eric Wagaman singled. It brought up Agustín Ramírez, who had already reached twice. Terry Francona stuck with Martinez, only to watch him give up an RBI double. Martinez was pulled with a 3-2 lead at that point, and Graham Ashcraft finished the sixth without further trouble. Alas, Ashcraft went on to give up the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh. Martinez remains 0-3 with a 5.40 ERA. He’ll face the Cardinals next.