MLB Player News

Molina, who will manage Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic this offseason, will be eligible for enshrinement in Cooperstown -- along with longtime teammate Albert Pujols -- as members of the class of 2028. The 40-year-old catcher played 19 seasons in St. Louis and won a pair of World Series titles with the Cardinals. He was also a 10-time All-Star selection and nine-time Gold Glove Award winner.

The two teams went into an extended delay prior to first pitch with showers in the forecast before ultimately deciding against trying to get this one in. It’ll be made up on Thursday as a doubleheader. Wednesday’s original starters — Germán Márquez and Michael Lorenzen — will presumably take the ball at some point during the twin bill.

Crow-Armstrong continued his assault of the Dodgers as he hit his fourth of just five total homers on the season against the deafening champs. Ironically, he hit a long fly ball in his first at-bat that should have been out, but was knocked down by the wind at Wrigley Field. All four of his batted balls in this game were hit harder than 100 mph and when he wasn’t hitting home runs, he was running wild on the bases. He is scalding hot right now going 18-for-36 over his last 10 games with five homers, six doubles, and a triple. He has a shot to be a fantasy superstar if he can sustain any type of consistency at the plate. Poor plate discipline may still stand in his way, but this hot streak is a fun one to dream on.

Hodge got the call in the ninth inning here rather than the assumed closer Ryan Presly, who hasn’t pitched since Sunday. This save was a tall task too, with Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts due up in a one run game. Hodge made quick work of each though and this could be the beginning of a changing of the guard in the Cubs’ bullpen.

This was a true old-school start by Boyd. The Dodgers were on him for most of this start with 12 hard-hit balls and two home runs, but Craig Counsell left him out there for six innings despite the constant damage being done. He even faced Shohei Ohtani for a fourth time, which is completely unheard of. While half of his runs were unearned, Boyd himself made the error that kindly took them off his ledger. Still, seeing Boyd trusted to give volume bodes well for his fantasy value. He’s scheduled to face the struggling Pirates in his next start.

Betts was mired in a 1-for-22 slump before finally breaking through in this game. He briefly tied this game in the fifth inning with a double off Matthew Boyd before Teoscar Hernández brought him home as the go-ahead run with a home run. Yet, the Dodgers’ bullpen promptly blew their lead. There was an inkling of concern with Betts stuck in his cold spell and not having a multi-hit game since the first week of the season, but he’s obviously not someone to worry about.

There are two prevailing schools of thought when watching an outing like this from Casparius: he is not a starting pitcher and he is legitimately nasty. He was pulled with two outs in the third inning, exactly when the Cubs’ lineup was about to turn over for the second time. That being said, he mixed four pitches and forced multiple swings-and-misses with three of them. He’s worthy of a spot on a watch list, since there’s a chance he’s trusted to stay in games a bit longer at some point given all the injuries to the Dodgers’ rotation.

Crawford gave Seattle a commanding four-run lead in the fourth inning when he took Red Sox starter Sean Newcomb deep for his first round-tripper of the season. He also supplied a key insurance run with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning, just for good measure. The 30-year-old can be left on the waiver wire in most fantasy formats.

WEEI’s Rob Bradford reports Casas went back to his old swing from the 2023 season prior to Tuesday’s series opener against the Mariners and it’s resulted in back-to-back games with a three-run homer. The 25-year-old first baseman appears to be finally turning things around following an ice-cold start at the dish. It’s an encouraging sign that the recent adjustment is translating to on-field results.

Muñoz was summoned to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and needed just 15 pitches (nine strikes) to slam the door. He’s converted all eight of his save chances this season and is just two behind Padres stopper Robert Suarez for the major-league lead.

Hancock got plenty of run support from Seattle’s offense and managed to avoid any serious damage against a strong Red Sox lineup at hitter-friendly Fenway Park. The 25-year-old former prospect has turned in a pair of solid performances since returning to the big leagues, but we’re hesitant to recommend him for fantasy purposes. He’s in line to face the Angels on Tuesday in his next outing.