MLB Player News

Laker had worked previously as the Mariners’ hitting coach and as the Dodgers’ minor league hitting coordinator. He’s expected to work alongside new hitting coach Johnny Washington as part of a deep and talented coaching group that skipper Ron Washington has assembled in Los Angeles.

Varsho receives some extra time off to rest and recover following his removal from Friday’s series opener against the Orioles with left wrist discomfort. X-rays came back negative. Blue Jays manager John Schneider expressed optimism that Varsho, who has been dealing with the lingering wrist issue recently, will be able to return in a couple days. Myles Straw takes over in center field on Saturday afternoon in his absence.

Assad fortifies Chicago’s overworked bullpen after the club burned through five relievers following Edward Cabrera’s abbreviated outing against the Giants on Friday afternoon. He provides the Cubs with some additional long relief depth for the rest of the weekend series against San Francisco.

Roberts earns a ticket back to the minors after tossing 1 2/3 innings during Friday’s blowout loss to the Giants.

Arroyo has started just three of five games since being called up from Triple-A Louisville earlier this week, going 2-for-10 with one run scored during that span. The 22-year-old top prospect’s path to regular at-bats is partially obstructed by Cincinnati’s overflow of veteran infielders, but he should see enough time at second base to make an impact in deeper mixed leagues. Matt McLain is at shortstop with Spencer Steer getting into the lineup at second base on Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals aren’t going to push Nootbaar from a workload standpoint by throwing him out there for an afternoon contest following a night game. It’ll be Victor Scott II in center field with Nelson Velázquez patrolling left field. The 28-year-old corner outfielder went 2-for-6 with an RBI on Friday night in his season debut.

Wetherholt underwent imaging Friday that came back clean after he missed two games with groin soreness, which qualifies as a positive development for the Cardinals and fantasy managers. The 23-year-old rookie appears likely to return in the near future, possibly as soon as Sunday’s series finale at Busch Stadium. Fellow rookie Bryan Torres draws another start at the keystone with Masyn Winn moving up to the leadoff spot.

No surprise here after Crawford was hit by a 95.6 mph fastball in the third inning of Friday’s series opener in Detroit. The encouraging news is that X-rays came back negative and he’s considered day-to-day. Top prospect Colt Emerson takes over at shortstop in his absence with Patrick Wisdom getting a turn at the hot corner.

Lewis returns to the big leagues after nearly a month at Triple-A, where he tore the cover off the ball, hitting .333 (20-for-60) with 10 homers across 15 games. The gap between Triple-A and the big leagues feels wider than it has in recent memory, which makes projecting immediate success for Lewis a challenge as he returns to the majors. He’s clearly regained some confidence at the plate, which is an important variable. He’s expected to see time at third base, second base, first base and DH moving forward. At a minimum, Lewis is worthy of a speculative add in deeper mixed leagues on the chance he can translate his strong Triple-A run into sustained success at the highest level.

Outman has been removed from Minnesota’s roster after hitting just .156/.229/.250 with zero homers and four steals over 49 games this season, while also striking out in just over 41 percent of his 70 plate appearances. The emergence of Kody Clemens as a viable outfield option seems to have made Outman expendable, especially since he wasn’t offering anything at the plate. At 29 years old, it’s difficult to image a path to a starting role anywhere based on his present trajectory.

Torres is hitting .538 (7-for-13) with one homer and three RBI in three games since returning from the injured list earlier this week. The 29-year-old second baseman appears poised to continue leading off for Detroit with rookie star Kevin McGonigle hitting second.