MLB Player News

As Rosenthal mentions, the trade of Juan Soto and Trent Grisham to the Yankees left the Padres with just two outfielders on their 40-man roster: Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jose Azocar. However, rather than go out and acquire an outfielder, the team seems likely to try out a handful of prospects who are blocked in the infield and see if any of them can make the move full-time to the outfield. Merrill was the 27th overall pick in 2021 and while he has played primarily infield in his pro career, he played outfield in the minors and the Arizona Fall League. Fellow infielder Graham Pauley is also being auditioned in the outfield, as is Jakob Marsee, who was the MVP of the Arizona Fall League and last season became the first minor leaguer to produce a season of 15 homers, 90 walks and 40 stolen bases since at least 2005. Marsee has only played 16 games at Double-A, while Pauley played 20 and Merrill played 46, so it would be a big jump for all three players, but the opportunity is there is one of them shines in the spring.

Flores increased the Giants’ early lead to 2-0 with a sacrifice fly off of Davis Daniel during a four-run second inning. He then put the cherry on top of the lopsided victory with a 364-foot three-run shot off of Wander Suero in the seventh that made it 9-0. The 33-year-old finished the evening 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts and is now hitting .245/.318/.385 with 12 homers and 59 RBI on the season.

Schmitt victimized Braves’ right-hander Davis Daniel for a 416-foot (105.2 mph EV) solo shot as part of a four-run uprising in the second inning. That would be his only hit in four trips to the plate on the night but was more than enough run support for Landen Roupp and company in this one. On the season, the 26-year-old infielder is now slashing .246/.327/.396 to go along with five homers and 17 RBI in 151 plate appearances with the Giants.

Chapman opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI triple off of Davis Daniel that plated Willy Adames from first base. He then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Wilmer Flores. The 32-year-old third baseman also singled in the third inning but was ultimately erased on a fielder’s choice. For the season, he’s now hitting .241/.348/.436 with 13 homers, 36 RBI and seven stolen bases over 328 plate appearances.

Roupp scattered four hits on the evening while issuing only one base on balls. The Braves threatened against him in the opening inning as Jurickson Profar struck out and reached on a wild pitch and Matt Olson followed with a single, but Roupp punched out Ronald Acuna Jr. and Drake Baldwin before retiring Ozzie Albies on a fly ball to get out of the jam. Overall he got 12 whiffs on 87 pitches on the evening — six of them on his curveball — while posting a strong CSW of 33 percent. He’ll attempt to replicate this fine effort as he carries a 3.11 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and a 95/42 K/BB ratio (101 1/3 innings) into Monday’s matchup against the Pirates.

The Braves had plenty of traffic on the basepaths in the ballgame with eight hits and a pair of walks, but they were unable to deliver a timely hit when they needed it most. Olson singled in the first inning to put two men on with no outs, but the next three hitters went down in order to end that threat. He also singled in the fifth to put two men on with only one out, but once again those runners never advanced. With his three-hit attack, the 31-year-old slugger is now hitting .266/.366/.475 with 18 homers and 64 RBI on the season.

Daniel walked four batters in the forgettable outing while punching out three. After navigating a scoreless first inning, the Giants used three walks, a double, triple, homer and two sacrifice flies to push four runs across in the second inning. He settled in afterwards, but the damage had already been done. The 28-year-old right-hander got just five whiffs on 92 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 24 percent. We’ll see if he sticks around to start against the Royals in Kansas City on Wednesday or if perhaps Dane Dunning will get a shot.

McMahon drew a walk to lead off the second inning and scored on a double before taking Erick Fedde deep for a three-run blast in the third to break the game open for the Rockies. The 30-year-old third baseman is up to 16 homers while slashing .219/.315/.406 with 41 runs scored and 35 RBI across 397 plate appearances.

Moniak put the Rockies on the board early, taking Erick Fedde deep for a solo homer in the first inning. He then knocked a base hit to lead off the third and scored on a home run by Ryan McMahon. The 27-year-old outfielder is slashing a solid .275/.325/.546 with 15 homers, 38 runs scored, 38 RBI, and five steals across 271 plate appearances.

Donovan knocked a base hit to lead off the first inning, then later drove in a run with a double in the seventh. The versatile 28-year-old has had a stellar season at the plate, slashing .295/.364/.427 with eight homers, 52 runs scored, and 39 RBI across 410 plate appearances.

Holding a team to two runs into the sixth while not striking anyone out is tough to do, especially in Coors Field. But Blalock did just that on Tuesday, scattering eight hits and one walk on 73 pitches. Still, the 24-year-old right-hander ends the day with an 8.67 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, and a 9/7 K/BB ratio across 27 innings. He’ll take on the Guardians in Cleveland next Tuesday.