MLB Player News

Escobar came into the day 2-for-27 with 11 strikeouts, so he really needed to do something. The veteran still seems like a long shot for a spot on the Blue Jays’ roster as a reserve infielder.

It was obvious something was very wrong after Valera slipped and had his leg go out from under him on the warning track while he was trying to get position to attempt a jumping catch last Tuesday. This is better than an ACL tear, but it probably will sideline him at the beginning of next season. Valera hit .248/.337/.452 in 90 games for Columbus before getting hurt. There might be some chance of him getting bumped from the Guardians’ 40-man roster this winter.

Some eyebrows were raised after Glasnow left the team following the news that he was likely out for the season with sprained elbow, but Roberts said it’s “an excused absence” and that the team knows where he is.

Trout has resumed hitting after his second knee surgery of the year, and he expects to have a rather normal offseason. The position change possibility is noteworthy from a player who has resisted such ideas in the past. Still, it’d be a shame to see him become a full-time DH. It might also be worrisome from a fantasy perspective; many players have struggled to adapt to DHing, and Trout has hit just .214/.388/.458 in 81 career games in that spot. Of course, it probably factors in there that a lot of that DHing has been a product of him being banged up at the time.

Being that there’s two weeks left in the season, we can all do the math on this one. Contreras finishes the year at .262/.380/.468 in 84 games. It goes down as the highest OBP and OPS+ (136) of his career. Pedro Pages and Iván Herrera will finish out the year as the Cardinals’ catchers.

One encouraging outing was all it took. Walker had a great day in relief of Allard on Saturday, throwing three scoreless innings in what turned into a 6-4 win over the Mets. It’ll be his first start since he was dropped from the rotation with a 3-6 record and a 6.50 ERA at the end of August. He’s since allowed four earned runs and struck out two in eight innings as a reliever.

Barnes has a whole new fracture in the same toe he fractured last month. The Dodgers are hopeful he’ll be able to return for the postseason, but Hunter Feduccia will likely finish out this month as Will Smith’s backup.

Feduccia went 1-for-3 with a walk in 10 days with the Dodgers during Austin Barnes’ original absence last month. He’ll resume playing behind Will Smith now.

Olson, who missed eight weeks with a shoulder strain, will make his return to the rotation tonight against the Royals. The Tigers opted to keep Ty Madden and send down reliever Ricky Vonasco to make room for him, so they’ll have quite a bit of rotation flexibility going forward, especially with off days both Thursday and next Monday. Olson, Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal will pitch the next three days.

Vanasco, who was picked up from the Dodgers in July after DFA’d, made two appearances in 15 days with the Tigers, pitching a perfect inning each time.

McGough has a 6.83 ERA in 29 innings for the Diamondbacks this season, but he was throwing well in Triple-A; his last six appearances had seen him allow one hit, walk none and struck out six in seven innings. He’ll work in middle relief.