MLB Player News

Marte has 16 homers, which is already the third highest total of his career. He’s going to deserve to be the NL’s starting second baseman in the All-Star Game this year, but since the Padres got away with listing Luis Arraez at second after turning him into a full-time first baseman, there’s still some doubt who will get the nod.

Castro rejoins Arizona’s relief mix after missing nearly three months recovering from right shoulder inflammation that put him on the shelf back in late April. The 29-year-old righty was a certifiable workhorse last year when he led the National League with 75 relief appearances. His return provides a lift for the Diamondbacks heading into the All-Star break.

Cecconi heads back to the minors after allowing three runs over four innings on Wednesday against the Braves in his final start prior to the All-Star break. Arizona isn’t going to need a fifth starter again until the end of the month, so he’ll head back to the minors for now. The 25-year-old righty holds an inflated 6.14 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 53/14 K/BB ratio across 66 innings (14 appearances, 13 starts) this season in the big leagues. It’s entirely possible that rookie Yilber Diaz will stick in the majors over Cecconi moving forward, but that decision likely won’t be made for a couple weeks.

Marte has been shipped back to the minors to make room for Jack Kochanowicz to come up and make his big-league debut on Thursday evening against the Mariners. The 28-year-old righty has posted a 3.55 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 8/7 K/BB ratio across 12 2/3 innings (nine appearances) this season in the big leagues.

It’s the first All-Star Game selection for Castro, who has been added to the junior circuit’s roster as an injury replacement for Jose Altuve, who is skipping the game due to a left hand ailment. It’ll be Marcus Semien taking over at the keystone to start next week’s Midsummer Classic.

LeMahieu is out of New York’s lineup on Thursday after fouling a ball off his neck during Wednesday’s game against the Rays. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to require a lengthy absence, but he could end up getting a few games off leading into the All-Star break.

Santander will join teammates Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Corbin Burnes at next week’s Midsummer Classic, becoming the fifth Orioles on the junior circuit roster. It’s the first All-Star Game selection for Tony Taters, who gets the nod after launching 23 round-trippers through 87 contests to open the year.

It figures to be an abbreviated outing for Crochet in his first-half finale as it’ll set him up to potentially start next week’s All-Star Game for the American League. The 25-year-old southpaw has been at the epicenter of trade rumors recently and figures to be on the move by the trade deadline. The White Sox undoubtedly want to showcase him at the Midsummer Classic, so this outing might be a short one.

It was the first time Tucker participated in on-field baseball activities since June 3 when he suffered a right shin contusion. The 27-year-old fantasy superstar was able to resume jogging last week and looks like he’s still a couple weeks away from returning to Houston’s lineup since there still isn’t an official return timetable from the club yet.

The goal here for Toronto would be to have another club pick up the remaining portion of Kiermaier’s $10.5 million salary for this season. If that doesn’t happen, they’ll simply release him. The 34-year-old veteran defensive wizard appears to be the first domino to fall as it appears the Blue Jays are going to pivot towards selling off some of their short-term pieces over the next few weeks.

The positive news here for fantasy managers is that an MRI on Wheeler’s back didn’t reveal anything serious and he’s expected to be ready to roll coming out of next week’s All-Star break. It’s a tough development for fantasy purposes as the veteran fantasy ace loses an extremely favorable start during Sunday’s first-half finale against a rebuilding Oakland squad that has been piling up the strikeouts of late.