MLB Player News

An MRI revealed no structural damage for Lopez and he was initially listed as day-to-day, but ultimately he’s going on the injured list anyway. It’s hardly surprising that he’s having some arm trouble at this time of the year as he’s seen a significant increase in his innings pitched this year after transitioning from reliever to starting pitcher. Hopefully Lopez can return when he’s first eligible on August 17th.

The storybook season continues for the Big Dumper, who became the first catcher ever to win the event. Raleigh bashed 21 big flies in the opening round, edging Athletics masher Brent Rooker by literally one inch to advance to the semifinals. He walloped 19 more in the ensuing round to eliminate Pirates ascendant slugger Oneil Cruz, who belted a surreal 513-foot moonshot in the opening round and finished with 10 blasts that traveled over 470 feet on the night. The switch-hitting backstop went exclusively from the left side in the finals to narrowly best Caminero, who eliminated Georgia native Byron Buxton to advance to the finals and would’ve become the youngest player in history to win the Home Run Derby at just 22 years old.

Davis will head to Triple-A St. Paul as extra organizational relief depth for Minnesota heading into the second half. The 28-year-old righty was jettisoned from Los Angeles’ relief corps last week after getting torched for a surreal 10 runs over 1 1/3 innings against the Astros back on July 4. He’ll operate in middle relief for the Twins, if he makes it back to the big leagues again this season.

Ashby missed Milwaukee’s final three first-half contests while on paternity leave. The procedural move puts him back on the Brewers’ active roster ahead of Friday’s second-half opener against the Dodgers.

Brantly has been on the shelf since late April recovering from a lat strain in his right shoulder. The 36-year-old journeyman backstop figures to pass through waivers and elect free agency unless he decides to stick around as emergency organizational depth/

Morillo was torched for four runs on five hits over his lone inning of work on Saturday against the Angels. The 26-year-old righty has posted a pedestrian 4.94 ERA and 28/16 K/BB ratio across 27 1/3 innings (31 appearances) this season. The Diamondbacks will make a corresponding roster move following the All-Star break.

Peña added that he doesn’t have an exact return timeline yet, but believes he’s moving in the right direction. The 27-year-old is at the Midsummer Classic for the first time in his career, but won’t play in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Truist Park as he recovers from a fractured rib that he suffered in late June. There should be a clearer return timetable once he begin ramping up baseball activities after the break.

Hartwig heads overseas after making 32 relief appearances for the Mets since 2023. The 27-year-old righty posted a strong 29 percent strikeout rate this season for Triple-A Syracuse, but never wound up getting the call back to New York. He was cut loose earlier this month to pursue a more lucrative opportunity over in Japan.

Drellich and Rosenthal add that the finalized sale is expected to be completed as early as September and that the Zalupski group plans to keep the club in the greater Tampa area with a preference for Tampa over St. Petersburg. It’s the first change in ownership for the franchise since Stuart Sternberg purchased the club for $200 million back in 2004.

Ohtani closed out the first half with a senior circuit-leading 32 round-trippers and a sparkling 1.00 ERA across nine innings (five starts). The 31-year-old two-way sensation spearheads an absolute Death Star of a lineup that features Atlanta’s primary igniter Ronald Acuña Jr., in addition to a pair of his Los Angeles teammates in Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Here is the full lineup that will take the field on Tuesday evening at Truist Park in Atlanta for the Midsummer Classic: Ohtani (DH), Acuña Jr. (LF), Ketel Marte (2B), Freeman (1B), Manny Machado (3B), Smith (C), Kyle Tucker (RF), Francisco Lindor (SS) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF).

Judge headlines a formidable American League lineup, which features Mariners slugging backstop Cal Raleigh — who leads the majors with a staggering 38 round-trippers — in the cleanup spot, for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic at Truist Park in Atlanta. It also features three members of the American League-leading Tigers, who finished the first half with 59 victories. Here’s the full lineup: Gleyber Torres (2B), Riley Greene (LF), Judge (RF), Raleigh (C), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B), Ryan O’Hearn (DH), Junior Caminero (3B), Javier Báez (CF) and Jacob Wilson (SS).