MLB Player News

Merryweather was activated off the 60-day injured list near the end of July after missing three-plus months with a shoulder strain, and he’ll now be out at least two weeks with this knee injury. Keegan Thompson will take Merryweather’s place on the roster.

Williamson continues to impress, and he has a new career-high in RBI with the four Saturday evening. The pair of hits now has him slashing .310/.356/.429 on the year, and he’s been excellent with the glove as expected. He doesn’t have much power, but Williamson’s bat-to-ball skills make him someone to keep an eye on in formats with a shallower pool.

The man they call J-Rod blistered his ninth-career leadoff homer off a wholly ineffective Collin Gillispie. Rodriguez really struggled to hit for power in 2024 to begin the year, but he’s up to four homers over the first 27 games to open 2025. Not an elite total by any stretch of the imagination, but a considerable improvement over his start to last year.

Polanco hit went back-to-back with Julio Rodriguez in the first inning, and hit another solo bomb in the fourth. That brings his homer total to seven, and three of those have come in the last two games. The 31-year-old has been sensational to open 2025 even while not able to hit from the right side because of his side issues, and to say he’s improved over his disappointing 2024 campaign is quite the understatement.

After a couple of shaky outings on the road, Castillo was brilliant in the win back in his friendly confines of Seattle. The 32-year-old was rarely challenged, and was able to get a couple key punchouts in the Marlins’ few rallies. Castillo is no longer the ace of the staff, but more often than not, the results please those who have him in their fantasy lineups.

Gillispie gave up six runs in the first and another in the second before mercifully exiting. The 27-year-old gave up back-to-back homers in the first inning and a pair of two-run doubles in that frame. Gillispie is just not good enough to be a rotation option, and his 8.65 ERA tells that story well. He gets the A’s in their Triple-A ballpark next weekend.

Hernández gave the Dodgers a four-run cushion with his homer in the eighth inning to help Los Angeles to the come-from-behind win. He’s hitting just .145 on the season, but the power has been there with five homers over the first sixth of the season.

That’s the seventh homer of the season for Hernández. The veteran outfielder also came around to score on the three-run homer from Enrique Hernández. The lack of patience at the plate can be frustrating, but the offensive output — and the lineup he plays in — makes Hernández a borderline lock to be one of the best fantasy outfielders in the sport.

Cruz smoked a homer to begin the game off Roki Sasaki to center field, and he’s up to eight homers on the year. The 26-year-old will have highs and lows because of how much swing-and-miss exists in his profile, but his very solid .267/.370/.567 slash is an indicator of what he’s capable of when he’s at his best.

A three extra-base hit night for the reigning MVP. The triple is the second of the year for the two-way star, and he has doubled thrice. Ohtani’s .277/.365/.525 slash pales in comparison to what he did in 2024, but it’s been more than a solid first month for the 30-year-old. He also threw a bullpen today, just to remind all of what a special talent Ohtani is.

Sasaki’s outing got off to a rough start, as Oneil Cruz swatted a leadoff homer off the 23-year-old right-hander. He pitched relatively well over the next few frames, but he gave up a two-run single to Cruz in the fifth to turn a strong outing into a so-so one. He walked two, and throwing consistent strikes continues to be an issue with just 53-of-93 pitches landing in the zone. The fact he has ‘struggled’ to a 3.55 ERA tells you just how talented Sasaki is, and he’s worth starting against Atlanta next weekend.