MLB Player News

Johnson was acquired from the Orioles for Gregory Soto at the trade deadline. The 25-year-old was a long shot to get to this point. He was a junior college shortstop and the 40th overall pick in the 2019 draft but transitioned to the mound. He also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022, so he only made 37 starts in pro ball before this season. However, 2024 has been a bit of a breakout for him. In 65 innings in Triple-A for the Orioles, he posted a 2.63 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 61/35 K:BB ratio. In 16 innings for the Phillies’ Triple-A squad, he has allowed just one run on five hits while striking out 13 and walking six. Obviously, the walks will need to come down for him at the next level, but his team context could make him a decent deep-league streamer against a poor offense.

Burger is out after leaving Friday’s game against the Astros with discomfort in his left quad. It seems likely that the 29-year-old will also get Sunday off with a chance for Burger to get healthy through the break. Ezequiel Duran is at first base and hitting ninth.

Buxton probably would have been lifted earlier if he didn’t only need the cycle for the homer. He had everything else by the end of the third inning. He then hit a line drive single in the fifth, and he got the homer, a 427-foot blast off Andrew Heaney, in the seventh. He departed after that. Buxton is hitting .286/.350/.571 with 21 homers and 17 steals this season. He’s seventh in the majors in OPS and tied for ninth in runs scored, even though he’s played 15 fewer games than everyone else in the top 10.

Adams took over with a 6-0 lead after Cole Sands pitched the first two innings, making this a really easy victory in his second big-league appearance. The 25-year-old struck out three and walked one. It’s unclear how much longer he’ll be needed by the Twins in this bulk role with Bailey Ober and Zebby Matthews both likely back before the end of the month.

Burrows pitched a scoreless first and got the first batter of the second, but that was followed by a walk, a HBP, a three-run homer, a triple, an infield single, a walk and another single, at which point Burrows was finally lifted. Burrows came into the day with a 3.63 ERA in nine outings, so one ugly start shouldn’t cost him his spot. This one, though, was brutal enough that his ERA is all of the way up to 4.82 now.

Castro’s first two hits were soft singles, but then he hit the second of back-to-back homers with Byron Buxton in the seventh. It was his ninth homer, and it gave him his second three-RBI game of the year. He’s batting an impressive .269/.361/.442 in 286 plate appearances.

A month ago, Kiner-Falefa was looking like someone who would fetch a nice prospect in a deadline deal. Unfortunately, though, he’s hit .185/.212/.222 in his last 25 games, dropping his OPS from .723 to .638. He’ll still probably get dealt, but the return probably isn’t going to be great.

Carter will get a break with left-hander Framber Valdez on the mound for Houston. Sam Haggerty will lead off and play left field against Valdez with Wyatt Langford lined up in center and hitting fifth.

Cabrera will undergo imaging to determine the severity of the injury. Even with the All-Star break coming up, it seems very likely that the 27-year-old will be placed on the injured list regardless of the results, but the imaging will obviously determine just how much time he’s expected to miss.

Norby injured the hand in his final plate appearance of the night during Friday’s game. Consider the 25-year-old day-to-day for now. Javier Sanoja will get the start at third with Norby out to begin the contest.

Boyd was at just 85 pitches after eight, but either he or manager Craig Counsell decided it wasn’t worth him going for his second career shutout and third complete game. Boyd, who opted out of pitching in the All-Star Game, finishes the first half with scoreless starts in three of his last four outings. He has a 1.28 ERA in his last nine starts, and he was pretty good before that, too. He’s one of five major leaguers with 10 victories, and his 2.34 ERA is sixth in the league.