MLB Player News

It’s now official. Nick Martinez was the lone recipient to accept a qualifying offer this offseason cycle, becoming just the 14th to do so since the system was implemented back in 2012. That leaves Juan Soto, Willy Adames, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Teoscar Hernández, Christian Walker, Sean Manaea, Anthony Santander, Luis Severino and Pivetta officially heading to free agency. Their respective teams will receive draft pick compensation if they wind up signing elsewhere. No real surprises here besides Pivetta, who ESPN’s Jeff Passan indicated last week has at least a “three-year deal” waiting for him on the open market.

Slaten might get one more minor league outing, but he’s close to rejoining the Red Sox pen. He’s been out since May 29 with shoulder inflammation.

Cobb, trying to come back from hip problems, averaged just 90.8 mph with his sinker in the game, and all of his pitches were down 3-4 mph from last year. What he had was still good enough to retire Triple-A hitters, but he’ll probably need a bit more zip on his pitches to enjoy any major league success.

He’ll likely make his first appearance Thursday. Willits, one of the youngest players in draft, doesn’t figure to put up big numbers right away as a pro. He doesn’t even turn 18 until December.

It’s Dingler’s second career game at DH after he was penciled in there for the first time on Aug. 9. The Tigers are finding his bat too valuable to take out of the lineup, especially against lefties, and this will be his 16th start in the team’s last 19 games.

It’ll be a Brandon Marsh-Harrison Bader-Max Kepler outfield today. Castellanos did have two hits on both Sunday and Monday, but it seems like the Phillies are finally figuring out that he’s just not really worth having in the lineup against right-handers. The next step now is to call up Justin Crawford and turn Castellanos into a true platoon player.

It’s the second time in three games that he’s sat in favor of Mitch Garver in the DH spot. Polanco starred for the Mariners initially this season, but he’s batting only .206/.280/.339 in 379 plate appearances since May 1.

Guerrero was feeling better last night after leaving Monday’s game, but the Jays still thought it made sense to give him three days of rest, including the off day Thursday. Ty France is playing first base today.

The Red Sox should have scored the tying run in the 11th, but after a cowardly sac bunt to begin the inning, they chose not to send Nate Eaton from third on Roman Anthony’s fly to center with one out. Cowser made an awful throw home, and Eaton would have scored easily, but the Red Sox simply gave up and lost when Alex Bregman popped up afterwards. The win leaves them 8 1/2 games back of the Red Sox in the AL East, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if the Orioles, for all of the grief they’ve taken this year, finish with the better record of the two teams.

Sugano allowed five hits, all of them singles, and wound up with three strikeouts and no walks. It seems like major leaguers should hit him harder, but they simply haven’t yet. He’s yet to give up a homer in four starts in August after allowing 21 in 20 starts over the first four months. He’ll again face the Red Sox next time out.

It was surprising that Hiraldo was the choice in the ninth, but the Orioles had used Keegan Akin in the sixth and seventh tonight. Hiraldo blew the save, but he preserved the tie in the ninth, and the Orioles wound up winning in 11, with Corbin Martin getting the save. No one in the Orioles pen seems worth rostering in 10- or 12-team leagues right now.