MLB Player News

The injury is likely to keep Norby out for at least a month, which is a brutal blow this close to the season. Graham Pauley and Eric Wagaman are the favorites to see the most reps at third base until Norby is back; although, neither is particularly fantasy relevant outside of deep leagues.

Reds’ manager Terry Francona is out on Friday night due to illness and it had been hinted that several players on the team were also under the weather. Steer is the only notable omission from the starting lineup, as he would almost surely be in there in most cases against an opposing left-hander. If that is indeed the case, he should be considered day-to-day.

Fortunately, he’s not dealing with any sort of injury and the Pirates are calling his status day-to-day. Alexander Canario took over for him on Friday afternoon and could start in his place on Saturday if he’s not feeling up to it.

Trevor Story and Abreu homered on back-to-back pitches in the first inning today, setting the tone for a high scoring affair. Abreu, who had four balls in play in excess of 100 mph today, is now 11-for-22 with three homers in eight games. His .500 average and .611 OBP both lead the majors. His 1.000 slugging percentage puts him third behind Iván Herrera, who also homered in this one, and Aaron Judge.

The Red Sox were up 13-6 going into the ninth today, but Chapman was needed after Cooper Criswell gave up three runs. Chapman walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases, but he then got a double play ball to end the game. It was the second save of the year for Boston’s primary closer.

After going 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts in March, Devers has opened April 5-for-11 with just one strikeout. He has only one extra-base hit, but the at-bats have gotten far, far better.

Four hard-hit balls for Donovan today. He has two homers and four barrels in seven games. Over his first three seasons, he averaged a homer every 12 games and a barrel every seven games.

Melton battled mild soreness in his back throughout spring training and re-injured it during one of the team’s final Grapefruit League contests. It sounds like they want him to sit down and get the issue fully resolved rather than risk it being an ongoing battle throughout the season. No word yet on how long he’ll be out of action for.

Norby has been shelved since the last week of March due to a strained oblique, where it had been estimated that he would miss at least a month’s worth of action. Graham Pauley and Eric Wagaman will continue to handle the work at the hot corner until Norby is ready to rejoin the Marlins.

Buehler was given five runs of support in the first and another in the third, and he needed every single one. The big blow was a three-run blast from Ivan Herrera, but he also gave up a solo shot to Brendan Donovan in a game where Buehler allowed seven hits. Fortunately for fantasy managers he still gets the win, but it’s far to say the former Dodger hasn’t looked great in his first two starts. His 8.68 ERA helps tell that story. Buehler will try and right the ship Wednesday against Toronto.

The Red Sox came out swinging against Fedde in the first, and the 32-year-old righty allowed a pair of homers and an RBI double to give up a five-spot in that frame. He allowed another run in the third before exiting. Not only did Fedde allow five hits, he also walked four in an ugly start for those who chose to take the risk of having him in their lineup Friday. Whoops. Fedde should have a better time against the Pirates next week. It can’t get much worse, anyway.