MLB Player News

Rafaela went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 4-1 win against the Rays.

The Boston center fielder extended his team's lead to 4-1 with a 352-foot blast off Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot in the sixth inning. This marks Rafaela's fifth home run in July, as he's been scorching hot with a .390 (16-for-41) average, six doubles, 15 RBI and 10 runs scored across 11 games this month. The 24-year-old appears to be amid a breakout season, as he's now slashing .271/.314/.483 with 55 runs scored and 48 RBI while going 13-for-15 on steal attempts in 341 total plate appearances.

Laureano went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 11-1 loss to Miami.

The homer was the 11th of the season for Laureano, who's been able to hold down close to an everyday role in Baltimore's outfield despite the recent return of Tyler O'Neill. Laureano has also proven to be a key offseason acquisition, as he's slashing .284/.350/.517 with 16 doubles, 35 RBI, 35 runs scored and four stolen bases over 237 plate appearances.

Slater went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-5 loss against the Guardians.

Slater opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a 387-foot solo home run off Joey Cantillo, his fourth on the year, and followed it up with an RBI single an inning later but it wasn't enough to lift the Sox to a win. After a hopeful late-June stretch, the 32-year-old had not been impressive at the plate recently, batting just 7-for-34 (.206) with seven strikeouts over his previous 12 games entering Sunday.

The Guardians announced Sunday that DeLauter has been held out of the Triple-A Columbus lineup since Friday due to a right wrist soreness, Tommy Wild of SI.com reports.

According to Wild, DeLauter had been playing through the sore wrist for the past few weeks, but the injury seemingly hasn't hindered him at the plate, as he's slashing .295/.390/.486 with four home runs and a 17:17 BB:K dating back to the start of June. The Guardians plan to evaluate the 23-year-old outfielder over the All-Star break before a determination is made on his next course of action. Assuming DeLauter can quickly move past the injury and return to the Columbus lineup, he should remain on track to make his big-league debut at some point in the second half of the season.

Melton (ankle) recently transitioned his rehab program to the Astros' spring training facility in Florida and is in the midst of hitting, running and throwing progressions, MLB.com reports.

Melton hit .241 with no home runs and three stolen bases in 11 games with Houston before landing on the injured list June 14 due to a right ankle sprain. The outfielder could be ready to begin a rehab assignment shortly after the All-Star break, but the Astros haven't yet offered up a definitive target date for his return from the IL.

Baez went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Mariners. He also stole a base.

Baez has been scuffling a bit this month, but he finished up the first half of the season on a high note before his All-Star Game appearance later this week. The veteran is having a bounceback campaign with a .275 batting average and .752 OPS across 79 games. During the 2024 regular season, Baez batted just .184 with a .515 OPS. While he's hitting better, Baez isn't running as much as he did when he was younger, as Sunday's stolen base was just his second all year in three attempts.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that he expects Meyers (calf) to be out for "at the very minimum, three-plus weeks," Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

After he initially tweaked his right calf last Sunday in a win over the Dodgers, Meyers was held out of the lineup for two days before he checked back into the starting nine in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Guardians. Though he was credited with a start, Meyers didn't end up playing after aggravating the injury while running out to center field prior to the first pitch. He's since been diagnosed with a calf strain, and the injury is apparently viewed as more than a minor tweak, given that Brown has already seemingly counted Meyers out from returning before the beginning of August at the earliest. Taylor Trammell has started in center field in each of the three games since Meyers landed on the shelf and should have a clear path to an everyday role until the banged-up Astros regain some health in the outfield. In addition to Meyers, Houston has already lost Yordan Alvarez (hand), Pedro Leon (knee), Chas McCormick (oblique), Zach Dezenzo (hand) and Jacob Melton (ankle) to the injured list.

Greene went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Mariners.

Greene went deep for the second straight day, and he how has seven long balls over his last 14 games. For the year, the young outfielder is up to 24 home runs, which ties the career-best total he recorded during the 2024 regular season. The 24 homers are also good for eighth in the majors, and Greene's 78 RBI are the third most in baseball. The 24-year-old is certainly worthy of his starting spot in next week's All-Star Game.

Straw will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Straw will pick up his fourth straight start heading into the All-Star break, though Toronto still appears to be viewing him as a part-time player. The last two of his starts have come against left-handed pitching, while his start Friday against Athletics righty Luis Severino came after Joey Loperfido was scratched from the lineup due to an illness. Straw is likely to eventually see his playing time in center field dwindle once Daulton Varsho (hamstring) makes his return from the injured list.

Loperfido (illness) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

The left-handed-hitting Loperfido will miss out on a third straight start, but his absence likely has more to do with the Athletics sending a second consecutive lefty starter (Jeffrey Springs) to the bump rather than any concern about his health. Loperfido was scratched from the lineup ahead of Friday's game due to an illness, but he was deployed as a pinch hitter in Saturday's 4-3 loss, drawing a walk in his lone plate appearance.