The Giants had a player test positive for COVID-19 and their games on Friday and Saturday have been canceled as a result. The player who tested positive has already tested negative twice and there have been no other positives on the team, so the teams are expected to play a double-header on Sunday.
IN THE LINEUP
Eric Hosmer broke his index finger trying to bunt Monday evening and he'll be placed on the IL. Mitch Moreland and his 157 wRC+ will fill in at first base in the meantime... Alex Dickerson fouled a ball off his knee in Monday's game and was forced to leave, but x-rays came back negative and he is going to be day-to-day... Juan Soto missed a stretch of games for the Nationals between late last week and early this week, but he's returned to the lineup on Tuesday... Yadier Molina left Monday's get with an elbow bruise but he'll be available on Tuesday according to Mike Schildt. He was back in the lineup on Thursday... Ozzie Albies returned to the Braves this week but has been hitting in the 8th and 9th spots in the lineup so far. Freddie Freeman has jumped up to the second spot in the order while Dansby Swanson dropped to fifth. Johan Camargo was optioned to the alternate training site... Luis Garcia was scratched Monday with a heel issue and Josh Harrison replaced him in the lineup... Jorge Ona was called up to the Padres on Monday and immediately was placed into the lineup. We'll have to see how the playing time works out for him before jumping out to roster him though. He launched his first career homer on Thursday... Evan Longoria is dealing with glute soreness and is day-to-day... Monte Harrison is back with the Marlins after going 4-for-30 at the plate with 18 strikeouts in his initial time with the team... Ronald Acuña fouled a ball off his ankle on Friday and was forced to leave the game, but x-rays were negative on the outfielder, and returned to the lineup on Saturday... Tommy Pham took batting practice off a pitching machine and he's getting closer to returning to the Padres lineup... Nick Senzel is expected to be activated from the IL this weekend after missing three weeks with an undisclosed issue... Jesse Winker left Thursday's game with back tightness and was held out of the lineup on Friday... Mike Moustakas was held out of the lineup Friday after being hit by a pitch on the foot Friday... Joc Pederson was activated by the Dodgers from the paternity list... Tyler Flowers left Thursday's game after being hit by a pitch on the elbow. Travis d'Arnaud took over behind the plate... Mookie Betts started at second base for the Dodgers on Thursday. Betts played second base with the Red Sox but hasn't started a game at second since 2014. He's expected to get a few more starts at second, so we'll have to watch to see if he gets enough to qualify at second base to start next season... Pavin Smith was called up by the Diamondbacks after Jake Lamb was designated for assignment... Kris Bryant returned to the Cubs Thursday after sitting out Wednesday. Bryant was hit by a pitch on Tuesday... Francisco Cevelli's season has ended while he deals with the lingering effects of his concussion... Jon Berti was placed on the IL with a finger bruise... Isan Diaz was officially activated by the Marlins but his playing time will be sparse with Jazz Chisholm having taken over the second base job for the team... Pablo Sandoval was DFA'd by the Giants after slashing .220/.278/.268 with one home run in 33 games... Ketel Marte was placed on the IL with wrist inflammation. Everything came back as structurally sound on the wrist, but with just over two weeks to go his season just might be over as the Diamondbacks are 17-and-29... David Dahl was activated by the Rockies from the IL. Dahl has been awful this year with a .189/.237/.243 slash line this season... Justin Smoak was signed to a minor league contract by the Giants... Adam Eaton was held out of the lineup by the Nationals on Saturday, but did enter the game as a pinch runner so it's hard to think that there's anything major going on here... The earliest that Justin Turner could be activated by the Dodgers is early next week. The Dodgers have been shuffling players around a lot lately so it wouldn't be surprising to see Turner get extra days off down the stretch... JT Realmuto left Saturday's game in the 8th inning with some hip discomfort. He'll likely sit out Sunday and we'll have a better look at his availability for next week then... Miguel Rojas had x-rays taken on his hand after tripping and falling in the Marlins' game Saturday. X-rays were negative. Chisholm replaced Rojas at SS.
IN THE ROTATION
The Braves made a few rotation moves on Tuesday with Kyle Wright being called up from the alternate site and Max Fried being placed on IL with a muscle spasm in his back. Fried hasn't been quite as sharper recently so this could be a move that helps give him a little extra rest. Cole Hamels also could potentially be activated by the Braves next week against the Orioles, though he most likely will not be fully stretched out... Jose Urena allowed three runs over five innings in his 2020 debut for the Marlins. He'll be a member of the Marlins rotation the rest of the way... Chris Paddack left Thursday's start with a sprained ankle but was reportedly feeling much better on Friday and did not require a walking boot. There's still no word if he's going to be placed on the IL at this point... Caleb Smith was activated from the IL and made his debut for the Diamondbacks on Friday... Steven Matz is expected to be activated by the Mets next week. He threw a bullpen session on Friday and if nothing comes out of that we should see him back in the rotation soon... Zach Wheeler got his fingernail caught in the zipper of his pants this week and he may have to get the nail removed. He'll miss his scheduled start on Monday as he deals with the injury, but he's still expected to pitch at some point next week... Dustin May got hit by a line drive in Thursday's start, forcing him to leave the game. He was diagnosed with a foot contusion initially but he's going to undergo more tests this weekend... Walker Buehler was placed on the IL with a blister in the same spot that caused him to miss a pair of starts in late August/early September. Buehler started two games after his return and allowed five runs over eight innings... Joe Musgrove tossed four scoreless innings against the White Sox on Tuesday, but he's on a pitch count as he returns from his elbow injury... Spencer Howard left Saturday's start with shoulder stiffness. We should have an update Sunday on what this means for him going forward... Tony Gonsolin is having his next start pushed back to Tuesday and will have a bullpen game on Sunday. The team is making an extra effort to give the starters an extra day off if they can afford to... Robbie Erlin was designated for assignment by the Braves. Sean Newcomb was called up from the alternate site, but the team hasn't said yet how they plan to use him... Kwang-Hyun Kim could return to the Cardinals as soon as Monday according to the team. The Cardinals are slated to have a double-header against the Brewers that day and the team could work him in then...
IN THE BULLPEN
The Giants bullpen is all over the place right now with Tony Watson, Tyler Rodgers, and Sam Coonrod also notching saves over the last week... Emilio Pagan is set to face live hitters the week. Pagan had notched two saves before being shutdown with bicep inflammation, but the back end up the Padres bullpen is set now so he'll factor into middle relief upon return... Jose Quintana is set to begin his throwing program on Tuesday... Stefan Crichton picked up his first career save on Friday and it sounds like he'll be the primary guy for the ninth inning after Archie Bradley was traded at the deadline, and Kevin Ginkel was sent down to the alternate training site... Luis Perdomo was activated from the IL and Matt Strahm was placed on the IL, the two will swap spots between the IL and the Padres bullpen... Jose De Leon replaces Tyler Thornburg in the Reds bullpen after Thornburg was placed on the IL with an elbow strain... Giovanny Gallegos was placed on the IL with a groin strain and it's unsure exactly how long he will be out. I'd guess that Ryan Helsley gets the first crack at the closing job with St. Louis while Gallegos is out but Mike Schlidt has said that Alex Reyes could get some opportunities as well... Sean Doolittle was placed on the 10-day IL with a groin strain. Based on everything the Nationals are saying though it sounds like the injury is going to be season-ending... Drew Smyly was activated from the IL on Thursday and will return to the team in a relief role... Huascar Ynoa was recalled from the alternate training site on Thursday and he could get a start early next week with Tommy Milone being placed on the IL... Keona Kela threw a bullpen session on Wednesday. He's running out of time to get back for the Pirates but there's a chance he makes a return to the Pirates bullpen by the end of the season... Robert Gsellman was placed on the IL with a fractured rib. Gsellman's season has ended with this injury and he took a significant step back this year finishing with a 9.64 ERA over 14 innings... Wade Davis was activated by the Rockies on Saturday and should slot into a high-leverage role for the team. Daniel Bard should have a lockdown on the closing role for the team.
PLAYERS TO ADD
Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves - Riley has been great for the Braves since the middle of August with a 114 wRC+ and four homers with 15 RBI. The best part about Riley's stretch of success is that he cut his K% down to 17%, a significant improvement from the 36% he ran in his rookie season last year. Johan Camargo was sent down to the alternate training site earlier this week so Riley has no current competition at the position and should get everyday at bats down the stretch.
Sixto Sanchez, Miami Marlins - Sixto Sanchez is up to 70% rostered on ESPN leagues, but there's no reason why he shouldn't be rostered at this point. Sixto owns a 1.80 ERA over 25 innings (four starts) and has a 26% strikeout rate compared to just a 2% walk rate. His left on base rate is currently at an unsustainable 96%, but he also has just a 0.92 WHIP so he really isn't allowing anyone on in the first place.
Ian Anderson, Atlanta Braves - Anderson tossed another gem on Saturday with seven shutout innings against the Nationals. The only hit against him came via a bunt single by Asdrubel Cabrera. Anderson struck out eight nine batters but did walk three as his walk rate is a little higher than desired at this point. Anderson is striking out batters at a 30% rate and he's generating a lot of soft contact (16.2%) and has easily solidified himself into the Braves rotation for the rest of the season.
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