MLB 2022 | Colás bumped up to AAA, Álvarez stays hot in series finale, Oviedo no-decision, and more

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources.

Yordan Álvarez. (Photo: Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports)

Sep 18, 2022

The White Sox promoted 24-year-old outfield prospect Oscar Colás to Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

Colás has excelled in his first season stateside, slashing a robust .309/.367/.516 with 21 homers, 75 RBI and two stolen bases over 488 plate appearances between High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham. He should enter spring training in 2023 with a strong shot at securing a starting job in the White Sox outfield.

Yordan Álvarez doubled twice and knocked in four runs against the A's on Sunday.

Alvarez went 2-for-5 with two doubles, four RBI, a run and a strikeout during Sunday's 11-2 win over Oakland. It's not just homers; Álvarez has six doubles and six walks to go along with his six long balls in his last nine games. He's up to .304/.407/.630 with 37 homers and 93 RBI in 511 plate appearances. Only Aaron Judge has a better slugging percentage this year, and it's just Judge and Paul Goldschmidt ahead of him in OBP.

Johan Oviedo surrendered three runs in four innings Sunday in a no-decision against the Mets.

Oviedo fanned six today, but he also walked four and factored into a benches-clearing incident by plunking Pete Alonso on his hard-plastic elbow pad. He's walked a total of 14 batters in 13 2/3 innings for the Pirates, though he has a decent 3.69 ERA anyway. He'll face the Cubs next.

Randy Arozarena was not in the Rays starting lineup Sunday against the Rangers.

Arozarena took the day off and David Peralta got the start in left field. The 27-year-old is reportedly feeling under the weather, but is available off the bench if needed.

Luis Robert (hand/wrist) was not in the White Sox starting lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

Robert has played sporadically as he continues to deal with soreness in his left hand. After going 0-for-4 on Saturday, he sat out Sunday's series finale against the Tigers. AJ Pollock took over in center field. With an off day on Monday, Robert has a good chance to be back in there for Tuesday's contest against the Guardians.

White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Sitting Sunday. Grandal was not in Sunday's lineup against the Tigers, James Fegan of The Athletic reported. Grandal is hitting .205 with two home runs in 13 games this month. Seby Zavala started behind the dish.

Sep 17, 2022

Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Works scoreless inning in return. Chapman pitched a scoreless inning against the Brewers on Saturday, allowing one walk and striking out one batter. Chapman missed nearly a month due to a leg infection, but he was reinstated Friday and made his return to the mound Saturday. The veteran reliever was used in a low-leverage situation in the seventh inning, so it appears that the Yankees will ease him back before potentially giving him high-leverage work (though likely not as a closer, since Clay Holmes has taken hold of that role). Though Chapman didn't allow any runs in his return, he threw only nine of 17 pitches for strikes and walked a batter. Control has been been a major issue for Chapman this season -- his 6.5 K/9 is on pace to be his worst mark since 2011 and is fifth-worst among MLB pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings.

Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Resumes baseball activities. Gurriel (hamstring) has resumed baseball activities, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reported. Gurriel hasn't yet begun running, but he's been cleared to hit and play catch. The 28-year-old is eligible to return from the 10-day injured list as early as Sunday, but interim manager John Schneider emphasized Friday that the team will need to see how Gurriel feels after this weekend before determining when he'll be activated.