MLB 2022 | Cuban Players News

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

Aledmis Díaz (Photo: Houston Astros Twitter)

May 8, 2022

Aledmys Díaz hit a grand slam to help Houston to beat Detroit 5-0 on Sunday.

Diaz's second home run of the season came in the third inning on a 92 mph fastball from Tigers reliever Drew Hutchison (0-3). It went .347 feet to left-center field, scoring José Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Yordan Álvarez for a 4-0 lead. It was Díaz's second Grand Slam of his career.

Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Aledmys Díaz left Sunday's victory over the Tigers due to "nagging stuff".

Apparently he's been battling some minor injury issues for a while, so getting him out of Sunday's contest -- after he clubbed a grand slam -- was more of a maintenance thing than anything. He should still be considered day-to-day.

José Abreu went 1-for-4 with a two-run double against the Red Sox on Sunday.

With two runners on in the third inning, Abreu hit a double to left field off of Tanner Houck to bring both runners home and extend the White Sox lead. The 35-year-old first baseman is heating up at the plate after a slow start. He's slashing .240/.321/.385 with three homers across 109 plate appearances.

Randy Arozarena went 1-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's loss to the Mariners.

His only hit of the game came with two outs in the top of the sixth and no one was able to drive him in. The 27-year-old outfielder is 11-for-34 (.324) to begin the month of May.

Grandal went 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base during Sunday's 3-2 win over the Red Sox.

The 33-year-old played at first base Sunday and reached three times in four plate appearances, and he also stole second base after walking during the eighth inning. It's the first stolen base since 2019 for Grandal, so he shouldn't be expected to run much more this year, if at all. The multi-hit game was Grandal's first of the campaign and will perhaps get his bat going after a slow start.

White Sox manager Tony La Russa said Sunday that Yoan Moncada will be activated from the 10-day injured list on Monday.

Speaking to reporters Sunday, La Russa added that Moncada should be in the lineup and batting second for the White Sox on Monday against the Guardians. Moncada has been out since the start of the season with a right oblique strain.

José Iglesias went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles in Sunday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Both of his singles were hard hits, but the Rockies were unable to drive him in whenever he was on base. The veteran shortstop is slashing .308/.365/.385 across 85 plate appearances.

Yandy Díaz was out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

The freshly activated Ji-Man Choi (elbow) stepped in at first base for Díaz, who had drawn starts at the position in each of the Rays' last six games. Though Choi is back in the fold, Díaz is expected to play on a near-everyday basis while bouncing between the two corner-infield spots. Taylor Walls appears to be at greater risk of losing out on regular playing time following Choi's return.

Gurriel was out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Gurriel was not playing as a result of a planned rest day, as he had started in each of the Astros' last 10 games. Niko Goodrum will get the nod at first base in place of Gurriel, who went 6-for-37 during that 10-game stretch to drop his season average to .196.

May 7, 2022

José Abreu went 2-for-5 with an RBI double and a run scored in Saturday's 3-1 victory over the Red Sox.

After AJ Pollock was placed on second base in the top of the tenth, Abreu cranked a 107.7 mph, 322-foot double to center field off of Matt Barnes, giving the White Sox a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. The veteran first baseman has been a bit unlucky to begin the season, but with a hit in eight of his last nine games, it looks like things are starting to even out for him.

Hernández went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run in 7-3 win against the Angels on Saturday.

Hernández took Angels starter Michael Lorenzen deep in the second inning and later tacked on a walk and run in the fourth. The 34-year-old has been scorching of late, going 13-for-25 with four doubles and a home run in his last six games, and he is now slashing .371/.400/.557 on the season.

Jorge Soler blasted a grand slam on Saturday night, propelling the Marlins to an 8-0 victory over the Padres.

Soler put the icing on the victory for the Marlins in this one, launching the first pitch that he saw from Ray Kerr in the ninth inning for a 405-foot grand slam to make it an 8-0 game. He also doubled in the contest, finishing the night 2-for-5. His bat has picked it up a little, but he's still hitting just .178/.284/.347 with four homers and 12 RBI on the season.