MLB 2022 | Yordan pair of RBI in win, Cortés with another QS, Grandal avoids major injury, and more

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

Yordan Álvarez. (Photo: Houston Chronicle)

Aug 21, 2022

Yordan Álvarez went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI on Sunday, leading the Astros to a 5-4 victory over the Braves.

He's back. Álvarez showed zero signs of rust following a one-game absence due to illness, which required him to be briefly hospitalized on Friday evening after experiencing shortness of breath. The 25-year-old fantasy superstar walloped a two-run single in the third inning off Astros starter Charlie Morton and also singled and scored a run in the eighth inning. He's hitting a sublime .296/.400/.609 with 77 runs scored, 31 home runs, 79 RBI and one stolen base across 433 plate appearances.

Néstor Cortés held the Blue Jays to one run in six innings in a no-decision Sunday.

Cortés allowed a run on three hits and a walk while striking out five in six innings during Sunday's win over the Blue Jays. He didn't factor into the decision. Cortés' strikeout numbers have dropped since striking out 10 batters against the Mariners on Aug. 10, but he posted a third consecutive quality start Sunday. The southpaw was forced to settle for a no-decision during the low-scoring matchup, and he's yet to earn a win over four starts in August. Cortés has posted a 2.80 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 35.1 innings since the All-Star break and tentatively lines up to make his next start on the road against Oakland on Saturday.

Orioles' Yusniel Díaz: Heads back to minors. Díaz was returned to Triple-A Norfolk following Sunday's win over the Red Sox, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reported. Díaz was called up as the 27th man for Sunday's Little League Classic but didn't enter the matchup. He'll head back to Norfolk, where he's slashed .238/.327/.343 with four homers, 29 runs, 21 RBI and seven steals over 25 games.

Jorge Soler (back) resumed hitting in a cage last week.

Soler has been on the shelf since late July due to lower back stiffness and there haven't been a ton of updates from the club on his rehabilitation process ever since. The 30-year-old slugger figures to make it back to Miami at some point in September, but that's not a guarantee with the Marlins out of the playoff picture.

Yasmani Grandal (knee) is expected to return to play in 10-14 days after further examination.

Grandal is expected to return from the 10-day injured list in 10-to-14 days after an MRI on Sunday revealed no acute damage to the ligaments, tendons or cartilage around the catcher's strained left knee. The White Sox had reason to fear that Grandal may have suffered a season-ending injury in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Guardians after he was spotted on crutches following a home-plate collision, but the veteran backstop is facing a more favorable prognosis than expected after getting sent in for additional testing. According to the team, Grandal is still dealing with inflammation caused by a hyperextension of the knee, so he'll at least need some time off for the swelling to subside. Seby Zavala is expected to serve as the White Sox's primary catcher for the duration of Grandal's stay on the 10-day injured list.

Rangers' Adolis García: Swipes 19th bag. García went 1-for-5 with a run scored and a stolen base in a 7-0 win Sunday in Minnesota. García singled, stole second and scored in Texas' three-run seventh inning. The single extended his hitting streak to 18 games. During that stretch, he's posted a .301/.346/.397 line with four stolen bases. With just one homer in his last 109 plate appearances, the 29-year-old's slugging percentage has dropped to .445. Despite that drought, he is one long ball and one steal away from his first 20-20 season.

Rays' Randy Arozarena: Nabs 23rd steal. Arozarena went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in a 3-2 win Sunday over Kansas City. Arozarena singled, stole second and scored in the first and added a walk in the fifth. It was his 23rd stolen base of the season and second in the last three games. He's posted an 11:15 BB:K over his last 18 games, a dramatic improvement over the 25:104 BB:K he tallied before that. His .840 OPS since the beginning of July matches his career output before this season.

Astros general manager James Click said Sunday that Aledmys Díaz (groin) will miss "a few weeks" with his injury.

Díaz was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier this week after suffering a groin strain while making a play on Tuesday. A return in a few weeks would give him a mid-September timeline.

Rockies' Jose Iglesias: Got Sunday off. Iglesias was out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reported. Iglesias will take a seat for the third Sunday in a row, opening up shortstop for Garrett Hampson. While starting in each of the past five games, Iglesias went 5-for-19 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs.

Reds' José Barrero: Rested Sunday. Barrero was not in Sunday's lineup against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reported. Barrero had started 15 consecutive games since being recalled Aug. 3. However, he's hit just .193 with a near 51 percent strikeout rate in that span. Matt Reynolds will take over at shortstop and hit sixth in Barrero's place.