MLB 2023 | Arozarena hits walk-off homer, Vargas went deep, Álvarez homered again for number 17

Major League Baseball (MLB) and other Cuban Players News for the 2023 season. A compendium from several sources

Randy Arozarena (Photo: MLB)

Jun 8

Yandy Díaz is absent from the Rays’ starting lineup for the second straight day on Thursday.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters today that Yandy Díaz has been nursing a minor hip injury. Díaz was held out of the Rays’ lineup for the second consecutive game on Thursday, though he is expected to be available off the bench. He’s tentatively expected to return to the lineup on Friday.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (groin) was held out of the Diamondbacks' lineup once again on Thursday.

It's the fourth consecutive game that the 29-year-old outfielder has missed due to a groin issue. Eventually, if he doesn't start to improve, the Diamondbacks are going to have to consider a trip to the injured list. Evan Longoria will function as the Diamondbacks' designated hitter on Thursday afternoon and bat fifth against Josiah Gray and the Nationals.

Jun 7

Randy Arozarena hit a walk-off homer in the ninth inning on Wednesday, propelling the Rays to a 2-1 win over the Twins.

On the second pitch from Jhoan Duran, Arozarena went opposite field to right-center on a 98.3 mph splitter. It was his 12th homer of the season, but his first since May 22. In the 12 games between long balls, he hit only .195 with three runs scored and five RBI. He was 2-for-4 in the contest and it was nice to see some power after a .250/.397/.390 stretch over his last 30 games -- with just four homers. On the season, Arozarena has hit .290/.394/.498 with 12 homers and seven stolen bases in the heart of a good lineup.

Miguel Vargas went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and two RBI on Wednesday in the Dodgers' loss to the Reds.

Vargas went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two total RBI in a loss to the Reds on Wednesday. Vargas blasted a solo shot to center field in the second inning and added a run-scoring double in the third. The rookie extended his modest hitting streak to five games, during which he's slashing .429/.529/.857 with three extra-base hits, three RBI and a steal. Vargas didn't hit his first homer until his 25th game of the campaign, but he's perked up a bit since with six long balls across his past 33 contests.

Yordan Álvarez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer against the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Álvarez pulled a 73.2 mph Chris Bassitt slider 366 feet to right, just over the wall, to put the Astros up 2-0 in the fourth inning. He also was robbed of another RBI by a nice Kevin Kiermaier grab in center field in the ninth. Álvarez has tailed off a bit of late, hitting .180 in his last 15 games to drop to a .274/.386/.582 overall line. But this is still Yordan Álvarez -- he has five homers over that span too.

Adolis García was not in the Rangers' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

García has been simply magnificent this season, batting .273/.331/.515 with 48 runs scored, 15 homers, 52 RBI and four stolen bases across 254 plate appearances through 59 games. He took a seat on Wednesday evening with Robbie Grossman in right field in his place.

Jorge Soler was absent from the Marlins' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Soler missed a pair of contests earlier this week due to right thumb soreness, so was not a complete shock to see him sitting out Wednesday's series finale against the Royals. The 31-year-old slugger, who has 17 homers and 36 RBI in 246 plate appearances this season, should be ready to roll for Friday's series opener against the White Sox in Chicago.

José Barrero was on the bench Wednesday against the Dodgers.

Barrero hasn't started in the infield since May 17, and his path to any playing time there seems gone now with Elly De La Cruz out. The Reds also prefer both Stuart Fairchild and Will Benson to him in the outfield right now. He seems destined to be optioned to Triple-A whenever any of the five Reds hitters currently on the IL gets activated.

Yasmani Grandal was out again Wednesday. Grandal was out of the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees. Seby Zavala was catching and batting ninth after slugging two home runs and tallying three total RBI to help the White Sox win 3-2 over the Yankees on Tuesday. However, late Wednesday morning the Yankees-White Sox game was postponed due to “clearly hazardous air quality conditions,” and they will play a double header today. Will see if Grandal plays in any of the two games.

Andy Ibáñez sat in second straight game. Ibáñez was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Philadelphia. Ibáñez was on the bench for the second game in a row, after he had previously manned the keystone for Detroit for three of the preceding four games. Zack Short got a second straight turn at second base while the Tigers continue to take a committee approach to the position while Zach McKinstry sees more time in right field to aid an injury-plagued Detroit outfield.

Aledmys Díaz was on the bench for day game. Díaz was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates. After going 2-for-4 with a run in Oakland's 11-2 win Tuesday night, Díaz went to the bench as the Athletics conclude their series in Pittsburgh with a day game. Kevin Smith and Diaz could end up forming a timeshare at the position after incumbent starter Nick Allen was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday.

Adolis García took a seat Wednesday. García was out of the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Cardinals. García received a well-earned day of rest after going 4-for-4 with a home run in Tuesday's 6-4 win.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal said yesterday that the Royals have told teams they'd like to pair Aroldis Chapman with another veteran in trade talks in order to shed salary.

It's not a must, according to Rosenthal, but it's something they're looking at. Rosenthal speculates on a Chapman-Scott Barlow pairing, which is odd since Barlow has positive trade value and will bring a decent return himself. If the Royals are truly looking to trim salary, the injured Brad Keller or Amir Garrett would make more sense to attach to Chapman.