Major League Baseball (MLB) and other Cuban Players News for the 2023 season. A compendium from several sources
May 12
Rays' Randy Arozarena: Clubs 10th homer. Arozarena went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Yankees. He got the Rays on the board in the first inning by crushing a Gerrit Cole offering into the second deck in left field at Yankee Stadium. Arozarena has surprisingly been a disappointment on the basepaths so far, stealing three bags on seven attempts and going 20 games and counting without a successful pilfer, but there's little else to complain about with his 2023 performance. The 28-year-old is slashing .317/.400/.577 with 10 homers, 26 runs and 31 RBI through 38 contests.
Astros' Yordan Álvarez: Smacks ninth homer. Álvarez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk Friday against the White Sox. Álvarez added an insurance run with his ninth-inning homer, his ninth long ball of the season. He's shown plenty of power of late, going deep in back-to-back games and five times in his last 15 starts. Unsurprisingly, he has an impressive .408 wOBA and 164 wRC+ to go along with 35 RBI across 32 games this season.
Johan Oviedo pitched five innings of one-run ball Friday versus the Orioles.
Oviedo did not factor into the decision Friday, allowing one run on four hits and five walks over five innings in a 6-3 loss to the Orioles. He struck out three. Oviedo struggled with his command Friday and walked a season-high five batters, but things could've gone much worse, as the right-hander limited the damage and was charged with just one earned run. Despite the free passes, it was a nice bounce-back outing for Oviedo, who had given up 17 runs over his past three appearances. He's 2-3 with a 5.14 ERA on the whole. He'll look to build off his solid start next time out, which is tentatively scheduled for a three-game weekend set versus Arizona.
Rays' Yandy Díaz: Eleven-game hitting streak. Díaz went 1-for-4 with a walk and an strikeout on Friday against the Yankees. The single extended his hitting streak to eleven games, during which he's hit .302 with two home runs, four RBI and seven runs scored. Díaz has had a great start to the season, highlighted by a .252 ISO and .423 wOBA across 162 plate appearances.
Astros' Jose Abreu: One hit against former team. Abreu went 1-for-5 in Friday's game against the White Sox. Abreu returned to Guaranteed Rate Field to face his former team Friday. He tallied a two-out single in the seventh inning but otherwise had an unremarkable performance. Abreu has one hit in three of his last four games -- including two doubles -- but he still has a disastrous .234 wOBA and 45 wRC+ across 156 plate appearances on the season.
Adolis García was not in the Rangers' lineup for Friday's game against the Athletics.
It was a rare day off for García, who has started every game for the Rangers since April 17. The 30-year-old slugger is batting .245/.313/.475 with 28 runs scored, nine homers, 36 RBI and three stolen bases across 160 plate appearances in 36 games.
Yasmani Grandal (hamstring) was not in the White Sox' lineup for Friday's game against the Astros.
It was Seby Zavala behind the plate for Chicago on Friday night with Grandal getting some extra time off the rest and recover after making an early exit from Thursday's game against the Royals due to right hamstring tightness. White Sox manager Pedro Grifol wouldn't rule out the possibility that Grandal winds up landing on the injured list, but it sounds like they're going to wait at least another day before making that decision.
Aledmys Díaz (hamstring) might return for Sunday's series finale against the Rangers.
Díaz, who has been out with a left hamstring strain, made it through some on-field running earlier this week without any issues, and is expected to skip a minor league rehab assignment. It sounds like he could be back later this weekend.
White Sox activated 3B Yoán Moncada from the 10-day injured list.
Moncada rejoined the White Sox for Friday's contest against the Astros following a one-month absence due to a lingering lower back issue. he went 0-for-4 with one strikeout. The 27-year-old third baseman batted .308 (12-for-39) with two homers and five RBI across nine games for Triple-A Charlotte on his minor league rehab assignment.
