MLB 2024 | Iglesias collects eighth save; Yandy and Arozarena remain hitless; Boston releases Vladimir Gutiérrez
- Ray Otero-Alonso
- May 1, 2024
- 4 min read
Cuban Players News for the 2024 Major League Baseball season. A compilation of several sources
Raisel Iglesias tossed a scoreless ninth inning on Wednesday against the Mariners to collect his eighth save of the season.
Iglesias was summoned to guard a three-run lead in the final frame and certainly made things interesting by issuing a leadoff walk to Luke Raley before giving up a single to ensuing batter Julio Rodríguez. He set down Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco before getting Cal Raleigh to ground out to preserve the victory. The 34-year-old veteran stopper has converted eight of nine save opportunities this season to accompany a sparkling 2.19 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 9/3 K/BB ratio across 12 1/3 innings (13 appearances).
Yandy Díaz finished 0-for-5 in the loss to the Brewers on Wednesday.
Díaz did reach on an error, but he was credited with four groundouts and one flyout today. His groundball rate is currently checking in at 62%, well above his already problematic career mark of 53%. Hopefully, it’s something he can straightened out in the next few weeks. Díaz is now 0-for-16 in his last 5 games. If not, it looks like we’re back to the Díaz of 2019-21, when he was a valuable major leaguer but one without much to offer in the league.
Red Sox designated RHP Vladimir Gutiérrez for assignment.
The Red Sox designated Gutiérrez for assignment Wednesday. Gutiérrez will lose his spot on the 40-man roster to create space for Dominic Smith, who signed a major-league deal with the Red Sox on Wednesday. The 28-year-old righty owns a 9.28 ERA and 2.16 WHIP across 10.2 innings in Triple-A this season, and he will likely pass through waivers unclaimed.
Randy Arozarena went 0-for-3 Wednesday.
Arozarena's problems continue. He went o-for-3 in a 7-1 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday. He is now 0-for-13 in his last 5 games and overall is slashing .139/.220/.235 with 3 homers and 9 RBI this year. Arozarena's issues are most likely related to his swings and misses this 2024. His whiff rate is poor 34.4 and the worst since 2020 while his K% is also bad sitting at 29.3. At this moment Arozarena is really struggling with a Batting Run Value of -10 while his Baserunning Run Value is -1, both in the bottom 5 according to Baseball Savant.
Andy Ibáñez was not in the Tigers lineup Wednesday
Andy Ibáñez was not in the lineup for the Detroit Tigers against the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday. Ibáñez received the afternoon off for general rest, with Colt Keith starting at second base and batting seventh against the Cardinals. However, he entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-1 lifting his BA to .333 in 9 games and 23 PA this year.
A scoreless inning from Aroldis Chapman on Wednesday.
In today's Pirates 4-0 loss to the A's, Chapman pitched a scoreless inning. In total, Chapman threw 14 pitches, seven of which were strikes. He struck out two and lowered his season ERA to 5.40.
Against Boston, Jorge Soler went hitless.
Jorge Soler went 0-for-4 in a 6-2 loss to the Red Sox. Soler so far has been a disappointment with San Francisco, hitting .211/.304/.385 with 5 homers and 8 RBI in 31 games and 125 PA. Soler's 27.3 K% is the second worst in the last four years, while his Exit Velocity (88.5) is the worst of his career.
In Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Adolis García went 1-for-3.
Adolis went 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Nationals. His last home run came on Apr 28 against the Reds, giving him eight home runs in 122 plate appearances while slashing .294/.352/.578 with 19 runs scored, 25 RBI, and four steals.
Yordan Alvarez continues to struggle.
There seems to be a mini slump going on. During Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Guardians in extra innings, the Cuban outfielder went o-for-4. Alvarez has gone 0-for-12 with an RBI since his second home run against the Rockies on April 27. It's still solid for him as he slashes .254/.323/.458 with 7 home runs, 18 runs scored and 18 RBI in 133 plate appearances.
In Arizona, Andy Pagés and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were still playing.
It was still going on in the seventh inning, when the Dodgers were leading 8-0 over the D-backs. Pagés was 1-for-4 with his third homerun of the season, two RBIs and two strikeouts in the game. During the second inning, Pagés blasted a two-run home run off Jordan Montgomery to open the scoring. As for Gurriel Jr., he was 0-for-3.
Marlins OF prospect Victor Mesa Jr. walloped a three-run homer on Tuesday for Triple-A Jacksonville.
Mesa continues to make a compelling case to get a shot with the Marlins, who have been one of the worst teams in the big leagues so far this season. The 22-year-old top prospect is batting .312 (24-for-77) with five homers through 19 games this season at the Triple-A level. There isn’t a ton of speed here, but he’ll chip in the occasional theft and could make an impact if he gets the call this summer.
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