MLB 2024 | Iglesias earns ninth save; Arozarena homers; Ibáñez went 4-for-4 with 2 HRs; Armenteros DFA
- Ray Otero-Alonso
- May 8, 2024
- 4 min read
Cuban Players News for the 2024 Major League Baseball season. A compilation of several sources
Raisel Iglesias earned his ninth save of the season in Tuesday’s win over the Red Sox.
Atlanta Braves closer Raisel Iglesias picked up his ninth save of the season in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Red Sox. Iglesias came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by two and shut the door with a 1-2-3 outing with a strikeout. The 34-year-old veteran has not racked up the strikeouts as people would expect but has converted all but two save opportunities with a 1.88 ERA. It was a much-needed win over a beatable team after the Braves dropped all three games on the road against the Dodgers, as Iglesias is now 9-for-11 in save opportunities on the season.
Randy Arozarena swatted a two-run homer on Tuesday in the Rays’ win over the White Sox.
Arozarena lifted a no-doubter to left field off White Sox starter Michael Soroka in the third inning for his sixth big fly of the season. The 29-year-old stalwart got off to a painfully-slow start at the outset of the year, but has turned it on of late, homering three times in his last five contests since May 3.
Andy Ibáñez: Four hits, two homers vs. Cleveland.
Ibáñez went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double, four total RBI and two additional runs scored in Tuesday's 11-7 win over the Guardians. Ibáñez led off the game with a solo homer off Logan Allen before breaking a 2-2 tie with a three-run shot in the second inning. It's the second multi-homer game of Ibanez's career, though he hadn't logged an extra-base hit through his first 13 games this season. The 31-year-old utility man is now slashing .364/.361/.576 with seven RBI and seven runs scored in 36 plate appearances. Ibáñez is now 8-for-18 since returning from the injured list on April 30th. Ibáñez could take on a platoon role at second base, as Colt Keith's struggled to start the campaign. In 17 career games versus the Guardians, Ibáñez is now hitting a ridiculous .441 (26-for-59) with nine extra-base hits and 15 RBI.
Jorge Soler remained absent from the lineup for Tuesday’s contest against the Rockies.
It’s a tough break for the team as Soler will wind up missing an extremely favorable matchup against Rockies righty Dakota Hudson at Coors Field. The 32-year-old righty has been out since last weekend due to right shoulder soreness. He remains day-to-day for now. It’s possible he’ll be available off the bench, but that remains to be seen.
Adrián Morejón didn't allow a run on Tuesday.
Morejón pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in the Padres' 3-2 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday. He threw 30 pitches, 22 strikes, and allowed three hits while striking out two. For the season, he lowered his ERA to 2.08 while keeping an insane SO:BB ratio of 21:1.
Athletics designated OF Lázaro Amenteros for assignment.
The 24-year-old will hit waivers after a rough start at the minor league level in Las Vegas. Amenteros slashed just .133/.278/.250 with 37 strikeouts in his 72 plate appearances.
Andy Pagés hitless on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Pagés played right field and struck out while going 0-for-3 for the Dodgers against the Marlins. In addition, he had one RBI. He is now slashing .307/.329/.533 for the year with 4 homers and 13 RBI.
José Abreu with no timetable for return to majors.
Astros manager Joe Espada said Tuesday that Abreu has "no timetable" to return to the major-league team, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported. Abreu was optioned to the rookie-level Astros' Arizona Complex League affiliate last week after slashing just .099/.156/.113 in 77 plate appearances this season. He's been working on getting his swing right and is "doing very well," per Espada, although Abreu hasn't played in any official games yet. The 37-year-old will likely be assigned to a higher minor-league affiliate eventually as he works his way back to the big-league club. With Abreu in the minor leagues, Houston has been starting Jon Singleton at first base. Singleton is slashing .258/.329/.435 this season with three home runs and eight RBI. If Abreu does return to the MLB, he will need to prove he can produce offensively to be an everyday player for the Astros once again.
Aledmys Díaz resumes hitting.
Díaz has resumed taking batting practice but is not yet running the bases, MLB.com reported. The veteran began a light running program in mid-April, but as this latest report indicates, he hasn't progressed to carrying it out fully just yet. The fact Díaz is back to swinging a bat is certainly a positive, however, yet he appears to be at least a month away from his season debut given the expected length of the rehab assignment he'll require. The 33-year-old veteran utility man won't be guaranteed playing time when he's able to return, though, after disappointing with a .229/.280/.337 slash line in his first year with the team in 2023 in 109 games. Even if Díaz does find regular playing time when he's healthy, he'll have a low ceiling with minimal power and speed. Díaz hasn't hit more than 18 home runs in a single season in his eight-year big-league career.
Víctor Mesa Jr. continues to hit well at Triple-A.
Miami Marlins outfield prospect Victor Mesa Jr. continues to hit for Triple-A Jacksonville, now with at least one hit in 22 of 27 games in 2024 and slashing .316/.377/.526. The 22-year-old has five home runs on the season and is keeping strikeouts to a minimum with a 16.0% K%. After stealing 16 bases in 2023, Mesa finally stole his first base of the season on Sunday as well. The left-handed hitter appears to be knocking on the door of the majors, and there's no reason to keep him in the minors with the lack of production in front of him and Marlins management all but waving the white flag on the season already.
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