MLB 2022 | Yandy Díaz and José Abreu continue hot stretch, Yordan fine will be back today, and more

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

Yandy Díaz. (Photo: Getty Images)

Aug 21, 2022

White Sox placed C Yasmani Grandal on the 10-day injured list with a left knee strain.

Grandal had to be carted off the field after he attempted to avoid the tag at home plate in the seventh inning on Saturday. The team is calling it a knee sprain at the moment. There's currently no timetable for his return, but a lengthy absence would not be surprising. The injury came after Grandal was thrown out trying to score from second base on a single but was called out after trying to avoid a tag at home. The 33-year-old was grabbing his knee after the attempt and had to be carted off the field. The veteran has struggled this season and this injury could keep him out for an extended period of time.

Reds' José Barrero: Resting Sunday. Barrero is not in Sunday's lineup against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports. 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.

Yusniel Díaz will serve as the Orioles 27th man for Sunday's contest against the Red Sox in the Little League Classic.

Díaz will join the Orioles for as they take on the Red Sox for the Little League Classic held in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The 25-year-old outfielder is hitting .238/.327/.343 with four homers and seven steals across 196 plate appearances in Triple-A.

Astros manager Dusty Baker told reporters that the team will wait another day to evaluate Álvarez be he could return to the lineup for Sunday's finale against the Braves.

This is pretty encouraging news. The 25-year-old outfield left Friday's contrast against the Braves after experiencing shortness of breath and was later transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Álvarez has been outstanding this season and is hitting .295/.400/.612 with 31 homers across 428 plate appearances. The Astros and fantasy managers will rejoice when the slugger returns to the starting lineup.

Aug 20, 2022

Astros' Yulieski Gurriel: Provides clutch double in loss.

Yulieski Gurriel went 1-for-5 with a RBI and two strikeouts on Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Braves. Gurriel provided a clutch double off reliever Dylan Lee in the top of the 10th inning with the score favorable to the Astros 2-1, to give his team an important two runs lead before finally failing to win a second contest against the Braves in 11 innings. With his double, Gurriel reaffirmed its leadership among Cubans with 34 doubles and is now fifth in the entire MLB, a stat led by first baseman Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers with 39. It was also Gurriel's double #200 at MLB level.

Rays' Yandy Díaz: Continues hot stretch. Díaz went 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI in Saturday's win over the Royals. Díaz's double off lefty starter Kris Bubic drove in a run with one out in the fourth to increase the Rays' lead to four. The third baseman's bat has woken up recently as he boasts a .346 average and .654 slugging percentage in 26 at-bats over his last seven games. In addition, the 31-year-old hits better against lefties with a .900 OPS in 96 at-bats compared to a .754 OPS in 278 at-bats against right-handed pitching.

Luis Robert went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in his return to the lineup as the White Sox topped the Guardians 2-0.

Robert led off the sixth inning with a single off of Shane Bieber and came around to score the game's first run on an RBI double by Jose Abreu. The dynamic 25-year-old is now hitting .302/.338/.453 with 12 homers, 56 RBI and 11 stolen bases across 84 games on the season.

Nationals placed OF Yadiel Hernández on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain.

Hernández last played on Thursday but had been losing playing time to Joey Meneses and Joey Call recently. He is eligible to return to the active lineup in early September but it seems that the Nationals are prioritizing playing time for other players.

Padres' Adrián Morejón: Got third win against the Nats.

Adrián Morejón pitched two scoreless innings on Saturday against the Nats, in a 2-1 victory for the Padres. Morejón allowed two hits and struck out one, with 28 pitches, 19 of them for strikes. It was Morejón's third win of the season.

Yordan Álvarez (illness) was not in the Astros' starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Braves.

No surprise here after Álvarez was removed from Friday's contest against the Braves after experiencing shortness of breath. He was later transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. No official diagnosis has been released, but he's reportedly in stable condition. That's the positive news at the moment. It's unclear whether he'll wind up requiring a trip to the injured list. There should be an update on his status soon.

White Sox' Abreu: Double and RBI against the Guardians.

José Abreu continued his hot stretch going 1-for-3 with his double #29 of the year and RBI #58 in a 2-0 victory against the Guardians on Saturday's night. Abreu is slashing .308/.383/.465 with 14 HR and 58 RBI this year and in his last 7 games is crutching the ball going 12-for-25 with 2 RBI and a slash line of .480/.536/.520.

Braves' Raisel Iglesias: Scoreless outing.

Raisel Iglesias got two outs on Saturday's night in 5-4 victory against the Astros. It was an scoreless outing for the Cuban reliever that threw 18 pitches, 10 of the for strikes with a strikeout and a single. Iglesias was acquired by Atlanta on Aug 2 with the team paying the remainder of the 4-year deal - $58 million - the righthander had with his previous team, the Angels.

White Sox's Norge Vera: Bumped up to High-A. Vera had an abbreviated start in his High-A debut Aug. 14 as he works his way back from shoulder stiffness, White Sox Daily reports. Chicago's top pitching prospect had a two-week break in between his final start at Single-A and his first start at High-A. He did not allow a baserunner and struck out two over two innings in his debut for Winston-Salem. On the season, the hard-throwing 22-year-old has a 1.73 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 37 strikeouts through 26 innings between both levels.

Blue Jays' Lourdes Gurriel: Sat Saturday. Gurriel was on the bench Saturday against the Yankees. Gurriel sat after going 1-for-12 at the plate in his last three games. Raimel Tapia got the nod in left field.

Aug 19, 2022

Yankees' Aroldis Chapman: Wild again Friday. Chapman allowed a run on one hit and two walks over one-third of an inning against Toronto on Friday. Chapman entered in the ninth inning with New York down by three runs, so his struggles didn't do much to impact the outcome of the game. Nonetheless, it's discouraging that the veteran fireballer was unable to find the strike zone -- he threw just five of 14 pitches over the plate and walked the final two batters he faced to load the bases. Chapman was presumed to be in line to regain his closing role when Clay Holmes (back) moved to the injured list Aug. 16, but since that time Chapman has walked four batters and given up three runs over one inning across two appearances. He hasn't been used in a save situation, but it wouldn't be surprising if Scott Effross is called upon the next time a closer is needed given Chapman's ugly past two outings.

Rays' Randy Arozarena: Knocks in two runs. Arozarena went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a steal in Friday's 3-2 loss to Kansas City. Arozarena sent David Peralta and Harold Ramirez home on a sixth-inning single. He also picked up a steal in the game, his second this month, his first since Aug. 4 and his 22nd of the season. The outfielder has hits in back-to-back games and in three of his last four games, but has also struck out four times during that span. Arozarena is slashing .256/.323/.437 on the year.