Major League Baseball (MLB) and other Cuban Players News for the 2023 season. A compendium from several sources
Aug 24
White Sox's Luis Robert: Slugs 34th homer. Robert went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run Thursday in a loss to the A's. Robert continued his impressive campaign with a monstrous 444-foot shot in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Continuing to build on what has been an incredible season, Luis Robert Jr. also flashed his leather for an impressive grab for the second time this week, this time robbing Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics of a go-ahead home run in the fourth inning, preserving a 1-0 lead for the Chicago White Sox.
Robert has been healthy in 2023, and he's thus emerged as an elite outfielder and an excellent producer at home plate, posting a .265/.320/.554 slash line with 34 homers, 69 RBI, 79 runs and 16 steals in 18 attempts over 508 plate appearances. As an example of Luis Robert's offensive ability, Shohei Ohtani, who is now injured, is the only other big-leaguer with at least 30 long balls and 10 steals this season.
Yandy Díaz: Hitless in win. Díaz went 0-for-4 in Thursday's 5-3 victory over the Rockies. Díaz, who had multiple hits in six consecutive contests since August 15, went 14-for-29 during that stretch. Díaz hasn't homered since Aug. 6, but he is slashing .360/.406/.494 in August and is still leading the American League in batting average with .326 (140-for-429).
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. with another hit. Gurriel went 1-for-3 in Thursday's 3-2 win against the Reds. It is Gurriel's fifth consecutive hitting game, and he has hit .278 over that span (5-for-18). Gurriel is slashing .259/.307/.462 with 19 home runs, 66 RBI, 51 runs scored, 26 doubles, two triples, and four stolen bases through 113 contests, but he is hitting .313/.365/.537 during the month of August.
Yordan Álvarez returned to the Astros’ lineup for Thursday’s game against the Red Sox.
After missing two straight games with left index finger soreness, Álvarez hit cleanup as the designated hitter against the Red Sox in a 17-1 loss on Thursday. Álvarez went 1-for-3 with a walk. The 26-year-old is hitting .278/.384/.553 in 81 games with 21 home runs and 68 RBI.
José Abreu got a day off on Thursday against the Red Sox.
Abreu only played one game since coming off of the IL, but he was replaced for Jon Singleton on Thursday. The Astros ended up losing badly, 17-1 to the Rex Sox. Abreu has struggled for much of the season and was in a 3-for-35 slump before going on the IL, so perhaps the Astros will split at-bats between him and the left-handed Singleton more evenly going forward. Or, more likely, Michael Brantley will factor into the split more often when he is activated off of the IL soon.
Oscar Colás was sent to the bench versus lefty on Thursday. Colas wasn't in the White Sox's lineup Thursday against Oakland. Left-hander Ken Waldichuk started on the hill for the Athletics, so the lefty-hitting Colás was in the dugout to begin Thursday's game. He entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 0-for-1 with a strikeout and a walk.
