Cuban Players News for the 2024 Major League Baseball season. A compilation of several sources
Miguel Vargas slugged a solo homer to lead the Dodgers to a 3-0 win in the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Mets.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been reluctant to give Vargas opportunities so far as he made just his third start in this one since being summoned back on May 17 from Triple-A Oklahoma City. He connected for his first round-tripper of the season when he took Mets starter José Quintana deep in the sixth inning. The 24-year-old should probably get a longer look in Los Angeles, but it doesn’t sound like that’s in the cards at the moment, unless he’s going to force them to keep his bat in the lineup.
Raisel Iglesias threw a scoreless ninth inning to earn a save in a 2-0 win over the Nationals on Tuesday.
Iglesias struck out two and didn’t allow a hit as he picked up his 13th save of the season. He doesn’t get the respect that other elite closers get, but Iglesias has been one of the most reliable options in the closing role for a while now. He has a 2.21 ERA on the season and figures to remain near the league-leaders in saves as the season goes on.
Yandy Díaz hit second and played first base versus the Athletics on Tuesday.
He went 1-for-4 in a 3-0 loss to the A's. Díaz has 235 plate appearances thus far in 2024, and 223 of those have come in the leadoff spot. He’s hit just .254 with a .686 from that spot, however, so Tampa Bay moved the 32-year-old down a spot in the lineup. He's batting .249/.315/.352 with four home runs, 25 RBI and 22 runs scored in 235 plate appearances. However, Díaz has been more himself this month, going 27-for-95 (.284) with three homers, five doubles and 14 RBI in 24 games.
On Tuesday, José Abreu went hitless.
Abreu went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against the Mariners in a 4-2 loss. Since his MLB return, he has gone 1-for-6 with an RBI. Still, he doesn't appear to be the player Houston acquired from Chicago, but we'll have to wait a couple of weeks to see if he has recovered from his prolonged slump. With a .104/.157/.117 offensive line, two extra-base hits - a double - and four RBIs, Abreu has had one of the worst seasons in 2024.
Rays released RHP Sandy Gastón.
Gastón was signed for a $2.6 million bonus in the winter of 2019 as one of the top available international arms in that class. Things didn’t work out, to say the least, as he didn’t advance High-A and posted an ERA of 9.00 in 2024 with a 11/17 K/BB ratio over 11 innings prior to his release. Another team may find interest as organizational depth, but nothing he showed in the minors suggests he’ll ever have much relevance.
Athletics reinstated INF Aledmys Díaz off the 60-day injured list.
Díaz will have a chance to play after missing the first two months of the season with a calf strain. The 33-year-old returns for Oakland, and Tyler Nevin was designated for assignment to make room for him on the active and 40-man roster. Diaz has missed the first two months of the 2024 campaign after he sustained his injury in early March. He appeared in 10 games at Triple-A during his rehab assignment and slashed .154/.313/.308 with six walks and five strikeouts in 32 plate appearances. He figures to compete with Max Schuemann and Abraham Toro for work at shortstop and third base.
There was no decision Tuesday for Néstor Cortés.
Cortés was given no-decision in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Angels. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing five hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. In all, he struck out four. In 12 games, he has a record of 3-4 with an ERA of 3.30.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was not in the lineup Tuesday against the Rangers.
Gurriel went just 1-for-10 in the three-game series against the Marlins. However, it was a routine day off for Gurriel, who entered the game as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-2. Gurriel is batting just .210/.247/.296 with one home run so far in May. Gurriel was a first-time All-Star in 2023 and got off to a hot start in 2024, but he's cooled off considerably over the past month, hitting .175 (18-for-103) with just one home run, five doubles, and seven RBI across his last 27 outings. He will rejoin Arizona's regular lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Rangers and left-hander Andrew Heaney. The righty-hitting Gurriel is batting .323 with two homers, five doubles, and 10 RBI in 65 at-bats against left-handed pitching this year.
Luis Robert Jr. belted a solo homer on Tuesday in a minor league rehab contest for Triple-A Charlotte.
Robert made some noise right away in his first rehab contest at the Triple-A level with a towering blast in his first at-bat of the night. He finished 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored. The 26-year-old star will likely get a couple more rehab games under his belt before returning to Chicago, but he’s not far away at this juncture. He’s been out since early April due to a Grade 2 hip flexor strain.
