MLB Player News

Harper went 1-for-5 with a run scored in Sunday's win over the Tigers.

Harper is entering the All-Star break in quite a rough slump. Over his last 14 games, the star first baseman has gone just 8-for-51 (.157) with one home run, three doubles, seven RBI and four runs scored. Fantasy managers will be hoping Harper, who's slashing what's still a potent .260/.365/.497 with 20 homers, 57 RBI and five stolen bases over 408 plate appearances, rediscovers his power stroke following Monday's Home Run Derby.

Aranda went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and was hit by a pitch in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Mariners.

Aranda's lone hit produced the only scoring of the night for Tampa Bay, as he launched a two-run homer off Eduard Bazardo in the eighth inning. The long ball was his 14th of the year to match his career high from last season. The first baseman heads into the All-Star break swinging a hot bat, going 11-for-19 (.579) with six RBI over his last five games. Through 93 games, Aranda is slashing .297/.394/.471 with 14 home runs, 17 doubles, 64 RBI and 48 runs scored.

Busch went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Reds.

Busch laced his 16th and 17th doubles of the season to help lead Chicago to victory, and he hit them both against southpaw Andrew Abbott to boot. The first baseman goes into the break with five hits across his last two games, but it's mostly been an underwhelming first half following his breakout 2025. Busch has a .763 OPS, 11 home runs and 49 RBI across 95 contests so far this year. In 2025, he finished with an .866 OPS, 34 homers and 90 RBI in 155 regular-season games.

Ortiz was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.

Ortiz was called up to the big-league roster and made his major-league debut Sunday, going 1-for-2 with a double before he was replaced by pinch-hitter Curtis Mead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ortiz will now head back to Rochester and will await his next chance with the Nationals.

France will start at first base and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

France will receive a third consecutive start and appears to have leapfrogged Miguel Andujar for the final opening in the Padres' regular lineup versus right-handed pitching. Since the beginning of July, France is hitting .250 with three extra-base hits, three RBI and two runs over eight games.

Grissom is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.

Though he'll be giving way to Oswald Peraza at second base in the series finale, Grissom may have inched ahead of him on the depth chart after a strong finish to the Angels' first-half schedule. Grissom had started the previous four games, going 7-for-17 with a home run, a double, a walk, six RBI and three runs during that span. The 25-year-old now maintains a .708 OPS on the season, placing him slightly ahead of Peraza's .663 mark.

Young is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

The Mets will keep Young on the bench for a second straight day against another lefty starter in Payton Tolle. Eric Wagaman will serve as the first baseman once again and bat cleanup.

The Nationals recalled Ortiz from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday. He'll start at designated hitter and bat third in the series finale against the Yankees.

Heading into spring training, Ortiz looked like he had a chance to break camp with the big club, but he ended up spending the first three-plus months of the season at Rochester. The 24-year-old will now see his first action with the Nationals in the final game before the All-Star break, earning his chance after slashing .239/.336/.496 with 17 home runs across 304 plate appearances at Triple-A. Ortiz could end up settling into the strong side of a platoon at DH if the Nationals are willing to move Jacob Young into a fourth outfielder role and commit to Dylan Crews as their primary option in center field.

Guerrero went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run, a walk and a stolen base in Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Padres.

Guerrero has now homered twice over his last three contests following a 17-game power drought. This was also his first multi-hit effort since June 26 versus the Rangers. The first baseman is enduring a down year, batting .265 with a .709 OPS, six homers, 41 RBI, 51 runs scored and 14 doubles over 90 contests, though he's also at seven steals, one shy of matching his career high from 2022.

France went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a second RBI and two total runs scored in Saturday's 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.

France hit a sacrifice fly during the first inning and added his solo shot to put the Padres ahead for good in the sixth. This was his sixth multi-hit effort over his last 13 games, a span in which he has gone 15-for-44 (.341) with six extra-base hits. For the season, the first baseman is batting .265 with an .811 OPS, 11 homers, 32 RBI, 23 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples and one stolen base over 69 games.