Jarren Duran went 2-for-5 with an RBI against the Guardians on Thursday.
With Alex Verdugo benched, Duran batted leadoff for the second time all season. He responded by knocking in Reese McGuire with a lined single to left field, and though he's been scuffling of late, Duran still has a .278/.335/.432 line on the season. If he does get elevated to the leadoff spot, Duran can start to build a case for value in fantasy leagues.
Will Brennan went 2-for-4 with a solo homer against the Red Sox on Thursday.
Brennan has been red-hot of late, hitting .440/.481/.760 with 7 RBI in his last seven games. It has raised his seasonal line to a reasonable-looking .267/.303/.404 and he is contributing in steals with five so far. He's still hitting fairly low in the order, but Brennan is starting to build the case for a pickup in deeper leagues.
Mike Clevinger was charged with three runs over 5 2/3 innings on Thursday in a loss to the Yankees.
Clevinger took the ball for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees and wound up retiring nine consecutive batters to open the contest before giving up a leadoff double to Willie Calhoun and a two-run homer to Gleyber Torres in the fourth inning. He also served up a solo shot to Billy McKinney in the ensuing frame. He'll square off against the Dodgers on Wednesday in Los Angeles.
Clay Holmes tossed a scoreless ninth inning in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox to record his seventh save of the season.
Holmes was summoned to protect a three-run lead in the final frame and immediately issued a leadoff walk to Luis Robert Jr. He retired Eloy Jiménez and Yoán Moncada before coaxing a game-ending ground out from Jake Burger to preserve the victory.
Ron Marinaccio fired 2 1/3 scoreless frames on Thursday in relief against the White Sox.
Marinaccio came on to record the final out of the sixth inning in relief of starter Randy Vásquez and proceeded to toss a pair of nearly-perfect frames. He struck out four batters and only issued one walk. The 27-year-old righty has become a key component of New York's bullpen mix this season and is on pace to easily eclipse last year's career-high 40 appearances.
Billy McKinney swatted a solo homer in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
McKinney tripled in the opening contest of Thursday's twin bill and wound up going deep off righty Mike Clevinger in the nightcap. The 28-year-old journeyman is getting an opportunity with New York in the wake of Aaron Judge's toe injury and figures to continue playing regularly in right field.
Eloy Jiménez went 1-for-4 in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees.
Jiménez delivered a go-ahead two-run homer in the opening contest of Thursday's twin bill and was responsible for one of Chicago's two hits combined in a shutout loss in the nightcap.
Gleyber Torres launched a two-run homer to power the Yankees to a 3-0 victory over the White Sox in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader.
Torres took righty Mike Clevinger deep in the fourth inning to break up a scoreless stalemate. It wound up being his lone hit in four at-bats in the low-scoring affair and was his 10th round-tripper of the season.
Framber Valdez pitched five innings against the Blue Jays on Thursday, allowing three runs and walking four while taking a loss.
The Blue Jays managed to load the bases in the second inning after a walk, single, and hit by pitch, but Valdez escaped by inducing a grounder by George Springer. Not quite so much in the fifth, when the Jays hit a ground-rule double to score one, and a Brandon Belt single scored another to give up the lead before Alejandro Kirk was hosed at home plate. Valdez's ERA skyrockets to 2.36, and he has struck out 89 in 84 innings -- the Blue Jays are just a pretty tough lineup for anyone to handle right now. Valdez is scheduled to take on the Nationals next Thursday.
José Berríos threw a quality start against the Astros on Thursday, going six innings while giving up just two runs.
Berríos allowed the first four hitters of the second inning to reach, but the homer he allowed was only a solo shot and he managed a double play to limit the damage. The Astros found only one other hit the rest of the way against Berríos -- it helped that Yordan Alvarez was pulled mid-game with an injury. Berríos (5-4, 3.61) has a 2.28 ERA in his last seven starts, becoming a fantasy bargain after a down 2022, and will take on the Orioles next week.
Alex Bregman went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Houston's loss to Toronto on Thursday.
Bregman pounded a slurve to left field 402 feet, giving Houston it's only extra-base hit of the day against the Jays. He's showing signs of fantasy production after a slow start, hitting .339/.413/.536 in his last 15 games to boost his overall season line to .250/.348/.403. Bregman has been more serviceable fantasy 3B than star this year, so hopefully he can keep the power coming.
Kody Clemens went 2-for-4 with a walk-off RBI single against the Tigers as the Phillies won 3-2 on Thursday.
Clemens is the strong-side of a platoon at the bottom of the Phillies lineup, and he punched a sharp single down the line in right against Alex Lange to win the game for the Phillies in the ninth. He's has displayed little power of late, slugging just .417 in his last 15 games, but he is hitting .267 this year and has been a fine use of a roster spot. Clemens does not need to be on your fantasy radar between the lower spot in the order and the platoon role.
Alex Cobb was removed from Thursday's start against the Rockies due to left hip tightness.
Cobb told reporters afterwards that he experienced a "sharp shooting pain" in his left side, but managed to pitch through the discomfort until the sixth inning when he was lifted after just 83 pitches for precautionary reasons. He added that he has "zero concern" about the issue moving forward, but it's a situation fantasy managers should keep an eye on. He's in line to face the Cardinals on Tuesday in his next start.
Reese Olson was impressive as a bulk reliever, giving up only a run on three hits in five innings while getting a tough-luck no-decision against the Phillies.
A Bryce Harper sacrifice fly in his fifth and final inning led to the only run after a walk and a single where Kyle Schwarber advanced to third. Olson generated 10 swinging strikes in 75 pitches and, were the Tigers to actually have an offense, he'd have a strong case to be on a roster rather than on the streaming radar. He has a 2.70 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP after two appearances. Olson's next appearance should be against the Braves next week.
Tigers released LHP Jace Fry.
Fry was cut loose after posting a serviceable 4.50 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 12/5 K/BB ratio across 10 innings (seven appearances) this season for Triple-A Toledo. The 29-year-old lefty hasn't appeared in the majors since the 2021 campaign and signed a minor league contract with Detroit back in February.
Tigers released INF Jermaine Palacios.
Palacios signed a minor league contract with the Tigers last November and never wound up making it to the majors in Detroit. The 26-year-old infielder got into 30 contests last year for the Twins and will search for a new opportunity on the free agent market after batting .176/.232/.352 with six homers and three steals across 138 plate appearances over 36 games this season for Triple-A Toledo.
Alex Lange blew his second save after being handed a one-run lead in the ninth inning against the Phillies on Thursday.
A leadoff double by Bryce Harper eventually led to a Brandon Marsh sacrifice fly, and Kody Clemens walked off the Phillies on a sharp single. Lange allowed three hard-hit balls in just six batters. His ERA is now 3.20 and he's got a 9.00 ERA and 1.71 WHIP over his last seven games. Fortunately for him, the Tigers don't seem to have a secondary closer option lurking.
Javier Báez went 1-for-4 with the go-ahead run in the Tigers loss against Philadelphia on Thursday.
He singled off Craig Kimbrel, took second base on an errant throw to first, then scored on a Nick Maton single. Baez has, somehow, even been worse than he was in 2022 with a .220/.265/.305 overall line and just five stolen bases. He doesn't need to be rostered outside of deep leagues or AL-only leagues at this point, even though he hits high in the order for the Tigers.
Kody Clemens went 2-for-4 with a walkoff RBI single against the Tigers as the Phillies won 3-2 on Thursday.
Clemens is the strong-side of a platoon at the bottom of the Phillies lineup, and he punched a sharp single down the line in right against Alex Lange to win the game for the Phillies in the ninth. He's has displayed little power of late, slugging just .417 in his last 15 games, but he is hitting .267 this year and has been a fine use of a roster spot. Clemens does not need to be on your fantasy radar between the lower spot in the order and the platoon role.
Kevin Kiermaier was removed from Thursday's game against the Astros after being hit by a pitch on the left hand.
Kiermaier was plunked in the left wrist area by lefty Framber Valdez in the second inning and managed to remain in the contest for a bit before being replaced by Daulton Varsho in center field to open the fourth inning. He'll presumably head for X-rays to determine whether he suffered any fractures. Stay tuned.