• Nursing injured elbow
    Kepler is absent from Saturday's lineup against the Athletics due to a sore elbow, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

    Advice: Kepler was hit by a pitch on the elbow Friday and according to manager Rocco Baldelli, the outfielder is sore while dealing with some stiffness. Baldelli said that Kepler will probably "need a day or two," but the injury isn't considered to be a long-term concern. Rotowire.com Today, 10:01 am
    Max KeplerMIN - OF
    PPD vs OAK
     
  • Absent from lineup
    Caballero (illness) is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus Atlanta.

    Advice: Caballero was removed from Friday's series opener due to an illness and he'll remain on the bench to start Saturday's contest. Brandon Lowe will draw the start at second base and bat second against Atlanta. Rotowire.com Today, 9:57 am
    José CaballeroTB - 2B,SS
    1:10 pm @ATL
     
  • More BP, then games
    Contreras (forearm) came out of his Friday's batting practice session with no issues and will repeat the step for the next few days, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

    Advice: It was the first time Contreras had taken BP since he had surgery on his fractured left forearm in early May. The hope is that he will be ready for a rehab assignment after a few days of batting practice, but he will need to gain medical clearance first. Contreras is tracking toward an earlier-than-expected return, but there's no target date just yet. Rotowire.com Today, 9:45 am
  • Breather Saturday
    Kepler is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Athletics.

    Advice: Kepler will take a seat after he went 4-for-7 with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored over the first two games of the series. Trevor Larnach will slide over to right field while Austin Martin enters the lineup in left field and bats ninth against Oakland. Rotowire.com Today, 8:48 am
    Max KeplerMIN - OF
    PPD vs OAK
     
  • Contract selected Saturday
    Laureano had his contract selected from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.

    Advice: Laureano will join Atlanta's major-league roster after fellow outfielder Michael Harris (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. Laureano has posted a .362 average with three home runs, 12 RBI and 13 runs scored over 58 at-bats in 14 contests with Gwinnett. In order to make room on the 40-man roster for the outfielder, Spencer Strider (elbow) was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. Rotowire.com Today, 7:37 am
     
  • Braves add veteran Ramón Laureano to outfield mix
    Braves selected the contract of OF Ramón Laureano from Triple-A Gwinnett.

    Advice: Laureano gets the call back to the majors ahead of Saturday’s showdown against the Rays with center fielder Michael Harris II landing on the injured list with a left hamstring strain. The 29-year-old outfielder was released last month by the Guardians after posting a disastrous .494 OPS in 31 games to open the year. He quickly latched on with the Braves and finds himself back in the majors as extra outfield depth after batting .362 (21-for-58) with three homers in 14 games for Triple-A Gwinnett. Rotoworld Today, 7:36 am
     
  • Homers, drives in four
    Kepler went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Friday's win over Oakland.

    Advice: Kepler did most of his damage with a three-run shot in the sixth inning but later delivered a clutch walk-off single in the 10th. He entered Friday's game with a .398 OPS in 11 games this month and the home run was his first since May 22. Kepler is now slashing .263/.326/.433 with 19 extra-base knocks and 27 RBI through 190 plate appearances. Rotowire.com Today, 5:02 am
    Max KeplerMIN - OF
    PPD vs OAK
     
  • Max Kepler homers, delivers walk-off win on Friday
    Max Kepler went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI on Friday night, propelling the Twins to a walk-off 6-5 victory over the Athletics in 10 innings.

    Advice: Kepler broke out of his recent funk in a major way in the sixth inning on Friday, crushing a game-tying 426-foot (105.6 mph EV) three-run shot off of Mitch Spence that evened things up at 4-4. He then came through with a walk-off RBI single off of Scott Alexander in the 10th inning that sent the Twins’ home faithful into a frenzy. With his three-hit effort, the 31-year-old outfielder is now slashing .263/.326/.433 with five homers and 27 RBI on the season. Rotoworld Yesterday, 8:45 pm
    Max KeplerMIN - OF
    PPD vs OAK
     
  • Exits with illness
    Caballero was removed from Friday's game against Atlanta due to an illness, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

    Advice: Richie Palacios replaced Caballero at second base during the third inning. The 27-year-old infielder is slashing .241/.333/.483 across 33 plate appearances since the beginning of June and will continue to rest as he fights off his sickness. Rotowire.com Yesterday, 5:28 pm
    José CaballeroTB - 2B,SS
    1:10 pm @ATL