Diamondbacks NewsUnsung hitters share spotlight with Player of the Week honors by Ed Eagle [MLB]
Vargas, 34, made the most of his five games started last week for the D-backs, going 8-for-22 (.364) with a double, a triple, four home runs, 12 RBIs and seven runs scored, tripling his homer output for the season. A 10-year big league vet who has never posted a full-season WAR above 1.5, Vargas currently leads the NL with a .367 batting average, .722 slugging percentage and 1.104 OPS and has hit safely in each of the 20 games he’s played this season.
This was also the first Player of the Week honors for Vargas, and the first for Arizona since Eugenio Suárez won for the fourth time in ’25 on July 21.
Diamondbacks reach month mark of 2026 season: 3 positives, 3 areas that need work by Alex Weiner [Arizona Sports]
“Sitting where we stood at the very beginning of the season, what the schedule was going to look like, where we were on the injured list, ending up here at 13-10, 23 games in, I’ll take,” general manager Mike Hazen told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke last week. “Not excited about some of the parts of what’s going on, but I think these guys have grinded pretty hard and played really well in large pockets.”
“We’re deep, and we got guys coming back,” Soroka said on Thursday. “So it’s an exciting team to be a part of, and it’s easy to rally around guys like Vargas and (Geraldo) Perdomo who keep the life going around here. It’s been a good atmosphere.”
D-backs May Have Avoided Worst-Case Zac Gallen Injury Scenario by Alex D’Agostino [SI]
Because for the first three frames of Saturday’s game, Gallen’s stuff looked sharp, his command was dialed in, and he was generating whiffs on both his knuckle-curve and slider despite the lofty 7,300-plus foot elevation of Mexico City.
If Gallen was beginning to generate some forward momentum, a stint on the IL or a skipped rotation turn might have derailed it. That may still be the case, depending on if his shoulder nags him in the coming days.
But for now, it looks like a somewhat safe bet that Gallen won’t miss much time, if any. That, of course, could still change.
Merrill Kelly Seeks Redemption as Brewers Challenge Looms by Jack Sommers [SI]
Chad Patrick was traded by the D-backs to the Athletics for Jace Peterson at the 2023 trade deadline. Last year he posted a 3.53 ERA in 120 innings for the Brewers, who acquired him in November of 2023. This year he has a 2.35 ERA in 23 innings, lowering his career ERA to 3.34 in 143 innings.
Twice the Brewers have used Patrick as the bulk pitcher behind an opener, and it’s possible they may do so again for this game. The official starter has not been named as of this writing.
Guards calling up Aussie Bazzana, no. 1 overall Draft pick in 2024 (source) by Tim Stebbins [MLB]
Get ready, Cleveland. The Travis Bazzana era is about to get underway.
The Guardians are calling up Bazzana (their No. 1 prospect and No. 16 overall, per MLB Pipeline) from Triple-A Columbus, a club source told MLB.com on Monday night. The 23-year-old second baseman and No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft could make his big league debut as early as Tuesday vs. the Rays at Progressive Field.
This has been a memorable year already for Bazzana, who was a non-roster invitee in big league camp this spring for the first time while also representing his home country of Australia in the World Baseball Classic. Though he was ultimately assigned to Columbus near the end of camp, he made a strong impression with both his performance and work ethic.
Red Sox’s Story: Conversation with Breslow ‘part of process’ [ESPN]
Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Monday he’s open to feedback about his communication style, which drew criticism a day earlier after the team’s surprise firing of manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff.
Veteran shortstop Trevor Story called Breslow’s explanation of Cora’s firing when Breslow met with the team Sunday morning not “satisfactory.” Reliever Garrett Whitlock noted that Breslow didn’t give players the chance to ask questions during that meeting.