MLB 2022 | Cuban Players News

Daily Major League Baseball (MLB) Cuban Players News for the 2022 season. A compendium from several MLB sources.

José Iglesias (Photo: AP)

Apr 14, 2022

José Iglesias collected another single and shines defensively.

Shortstop José Iglesias is off to a good start this year, and on Thursday night he went 1-for-4 against Chicago Cubs at Coors Field, raising his batting average to .333. Iglesias also made a great defensive play in the third inning, reaching a ground-ball near second base and completing the play with a spinning throw to first base to get Frank Schwindel out, and keeping Jonathan Villar at second. Iglesias slash line during the first week of the season is .333/.400/.389

Abreu went hitless against Seattle.

José Abreu went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on Thursday afternoon as a DH, in a 5-1 loss to Seattle. Abreu batting average descended to .227 for the year.

Aroldis Chapman walked all three batters he faced after coming into a save opp against the Blue Jays on Thursday.

Fortunately, Michael King bailed him out in a 3-0 game, allowing none of the inherited runners to score. Chapman threw just four strikes among his 16 pitches tonight. He had looked strong up to this point -- he entered the game with a 5/0 K/BB ratio and no hits allowed in three innings -- but he's good for a few scares per year at this stage of his career.

Luis Robert, first hitless game of the year.

After hitting safely in each of the White Sox's first five games of the season, including back-to-back contests with a solo home run, Luis Robert went hitless on Thursday afternoon against Seattle. Robert went 0-for-4 with a strikeout, and now the Cuban outfielder is slashing .292/.320/.583 through the first week of the season.

Yadiel Hernandez went 3-for-4 and knocked in two runs versus the Pirates on Thursday.

Hernandez, who had a solid .273/.329/.413 line last year, is 7-for-17 in the early going. He probably would have been an adequate DH had the Nationals not signed Nelson Cruz for that role. Playing Hernandez in left does weaken the Nationals' outfield defense, so he shouldn't be a full-timer out there. It'd be easier to start him with the rangier Victor Robles in center than with Lane Thomas there, but it's Robles that the team needs to be replacing.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. made a fielding error in Toronto's 3-0 loss in New York.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is having a terrible 2022 season start. On Thursday night at Yankee Stadium, the Cuban outfielder made a fielding error that allowed New York to score the first run of the fourth game of the series against Toronto. The run proved to be decisive. Gurriel, batting cleanup, went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts and a HBP. His batting average ascended to .192 from .174 the night before.

Yasmani Grandal got the day off Thursday.

Reese McGuire started at catcher and hit seventh versus the Mariners and right-hander Logan Gilbert. Jose Abreu was at DH and Gavin Sheets covered first base in the afternoon tilt at Guaranteed Rate Field.