Astros OF Joey Loperfido appears to have finally earned a lineup spot. Man that took forever, didn’t it? Or maybe I’ve just been in the sun too long these past couple days. Warps time a bit. 

Athletics 3B Armando Alvarez was called up to take the place of 3B Abraham Toro. He’s 29 years old, so he’s unlikely to become a core piece for Oakland’s build, but I think he’s got at least a chance to stick around in a Joey Meneses kind of way. His past three seasons have netted positive wRC+ scores of 117 in 2022, 125 in 2023, and 132 in 2024, all in Triple-A as he stalled out waiting for a major league opportunity with the Yankees, Giants and Athletics. Unlike Meneses and a lot of these late-stage DH types, Alvarez provides solid defense at the hot corner. Over his last 20 games, he’s slashing .388/.456/.663 with five home runs and one stolen base. If not now, when?