MLB Player News

Meckler is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The left-handed-hitting Meckler will be held out of the starting nine while southpaw Trevor Rogers takes the hill for the Orioles. Jose Siri will swap in for Meckler in left field and will bat eighth.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that Judge (rib) has been cleared to begin light activities, which includes outdoor running and upper-body resistance work, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Though Judge hasn't been given the green light to take part in baseball activities, a return to light conditioning and strength work still amounts to a major step forward in his recovery process from a stress fracture of the first rib on the right side. The Yankees remain optimistic that Judge will be back from the 60-day injured list at some point later this season, but a more precise timeline for his return won't come into focus until he's further along in his rehab program. Judge has been on the shelf since June 5 due to the injury.

Cowser is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Angels.

With southpaw Reid Detmers toeing the slab for the Halos, the lefty-handed hitting Cowser will ride the pine Wednesday. Christian Franklin will take over in center field and bat leadoff for Baltimore.

The Angels promoted Alvarez from Single-A Rancho Cucamonga to High-A Tri-City on Tuesday.

Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a walk Tuesday in his debut for Tri-City. Regarded as one of the Angels' top lower-level prospects, the 19-year-old earned the bump up to the Northwest League after slashing .296/.396/.479 with 11 home runs and 46 stolen bases in 96 games with Rancho Cucamonga.

The White Sox reinstated Hays (calf) from the 60-day injured list and designated him for assignment Wednesday.

Hays has spent most of the season on the IL while recovering from hamstring and calf injuries, appearing in just 12 games for the White Sox and slashing .233/.250/.326 across 44 plate appearances. The 31-year-old is healthy again and was productive over an 11-game rehab assignment at Triple-A Charlotte with an .894 OPS, but the White Sox didn't have a bench role available for him and opted to drop him from the 40-man roster. Hays should draw ample interest on waivers and could settle into a short-side platoon role in the corner outfield with his next team.

General manager Dana Brown said Sunday that the Astros are targeting "mid-August, potentially the third week of August" for Matthews' (knee) return from the 10-day injured list, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Per MLB.com, Matthews has been cleared to field grounders and hit on the field, but he has yet to resume running at full speed since landing on the injured list July 17 due to a left knee sprain. Before going down with the injury, Matthews had made six starts in center field over a seven-game stretch, but he'll be in search of playing time elsewhere once he returns after Houston acquired Daulton Varsho from Toronto on Monday.

Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said Tuesday that Raley is expected to miss the rest of the season after sustaining a left forearm strain, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

Per MLB.com, Raley had been dealing with discomfort in his forearm/elbow for multiple weeks before the Mariners elected to place him on the injured list Saturday. The Mariners are still deciding on a treatment plan for Raley, with surgery seemingly not being ruled out. A right-handed thrower, Raley won't be affected by the injury in the field, but since he bats from the left side, he'll require a lengthy recovery even if he's able to avoid surgery and instead treats the injury with rest and rehab. Raley's injury was likely a major factor in the Mariners' acquisition Monday of Taylor Ward, who served as a designated hitter in Tuesday's loss to the Tigers but is expected to serve as Raley's primary replacement in right field.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Toronto.

Despite holding a six-game hitting streak dating back to July 29, Smith will sit out Wednesday's series finale. Taylor Trammell will move over to right field and bat fifth for Houston.

Bolte went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 5-4 loss to the Reds.

The rookie center fielder produced his second three-hit performance in the last three games as he emerges from a slump. Over his last seven contests, Bolte is batting .474 (9-for-19) with a homer, two steals, four runs and four RBI. Tuesday's pilfer was his 30th of the season across all levels -- Bolte stole 17 bags in 19 attempts over 37 Triple-A games before his promotion, and has gone 13-for-20 across 70 games in the majors.

Franklin went 0-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Angels.

Making his MLB debut after being acquired from the Nationals in a minor deal at the trade deadline, Franklin got the start in left field and hit seventh. The 26-year-old outfielder drew a leadoff walk in the third inning and came around to score the first run of the contest, and then swiped his first bag after a seventh-inning fielder's choice. Franklin could be headed for a short-side platoon role in Baltimore's lefty-heavy outfield after slashing .251/.377/.363 over 93 games for Triple-A Rochester with six homers and 17 steals in 21 attempts, but Tuesday's start against right-hander Grayson Rodriguez at least offers hope for a larger workload.