MLB Player News

Church is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Miami.

Church started three straight games in center field following his first big-league promotion Sunday, but he'll begin Wednesday's contest on the bench. Lars Nootbaar will slide over to center field while Jordan Walker covers right field for the Cardinals in the series finale.

Pirates senior director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Cruz (concussion) has ramped up his activity over the last 24-to-48 hours but isn't yet ready to return from the 7-day injured list, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. "He's making progress and he's improving and he's feeling a lot better," Tomczyk said.

After landing on the IL last Wednesday, Cruz is now eligible to return at any point, but the 26-year-old looks like he'll still need a little more time to clear the concussion protocol. Jack Suwinski has received most of the starts in center field while Cruz has been on the shelf.

Mullins went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Tuesday's win over the Nationals.

The veteran center fielder collected his third steal in 15 games as a member of the Mets, and his 17th of the season overall. Mullins is still adjusting to his new environment after being acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline, slashing .173/.254/.288 for New York over 59 plate appearances with a 28.8 percent strikeout rate.

Castellanos is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

Castellanos will head to the bnech for the third time in 11 games. He had been out of the lineup just twice this season prior to that, once due to disciplinary reasons and once due to a minor injury. The Phillies will go with Brandon Marsh, Harrison Bader and Max Kepler in the outfield Wednesday.

Soto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during Tuesday's 8-1 win over the Nationals.

Soto went yard for the sixth time in 11 games, this time tagging Konnor Pilkington for a solo shot in the seventh inning. The right fielder has recorded a hit in 10 of those 11 contests, going 11-for-40 (.275) with three stolen bases and a 10:11 BB:K during that stretch. Soto is the only player in baseball with at least 30 home runs and 20 stolen bases this season.

Harris went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over the White Sox.

The center fielder got Atlanta's offense going early in a wild 11-10 victory, as he took Shane Smith deep in the first inning. Harris has hit safely in 12 straight games, as the swing adjustments he's been working on this season finally begin to pay dividends, and over that stretch he's batting a stunning .471 (24-for-51) with four doubles, six homers, two steals, 11 runs and 17 RBI.

Acuna went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's win over the White Sox.

It was Acuna's fifth steal of the season in his 60th game, and his first in five contests since returning from a calf strain over the weekend. Given his recent spate of lower-body injuries, including the torn ACL that ended his 2024 campaign prematurely, speed isn't expected to be a big part of his fantasy arsenal any longer, but Acuna's 28.0 feet/second sprint speed (66th percentile) this season is right in line with the average speed he posted during his incredible 2023, when he swiped 73 bags in 87 attempts. His bat remains as potent as ever -- the 27-year-old is slashing .301/.424/.551 this year between IL stints with 14 homers, 28 RBI and 52 runs.

Call went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBI and three runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

Call entered Tuesday's game 4-for-23 (.174) since joining the Dodgers, but he doubled that hit total with a big performance. He drilled a solo homer in the second inning, followed by an RBI single and another run scored in the third. He added a double in the fifth before capping off his night with a single in the seventh. Call is now slashing .276/.371/.396 with 17 extra-base hits and 37 runs through 270 plate appearances this season.

Gurriel went 1-for-4 with three RBI in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Guardians.

Gurriel knocked in a run on a groundout in the fourth inning and then singled home a pair in the seventh to give the Diamondbacks a 6-4 lead. He's hit safely in six straight contests while producing 10 RBI over that span. Gurriel owns a .247/.296/.410 slash line with 16 home runs, 69 RBI, a career-high 10 steals and 44 runs scored over 117 games.

Frelick went 3-for-8 with a walk and two RBI across both games of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Cubs.

Getting the nod in the leadoff spot for both ends of the twin bill, Frelick did his job setting the table, but the Brewers still got swept. The 25-year-old outfielder is surging in August despite missing a few games early in the month with a sore knee, slashing .348/.455/.478 over 13 contests with three doubles, a homer, a steal, eight RBI and 12 runs.