MLB Player News

Conforto is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Conforto started the Dodgers' previous 13 games versus right-handed pitching but will hit the bench against veteran Kyle Hendricks after beginning August in a 3-for-30 slump. The veteran outfielder has a .187/.299/.327 slash line with nine homers in 105 games this season, and that poor production may start costing him even more playing time down the stretch.

The Pirates placed Cruz (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Wednesday.

Cruz collided with teammate Jack Suwinski in the outfield Tuesday against the Brewers and was removed from the game in the sixth inning. He'll spend the next week trying to clear concussion protocol. In a corresponding move, the Pirates recalled Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis. Over the last 30 days, Cruz has slashed just .188/.245/.341 with two home runs, 14 RBI, nine runs scored, five stolen bases and a 7:29 BB:K.

Crews (oblique) is expected to be activated from the 60-day injured list ahead of Thursday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Crews has been sidelined with a strained oblique since May 20 but has appeared in 12 games at Triple-A Rochester on his rehab assignment, slashing .256/.326/.436 with two home runs, seven RBI, five runs scored, one stolen base and a 1:7 BB:K across 43 plate appearances. Prior to his injury in May, Crews was struggling badly at the plate, batting .196/.266/.354 with seven home runs, 15 RBI, 24 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and an 11:48 BB:K over 173 trips to the dish.

Gurriel is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

It's a routine day off for the 31-year-old left fielder, who has been slumping at the plate of late, slashing .167/.158/.278 with one double, three RBI, one stolen base and a 1:5 BB:K over the last seven days. Jake McCarthy is starting in left field and batting sixth against former teammate Merrill Kelly.

Acuna (calf) went through a full workout before Tuesday's game that included acceleration/deceleration drills, and Atlanta manager Brian Snitker indicated that the outfielder likely won't need a rehab assignment before being activated from the injured list, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Snitker ruled out Wednesday as a potential activation date for Acuna, but Acuna appears on track to rejoin the roster before the end of the week. The 27-year-old has been sidelined since July 29 with a calf strain, and over 55 games this season, Acuna is slashing .306/.429/.577 with 14 homers, four steals, 26 RBI and 48 runs.

Nootbaar (knee) will start in center field and bat seventh in Wednesday's game versus the Rockies.

Nootbaar exited Monday's game after fouling a ball off his left knee and didn't play Tuesday, but he's feeling well enough to give it a go in Wednesday's series finale. The outfielder is slashing only .231/.222/.308 and hasn't drawn a walk in seven games since coming off the injured list.

Frelick went 2-for-4 with a solo homer, two walks and three runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Pirates.

Frelick began his night with a leadoff home run off Paul Skenes and tied a season high with three runs scored. Tuesday was also Frelick's second game this season drawing multiple walks. He needs one more home run to notch double digits for the first time in his young career and leads the Brewers with a .293 batting average.

Laureano went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Giants.

Laureano got some rest Monday after a stretch of going just 2-for-15 across four games. He bounced back with a multi-hit effort in his return to the lineup, which also included his first steal for the Padres. On the year, the veteran outfielder is 5-for-8 on steal attempts, though he's made up for a drop in speed by having a career year as a hitter. He's batting .290 with an .882 OPS, 16 home runs, 54 RBI, 51 runs scored, 19 doubles and two triples across 93 games between the Padres and Orioles. Laureano's production has been fairly steady between the two teams, so he should continue to see a near-everyday role.

Merrill went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Giants.

Merrill slumped late last week, going 0-for-14 over a four-game stretch, but he's bounced back against San Francisco pitching. He's 5-for-8 with three extra-base hits over the first two games of the series, with the homer being his second across 11 contests in August. Overall, the outfielder is up to nine long balls, 51 RBI, 42 runs scored, 17 doubles, one stolen base and a .741 OPS across 87 games this season.

Nimmo went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 13-5 win over Atlanta.

It was the 20th round tripper of the year for Nimmo, who had entered the day in quite a slump. He was 4-for-31 (.129) with zero extra-base hits to open the month prior to Tuesday, and the long ball was his first since July 23 versus the Angels. The veteran outfielder is still slashing a healthy .266/.346/.455 with 11 homers, 11 doubles, 37 RBI and 11 stolen bases over his last 264 plate appearances (61 games), and Nimmo remains locked into an everyday role in left field.