MLB Player News

Walker (appendix) appears on track to be activated from the 10-day injured list prior to Friday's game against the Cubs, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Coming back from appendicitis, Walker has played two rehab games at Triple-A Memphis -- one as the designated hitter and one as the right fielder -- and seems to have come out of those contests feeling good. He will remain with Memphis for a few more days before likely returning to the active roster this weekend. Walker had been seeing his playing time versus right-handed pitching dip prior to his injury, but it's possible he'll see an uptick in starts if Lars Nootbaar's intercostal issue lingers.

Manager Brian Snitker said Sunday that he expects to slot Profar (suspension) in the middle of the Atlanta lineup when the 32-year-old outfielder returns from the restricted list for Wednesday's game against the Angels, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports. "I think we can move [Profar] around in kind of the middle of the order," Snitker said. "The fact he's a switch hitter and all that's gonna work out good."

Before he was handed an 80-game suspension March 31 for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drugs policy, Profar had batted leadoff in each of Atlanta's first four games. Ronald Acuna has since returned from the injured list to reclaim table-setting duties, but Snitker had previously said two weeks ago that he expects to deploy Profar as the team's everyday left fielder and No. 2 hitter upon his return. However, with Atlanta receiving good results from Matt Olson out of the two hole lately, Snitker is now more inclined to have Profar slot into the middle of the batting order against both right- and left-handed pitching, which could create more RBI opportunities for the switch hitter. Since beginning his rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett on June 17, Profar has looked dialed in at the plate, slashing .326/.404/.587 with three home runs and an 8:6 BB:K.

Scott went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 7-0 win over the Guardians.

Scott extended St. Louis' lead to 5-0 in the seventh inning with a 401-foot blast off Hunter Gaddis, his fourth homer of the year. Scott's gone 4-for-8 with a pair of extra-base hits over his last two games after going just 5-for-30 (.167) in his previous 10 contests. Overall, he's slashing .244/.330/.339 with 37 runs scored, 28 RBI and 22 stolen bases across 280 plate appearances this season.

Alcantara finished June with three straight multi-hit efforts, going 7-for-11 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.

Alcantara is heating up, and he finished June (the Iowa Cubs are off Monday) with a .306/.383/.486 slash line for the month in 21 games. The 22-year-old outfielder is one of Chicago's top prospects and is knocking on the door of the majors, though he's blocked in the outfield by the likes of Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. Alcantara did make his MLB debut toward the end of 2024, appearing in three contests, but he may need to be patient before earning a longer look with the Cubs. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on the youngster due to his upside and recent performance.

Fraley (shoulder) was given a shot of cortisone Saturday in an effort to avoid undergoing surgery and keep playing, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Fraley will eventually require surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, but he's doing what he can to stay on the field and help the Reds. He discussed surgical options with Cincinnati's orthopedic surgeon and was presented with one procedure option with a shorter recovery time -- in the past, surgery for labrum tears required an eight-to-12 month recovery. In theory, Fraley could undergo the surgery with a shorter recovery timeline during the offseason and be ready for the 2026 season.

McCarthy went 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI in Sunday's 6-4 loss to Miami.

McCarthy put the Diamondbacks on the board, delivering a run with a second-inning triple to tie the game at 1-1. It was his fifth consecutive start since being called up from Triple-A Reno and fourth straight game getting on base. McCarthy's first stint this season in the majors was marked by an inability to get on base (.170 OBP), but with Corbin Carroll (wrist) on the mend over the next couple of weeks, McCarthy should get plenty of opportunities to show that earlier performance was a fluke.

Myers went 0-for-3 with two walks, two stolen bases and one run scored in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Myers ran wild on the Diamondbacks this weekend, logging five steals during the three-game series. His work at the plate has been mediocre lately -- he's 7-for-39 (.179) with five walks and two RBI over his last 12 contests. This is likely just a bit of regression, as he had been hitting over .300 since April 19 after batting just .263 in 44 games in 2024. The outfielder is at a .298/.355/.417 slash line with four home runs, 12 steals, 20 RBI, 20 runs scored and eight doubles across 56 contests this season.

Lile went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Sunday's 7-4 extra-innings win over the Angels.

Lile extended his hitting streak to eight games, and this was his second multi-hit effort in that span. He hasn't displayed much power during the heater, logging just two extra-base hits (both doubles), but the consistency is a positive. The outfielder is now batting .234 with a .649 OPS, one home run, two stolen bases, four RBI and 12 runs scored over 84 plate appearances. He continues to see most of the time in right field versus right-handed pitchers while Dylan Crews (oblique) is on the injured list.

Wood went 1-for-2 with four intentional walks and a stolen base in Sunday's 7-4 extra-innings win over the Angels.

The Angels clearly wanted little to do with Wood, as they walked him intentionally four times. Per Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post, the emerging young star became the first MLB player to be intentionally walked four times in one game since Barry Bonds in 2004. During the Nationals' nine-game road trip through Southern California, Wood went 9-for-33 (.273) with two home runs, eight RBI, two steals and a 10:14 BB:K. Seven of those walks came over three games against the Angels. Wood has displayed strong plate discipline this season with a 14.5 percent walk rate, though he also has a fairly pedestrian 26.8 percent strikeout rate. He's added a .283/.386/.552 slash line with 22 homers, 11 steals, 64 RBI and 52 runs scored across 84 contests.

Cruz went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Sunday's win over the Mets.

Cruz has struggled heavily throughout June, but he finally broke out of a slump Sunday. His two-run shot in the first inning snapped his 14-game homerless drought before he added another two-run blast in the seventh. He's up to 15 home runs on the season, though just three of those have come during his last 25 games. Cruz is slashing .210/.321/.419 with 26 extra-base hits and 35 RBI through 74 games.