MLB Player News

The Nationals released Wiemer on Wednesday.

Wiemer won a spot on the Nationals' Opening Day roster and went 10-for-17 with three extra-base hits and five walks over his first five games, but that ended up being the high-water mark of his season. Following the hot start, Wiemer posted a .635 OPS and struck out at a 41 percent clip over his next 27 games before the Nationals optioned him to Triple-A Rochester on May 19. After Wiemer slashed an abysmal .189/.271/.250 with a 30.7 percent strikeout rate over 166 plate appearances at Syracuse, the Nationals decided that his 40-man roster spot could be put to better use.

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.

Crow-Armstrong will bat leadoff and start at designated hitter Wednesday against the Dodgers.

The Cubs will give Crow-Armstrong a day off his feet, but he'll remain in his usual spot in the batting order. Tyrone Taylor will cover center field and bat ninth for the Cubs.

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.

Triple-A Syracuse placed Clifford on the 7-day injured list Tuesday due to an unspecified injury.

Clifford, a 23-year-old first-base prospect, had been slashing .185/.277/.365 with 16 home runs and eight stolen bases over 406 plate appearances at Syracuse this season.

The Mets released Tauchman on Wednesday.

Tauchman has missed most of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus but return to action for the Mets' top affiliate coming out of the All-Star break. In just 33 plate appearances with Triple-A Syracuse, Tauchman slashed .188/.212/.219.

Hernandez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Kirsten Watson of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

Tommy Edman will draw a start in left field while Hernandez rests for a day game after a night game. Hernandez had been included in the lineup in each of the Dodgers' last 12 contests, slashing .341/.383/.614 with three home runs, nine runs and four RBI during that stretch.

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.