MLB Player News

Mesa is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rangers.

Mesa has gone 3-for-8 across the two games he's played in since returning from a strained left hamstring Tuesday. He'll receive some rest Thursday while Jonny DeLuca gets the start in right field and bats fifth.

Caissie isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Caissie has posted just a .492 OPS in 62 plate appearances since returning from the injured list at the start of August, and he'll now move to the bench for the fourth time in five days. Heriberto Hernandez, Jakob Marsee and Griffin Conine will form Miami's outfield trio while Caissie sits.

Frelick is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Cubs.

It's the third straight day Frelick has been out of the lineup, but this is the first of those that comes when the opposition is starting a righty. The Brewers will go with Jake Bauers in right field and Andrew Vaughn at first base in the series finale.

Rafaela (quad) isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Orioles, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Rafaela was pulled from Wednesday's game in the seventh inning due to quad tightness, and he'll need at least a day to recover before making his return to the starting nine. His absence will allow Eli White to start in center field and bat eighth Thursday.

Chourio went 4-for-6 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over the Cubs.

Chourio stayed hot Wednesday, pushing his hitting streak up to seven games. The star outfielder has a pair of four-hit efforts over that stretch and has gone yard four times since the streak began. He's hitting .287 with 21 homers, 58 RBI, 15 stolen bases and 74 runs scored over 476 plate appearances.

The Giants announced Tuesday that Bericoto (knee) has begun a hitting and throwing progression and will start running later this week, MLB.com reports.

On the shelf since Aug. 24 due to a right knee bone bruise, Bericoto is eligible for activation at any point, but he looks like he still has a few more checkpoints to hit in his rehab program before rejoining the Giants. Bericoto appeared to have faded into the short side of a platoon in left field prior to landing on the injured list.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Thursday that Santander (shoulder) has been facing live pitching this week at the team's spring training complex in Florida and could be ready for a rehab assignment next week, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Santander had surgery in February to repair his left shoulder labrum, but he's given himself a chance to return before the end of this month with his recent progress. Still, the odds are long that he's able to make it back in the coming weeks and contribute offensively following an extended layoff.

Smith is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game versus the White Sox.

Smith had started the last four contests for the Astros, but this will be the third time he's been out of the lineup the last five times his team has faced a righty. LaMonte Wade and Taylor Trammell will be in the corner outfield spots in the series finale.

Valdez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants.

After going 1-for-9 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the series, Valdez will take a seat in Thursday's finale. Bryan Reynolds has shifted over to right field, and Jake Mangum will cover left field for the Pirates.

Bolte went 3-for-4 with a walk, two home runs, four RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 9-2 win over the Rangers.

The rookie outfielder wasn't getting fooled by lefty Cody Bradford, touching him up for two-run blasts in the third and fourth innings as the A's put the game away early. Bolte snapped a 16-game power drought with the performance, but he stayed productive during that span with a .299/.373/.358 slash line. Through his first 375 big-league plate appearances, Bolte is batting .274 with a respectable .739 OPS, eight homers, 15 steals, 30 RBI and 41 runs.