MLB Player News

Acuna (leg) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.

Acuna was removed from Tuesday's contest after fouling a ball off his left leg. X-rays were negative and Acuna informed the club that he was fine to play Wednesday, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. However, with the National League East already wrapped up, Atlanta will rest its star outfielder for a day just to be safe. Brewer Hicklen will cover right field Wednesday in Acuna's stead.

Keller (shoulder) said Wednesday that he feels fully healthy and plans to resume throwing in late October, Aiden Stepansky of MLB.com reports.

Keller has remained shut down since being diagnosed with a right teres major strain in early August. The rest appears to have accomplished its goal thus far, and Keller looks to be on track to have a normal offseason throwing program. Keller held a 5.29 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 89:42 K:BB over 115.2 innings for the Pirates this season.

Stephenson is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Atlanta.

It's a routine day off for Stephenson, who had started the last six games for the Reds. It will be Will Banfield doing the catching on Wednesday.

The Brewers optioned Gordon to Double-A Biloxi on Wednesday.

Gordon logged five innings out of the Milwaukee bullpen in Tuesday's loss to the Phillies, so he's being sent out in favor of a fresh arm. Lyon Richardson is taking Gordon's spot on the roster and in the bullpen.

Norby is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Diamondbacks.

Norby is slashing .305/.382/.441 in September and had made six straight starts, but he'll get a breather Wednesday. Adael Amador will settle in at second base for the Rockies.

Cruz is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Cardinals.

The lefty-swinging Cruz will retreat to the bench as the Cardinals send left-hander Matthew Liberatore to the bump. Jake Mangum will patrol center field and will bat ninth for the Pirates.

Edman went 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk, two total runs and two total RBI against the Padres in a 7-0 victory Tuesday.

Edman kicked off the scoring in the contest when he walked with the bases loaded in the second inning. The utility man drove in another run in the sixth when he slugged a solo shot to left-center field. Edman has gone deep in each of his past two contests following an ice-cold 12-game stretch during which he went 2-for-39. He's slashing .245/.330/.386 with eight homers, 43 runs, 40 RBI and six stolen bases through 80 games this season.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday in a 7-0 win against the Padres.

Smith put the finishing touch on a dominant Dodgers win with his solo blast to left field in the seventh inning. The backstop has gone deep in each of his past three starts. Smith missed nearly three months due to a neck issue, and he initially struggled upon returning to action Sept. 1. However, he's perked up with the bat of late, going 7-for-18 with three homers, a double, four runs and five RBI across his past five games.

The Cardinals believe Bernal can be "an everyday, workhorse catcher," per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and are giving him a heavy workload down the stretch to prepare him to be the everyday catcher in 2027.

Bernal has started all 19 games since being promoted Sept. 1, including 13 starts at catcher. The 22-year-old rookie has slashed .299/.341/.494 with four home runs and 17 RBI and has also drawn rave reviews for his work with the pitching staff. St. Louis is overloaded with catching depth, but it's become clear that it sees Bernal opening 2027 at the top of the depth chart at the position. Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, Jimmy Crooks and eventually Rainiel Rodriguez are also in the mix at catcher for the Cardinals, though they could move Herrera off the position permanently at some point.

Sasaki allowed two hits and struck out two batters over one scoreless relief inning against San Diego on Tuesday.

Sasaki logged his first game action since landing on the IL due to a finger blister in late August. The right-hander entered in the fourth inning and worked around a pair of two-out singles to work a scoreless frame. Sasaki twice hit triple-digits with his fastball and seemed to have no lingering issues from the blister. The outing was his first out of the bullpen this season, and that could be his role in the playoffs as well, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. While Sasaki has had a mostly promising second MLB campaign, Los Angeles' postseason rotation may not have room for him if Blake Snell (groin) is ready to go, and Sasaki has already demonstrated he can be successful as a late-inning reliever based on his performance during the team's championship run last year.