MLB Player News

The Pirates placed Valdez on the 10-day injured list Friday, retroactive to May 8, due to left shoulder inflammation, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

It's unclear when exactly the injury first surfaced for Valdez, but he's gone 2-for-13 across his past four contests. The Pirates are now down another option at first base, with Valdez joining Spencer Horwitz (wrist) and Endy Rodriguez (finger) on the shelf. Ji Hwan Bae was called up by Pittsburgh in a corresponding move, though it's likely to be Matt Gorski that sees a bump in playing time.

Mervis is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox.

It's right-hander Bryse Wilson on the bump for the White Sox, but the left-handed-hitting Mervis will nonetheless begin the festivities on the bench. It's the first time this season that Mervis -- who is 1-for-14 with 10 strikeouts in May -- is not in the lineup versus a righty. Liam Hicks is in the designated hitter spot for Miami.

Valdez is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.

Valdez had started each of the previous 18 games at first base against right-handed pitching, but he will begin this one on the bench as Atlanta sends righty Bryce Elder to the hill. Matt Gorski will play first base and bat sixth for the Pirates.

Toglia went 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, a walk and two total RBI in Wednesday's extra-inning loss to Detroit.

Toglia and teammate Ryan McMahon each had two doubles and a homer in the contest, and the pair combined for four RBI. Toglia's long ball was a 413-foot, two-run shot in the third inning that broke a 3-3 tie. This was a much-needed positive performance for the young first baseman -- coming into Wednesday, he had gone 0-for-12 with seven strikeouts over his first four games in May (all road contests in San Francisco).

Wade went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Cubs.

Wade lined an RBI double into right field off right-hander Ben Brown, driving in the first of two runs in the fourth inning. The lefty-hitting first baseman has shown improvement after a lackluster start to the season, recording at least one hit in four of his last five games. Wade is now slashing .158/.259/.267 with 13 RBI, nine runs scored, eight extra-base hits and a 14:26 BB:K across 117 plate appearances this year.

Freeman went 3-for-4 with one run scored, one triple and four RBI in Wednesday's 10-1 win over the Marlins.

Freeman got the Dodgers on the board in the sixth inning with an RBI single, and he added to the lead in the seventh with a bases-clearing RBI triple before being brought home by Andy Pages. Freeman has been on fire at the plate and is in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak, going 22-for-46 (.478) with 11 runs scored, four home runs and 18 RBI over that span.

Reds manager Terry Francona said Wednesday that Encarnacion-Strand (back) is "continuing to take steps" forward in his recovery process and could begin ramping up his baseball activities next week, Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News reports.

After recently getting a second epidural injection to address his lower back inflammation, Encarnacion-Strand has reported improvement with his condition. Per MLB.com, Encarnacion-Strand has already been swinging off a tee and doing some running in the field, and he could soon incorporate more hitting and fielding in his workouts. The Reds haven't provided a definitive target date for Encarnacion-Strand's return from the 10-day injured list, but he's unlikely to be ready to rejoin the big club until the second half of May at the soonest.

Busch is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.

Justin Turner will pick up the start at first base in place of Busch as the Cubs go with an extra right-handed bat to counter Giants southpaw Robbie Ray. Busch has logged 19 plate appearances against lefties this season and is batting .188 with one extra-base hit (a double) in those matchups.

Triolo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

After making starts at either middle-infield spot in each of the last eight games, Triolo will take a seat for the series finale in St. Louis. Triolo could continue to serve as the Pirates' primary shortstop until Isiah Kiner-Falefa (hamstring) is cleared to return from the injured list, but Liover Peguero gets the nod Wednesday.

Freeman went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional RBI and a walk in an extra-inning loss to Miami on Tuesday.

Freeman twice gave the Dodgers a lead in the contest -- he plated a run with a single in the first inning and belted a 405-foot solo shot to center field in the sixth. The star first baseman not only has an 11-game hitting streak going, he's also tallied multiple hits in seven of those contests and is slashing a scorching .452/.531/.810 with four home runs, 14 RBI, 10 runs and a 7:6 BB:K during that span. Freeman missed some time earlier in the season due to an ankle injury and doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting-average leaderboard, but if he did he'd be leading the National League with a .344 mark.