MLB Player News

Rivas isn't in the Pirates' lineup Thursday against the Cubs, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Rivas will sit out Thursday after going 3-for-14 with a homer and two RBI across his last five games. Jared Triolo will instead start at first base while batting sixth.

Smith isn't in the Nationals' lineup Thursday versus Atlanta, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

With southpaw Max Fried on the mound for Atlanta, the lefty-hitting Smith will retreat to the dugout to begin Thursday's game. Joey Meneses will fill in at first base, moving Keibert Ruiz into the DH spot while Drew Millas starts behind the dish.

Santana is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game at St. Louis.

Rowdy Tellez will start at first base and bat fifth versus the Cardinals and right-hander Miles Mikolas. Santana grabs a bit of rest after going 0-for-4 in the Brewers' win Wednesday.

Encarnacion-Strand went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to Minnesota.

Encarnacion-Strand launched his ninth homer in the fourth inning, the rookie's third long ball over the last four games. A slumping Elly De La Cruz, who sat out for the third time in the last six contests, has opened a few extra opportunities for Encarnacion-Strand and Noelvi Marte on the left side of the infield.

Walker went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Giants.

The first baseman took a back seat to Corbin Carroll, who became the first rookie in MLB history to hit 25 home runs and steal 50 bases in a season, but Walker's theft gave him a career-high 10 steals. The achievement is something to feel good about in a September that hasn't been kind to him, as Walker entered the day batting .169 with a .527 OPS for the month.

Bell went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run and a double in a loss to the Mets on Wednesday.

Bell accounted for half of Miami's scoring output with his 417-foot solo shot in the sixth inning. The veteran slugger had gone 14 games without a long ball prior to the blast, slashing .216/.273/.255 with a 30.9 percent strikeout rate over the cold stretch. He's slowed down quite a bit after slamming eight home runs over his first 26 contests as a Marlin.

Wade went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Wade took the fifth pitch of the game from Merrill Kelly over the right-field fence, but it was all downhill from there for the Giants. Wade's blast was one of three hits for the visitors, and they added four walks while putting just two runners past first base for the rest of the game. The 29-year-old is up to 16 homers this year, two shy of matching his total from 2021. He's added 43 RBI, 62 runs scored, two stolen bases and a .263/.377/.424 slash line over a career-high 128 games.

Rivas is absent from the lineup Wednesday versus the Cubs.

Connor Joe will start at first base and bat cleanup with left-hander Justin Steele toeing the slab for Chicago. Rivas has batted .167 with a .445 OPS in only 19 major-league plate appearances against lefties this year.

Montero is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in San Diego, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

It's the first day off this month for Montero, who is 3-for-17 with 11 strikeouts over his last four contests. Kris Bryant is handling first base Wednesday.

Manager David Ross expressed optimism Tuesday that Candelario (back) could return next week, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

Candelario has been sidelined for over a week now due to a lower-back strain, but it sounds like he is making some semblance of progress with his side work. The 29-year-old corner infielder had registered a .773 OPS with five homers and two steals through 36 games for Chicago prior to landing on the injured list.