MLB Player News

Cooper was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against Atlanta due to personal reasons, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

The specific reason for Cooper's absence has not been announced, so it's not clear if he's at risk of missing multiple games. Jerar Encarnacion will serve as the designated hitter in his absence.

Tellez isn't starting Saturday against Arizona.

Tellez started the last three games but went just 1-for-13 with a walk and five strikeouts. Keston Hiura will take over at first base and bat fifth.

Flores isn't in the lineup Saturday against Philadelphia.

Flores crossed the plate three times during Friday's blowout win over the Phillies, but he'll get a breather a day later. Tommy La Stella is serving as the designated hitter and batting seventh.

Flores went 0-for-2 with three walks, one RBI and three runs scored in Friday's 13-1 win over the Phillies.

Flores made an impact with patience, walking three times for the first time all season. The infielder also reached on a fielder's choice in the contest. For the season, he's walking at a career-high 10.4 percent rate. Flores owns a .245/.333/.422 slash line with 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 64 runs scored and 25 doubles through 123 contests, though he's been a little worse since the start of August (.234/.348/.340).

Toglia went 0-for-3 with a strikeout Friday against the Reds.

Toglia was recalled Aug. 30 and slugged his first career home run one day later. While he's gone only 1-for-6 with three strikeouts since, the Rockies have found him regular playing time -- primarily in right field -- as he's been in the lineup in all four games since his promotion. In 495 plate appearances between Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, Toglia maintained a .252/.343/.513 line.

Voit went 3-for-4 with a walk in Friday's 7-3 loss to the Mets.

The first baseman got no help from the hitters bracketing him in the Washington batting order, but it was still another good showing for Voit. He's gone 10-for-32 (.313) over his last eight games with two home runs and four RBI, and the 31-year-old has some incentive to stay hot down the stretch. Voit sits four homers short of his personal best of 22, set in 2020, and five RBI shy of the career-high 62 he produced in 2019.

Alonso went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's 7-3 win over the Nationals.

The slugging first baseman launched his 32nd homer of the year in the bottom of the sixth inning off Josiah Gray, putting the Mets in the lead for good. That gave Alonso his 26th game-winning RBI of the year, leaving him one shy of the major-league record jointly held by Willie Mays and Joe Torre. The 27-year-old also has 106 RBI in total on the season, giving him 29 remaining games on the schedule to rack up 14 more RBI and tie the career-best mark he set as a rookie in 2019.

Steer went 2-for-2 with a double, a solo home run, two walks and two runs scored in Friday's 3-2 win over the Rockies.

Steer lauched a solo shot in the fifth inning before scoring the go-ahead run on a Jonathan India single in the ninth. It was Steer's first game in the majors and he made it count, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. The rookie has shown some pop in the minors, with 23 home runs across Double and Triple-A this season. He has shown the ability to take walks as well, walking at a 10.4 percent clip in the minors this year, and he could help managers in deep fantasy leagues.

Walker went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Friday's 2-1 win over the Brewers.

Walker's finally experiencing some good luck and has his average up to a season-high .237 following Friday's win. Despite being in the upper percentiles of hard-hit and barrel rate all season, the first baseman's sub-.200 BABIP kept his average low through the first half of the season. He's been more fortunate since the All-Star break, posting a .306 average while the BABIP has climbed to .231.

Steer, who is starting at third base and batting seventh Friday, will be in the lineup as much as possible down the stretch, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

This makes sense, as Steer is one of only a few healthy hitters who could be a part of the Reds' long-term core. The 24-year-old was a shortstop in college before being a third-round pick of the Twins in 2019, but he primarily played third base this year in the minors while also seeing 20-plus games at second base and short. He slashed .259/.354/.479 with 15 home runs in 71 games at Triple-A split between St. Paul and Louisville.