MLB Player News

Manager Tony La Russa said Friday that Vaughn could be activated from the COVID-19 injured list as soon as Saturday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Vaughn was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Thursday, but general manager Rick Hahn noted that he thought it could be a short stay on the IL for the rookie slugger. Nothing is official at this point, but based on La Russa's comments, Vaughn has a solid chance of being activated by the end of the weekend series against the Tigers.

Flores was removed from Thursday's win over the Cubs due to tightness in his hamstring, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The 29-year-old went 1-for-2 with a triple, a walk and two runs before being replaced by Mauricio Dubon at the start of the sixth inning. Manager Gabe Kapler indicated the injury isn't as severe as the hamstring issue that landed Flores on the injured list in May, though it remains concerning he's dealing with another injury less than a week after being activated.

Alonso is not in the lineup Thursday at San Diego.

The 26-year-old returned from the injured list Monday after missing less than two weeks with a hand sprain, but he'll take a seat Thursday after going 5-for-13 with a homer, five RBI and three runs in his first three games back. Dominic Smith will move to first base in Alonso's place, while Kevin Pillar starts in left field.

Goldschmidt isn't starting Thursday's game against the Reds, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Goldschmidt had gone 2-for-6 across the last two games, and he hit his first home run since May 11 during Wednesday's loss. Matt Carpenter will take over at first base and bat sixth.

Gurriel went 3-for-4 with a solo home run during Thursday's loss to the Red Sox.

With the Astros trailing 5-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Gurriel took Brandon Workman deep to get Houston on the board. After becoming the only Astro to not strike out against the Red Sox on Wednesday, the 36-year-old was the only Astro to score a run versus Boston on Thursday. Overall this season, Gurriel has put together a strong slash line of .310/.380/.519 with eight home runs and leads the Astros in hits (58), RBI (40) and batting average (.310).

Cabrera (hamstring) has been running at 70-80 percent recently, Zach Buchanan of The Athletic reports.

Cabrera has been taking live at-bats over the past week, and he's also been able to increase his running intensity after only being able to jog slowly out of the batter's box at the end of May. Manager Torey Lovullo called the 35-year-old's progress a "miracle" since his injury was initially believed to be quite serious. However, Cabrera still doesn't have a clear timetable to return.

Torkelson has appeared in four games for High-A West Michigan since suffering a hamstring injury May 23, going 5-for-16 with two home runs, two doubles, three walks, seven RBI and five runs.

Torkelson has returned with a bang from the sore left hamstring, which kept him out of the lineup for just under a week. The 22-year-old was touted for his plus power and plus hit tool coming out of Arizona State in 2020, but he had difficulty making consistent contact in the Grapefruit League this spring before he was assigned to High-A. Torkelson has assuaged some of those concerns so far during the regular season, as he's striking out at a manageable 22.9 percent clip through 96 plate appearances.

Kirilloff is not in Thursday's lineup against the Royals.

The Twins' top prospect has started 12 straight games, with three of those coming against left-handed starters, so while a lefty (Kris Bubic) is on the hill for Kansas City, this seems like just a standard day off. He is hitting .265 with zero home runs, 14 strikeouts and four walks in 49 at-bats since returning from a wrist injury May 21. Kyle Garlick will start in right field while Trevor Larnach starts in left.

Cooper will start in right field and bat cleanup Thursday against the Pirates, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Cooper will pick up his fifth start in a row, but it's worth noting that the Marlins had the designated hitter available in each of the previous four games. He'll stick in the lineup Thursday over the lefty-hitting Corey Dickerson with a southpaw (Tyler Anderson) on the hill for Pittsburgh, but Cooper could still have to settle for a short-side platoon role when the Marlins are playing in National League parks.

Hiura is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Hiura had started at first base in six of the Brewers' last seven games, but that was largely a byproduct of Milwaukee facing a heavy slate of left-handed starting pitchers. Even with the platoon advantage often being in his favor, Hiura hasn't been able to do much at the plate since returning from Triple-A Nashville on May 24. In his first week and a half back with the big club, Hiura has gone 1-for-23 with 13 strikeouts. He'll likely continue to fill a short-side platoon role with the lefty-hitting Daniel Vogelbach, who gets the nod at first base Thursday.