Long is slashing .311/.410/.492 with 20 home runs, a 13.2 percent walk rate and a 19.1 percent strikeout rate in 132 games for Triple-A Iowa.

The righty-hitting first baseman did everything in his power to force a promotion to the big leagues, but he's not on the 40-man roster and there's a logjam ahead of him on the organizational depth chart. Long has dabbled at third base and in left field, but it's unlikely the Cubs would play him at either of those positions in the majors. Michael Busch starts at first base against righties and Seiya Suzuki has started 102 games at designated hitter this year, with prospects who are on the 40-man like Moises Ballesteros, Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara also muddying Long's playing time outlook for 2026. Despite Long's stellar age-23 campaign, he won't need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so he will probably return to Triple-A next year for an indefinite period.

Mountcastle is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Mountcastle will retreat to the bench after starting each of the past seven contests. Coby Mayo is at first base and Samuel Basallo is in the designated-hitter spot Thursday as the Orioles go for the sweep.

Torkelson went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in Wednesday's 11-1 win over the Yankees.

Torkelson enjoyed his evening at Yankee Stadium, tallying his first three-hit effort since July and just his third of the season. The slugging first baseman is in a bit of a power drought, as he's now gone 14 games without a home run. Torkelson does still have 28 homers overall, which is second on the team behind Riley Greene and just three away from tying his career high, which Torkelson set back in 2023.

Kurtz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Red Sox.

Kurtz put the A's ahead 2-1 in the second inning with an opposite-field shot off Payton Tolle, his 30th homer of the season and third in his last seven games. The rookie first baseman is batting .302 with a 1.023 OPS -- tops among all rookies -- 77 runs scored and 74 RBI across 426 plate appearances this season.

Aranda (wrist) was cleared to play catch and hit off a tee Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

A visit to the doctor Wednesday revealed that Aranda's fractured left wrist is progressing well, which has allowed the Rays to begin gradually adding activities to his rehab program. However, it remains unclear whether he'll be able to return before the end of the regular season.

Burger went 2-for-3 with two home runs, three total RBI and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 6-3 victory over the Brewers.

Burger got Texas on the board in the second inning with a 432-foot blast off Freddy Peralta before extending the lead to 5-2 in the fifth with his second homer of the day. The 29-year-old Burger has gone 12-for-35 (.343) with four homers and 11 RBI in his last 10 games. Overall, he's slashing .246/.280/.449 with 16 home runs and 49 RBI across 339 plate appearances this season.

Seymour is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

Seymour will take a seat for the fourth game in a row, with three of his absences coming against right-handed pitching. He appears to have settled into a reserve role while the Rays give Richie Palacios a look as their primary option at first base. Since his Aug. 15 call-up from Triple-A Durham, Seymour has slashed .200/.238/.300 with a 38.1 percent strikeout rate in 42 plate appearances.

Busch is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Atlanta.

Busch has produced a lowly .549 OPS versus left-handed pitching this season, so he'll head to the bench for the series finale while southpaw Chris Sale takes the hill for Atlanta. Carlos Santana will step in for Busch at first base and will bat fifth.

Steer isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against San Diego.

Despite going 4-for-10 with an RBI and five runs scored to begin the month, Steer will concede a second consecutive start at first base to Sal Stewart on Wednesday.

Smith is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The left-handed-hitting Smith started in each of the Giants' last five games while the team went up against right-handed starting pitchers, but he'll bow out of the lineup for the series finale with southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez on the bump for Arizona. Smith's absence from the starting nine clears the way for Wilmer Flores to fill in at first base.