MLB Player News

Brooks went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base in Monday's 7-6 win over the Cubs.

The steal was Brooks' first at the major-league level. The 28-year-old has seen most of his playing time at first base, but he's hitting just .143 over his first nine contests, which hasn't been good enough to keep Wilmer Flores on the bench. Brooks has added a meager .393 OPS, one RBI, three runs scored and a 3:6 BB:K through 24 plate appearances. Brooks' time on the major-league roster may come to a close when LaMonte Wade (hamstring) is able to return from the injured list.

Busch went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk against the Giants in Monday's loss.

Busch gave Chicago its first lead with a two-run blast to center field in the sixth inning. It was his first long ball over his past 17 contests and just his second across his past 32 games. Busch began the campaign with six homers through 16 contests, so the fact that he's still yet to reach double digits in that category emphasizes the extent to which he's slowed down. Still, the first baseman has been hitting well lately, batting .370 over his past 27 at-bats.

Rizzo (arm) suffered a fracture to the radial neck of his right arm in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Red Sox and could miss 4-to-6 weeks, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Rizzo suffered the injury in the seventh inning, when he collided with Red Sox pitcher Brennan Bernardino while running to first base. With the Yankees off Monday, Rizzo appears likely to be placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday. In Rizzo's absence -- which could extend until after the All-Star break -- DJ LeMahieu could serve as the primary replacement at first base, while Oswaldo Cabrera picks up some extra starts at the hot corner.

Flores is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cubs.

Flores had started at first base in each of the Giants' last five games, with three starts coming versus lefties and two coming versus right-handers. Though the Giants seem content to deploy Flores as their primary first baseman rather than a platoon bat while LaMonte Wade (hamstring) is on the injured list, Flores will nonetheless give way to rookie Trenton Brooks on Monday.

Smith is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

With southpaw Yusei Kikuchi taking the hill for Toronto, the lefty-hitting Smith will give way to Bobby Dalbec at first base. Expect the two to form a platoon at the position until Triston Casas (ribs) returns from the 10-day injured list, perhaps shortly before the All-Star break.

The Reds transferred Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.

Encarnacion-Strand had been on the IL since May 8 with a right ulnar styloid fracture and wasn't expected to begin a rehab assignment anytime soon, so the move to the 60-day IL won't affect his eventual timeline for a return. According to Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer, manager David Bell reiterated Monday that Encarnacion-Strand remains in a bit of a holding pattern in his recovery from the injury. After he had been expected to increase his activity earlier this month, Encarnacion-Strand's rehab progression was put on pause when he sought a second opinion on his wrist from a specialist, who determined that the 24-year-old was dealing with ligament damage. Bell said that the Reds will wait a few more days to see how Encarnacion-Strand's wrist responds to rest before a determination is made on his next step, which could include anything from resuming baseball activities to going under the knife for season-ending surgery.

Horwitz is out of the lineup for Monday's game versus the Red Sox.

Horwitz had started each of the last seven games versus right-handers upon his promotion from Triple-A Buffalo on June 7 and batted either first or second in all of those contests, but he will begin Monday's series opener on the bench. Davis Schneider gets the call at second base and will serve as the Blue Jays' leadoff batter against Red Sox right-hander Nick Pivetta.

Freeman went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 3-0 victory versus the Royals.

Freeman reached double-digit homers on the campaign with his sixth-inning solo blast. The veteran first baseman has begun to pick up the pace in terms of power, going deep four times in 14 contests in June after coming into the month with just six long balls across 59 games. Freeman's pair of hits Sunday also lifted his average back up to .300 -- he's slashing .300/.401/.502 in 319 plate appearances on the season.

Giants manager Bob Melvin said Sunday that it's likely a "stretch" for Wade (hamstring) to return from the 10-day injured list before Thursday's matchup with the Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., MLB.com reports.

Wade was diagnosed with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain after suffering the injury while sliding into second base in a May 27 win over the Phillies. Though a Grade 2 strain often entails a recovery timeline of more than a month, Wade said last week that his goal was to make it back for MLB's June 20 Negro Leagues tribute game as the Giants' designated hitter. Wade took steps forward this past week by taking batting practice on the field and increasing the intensity of his running progression, but the 30-year-old looks like he'll still at least one week away from being a realistic option to return from the IL. Wilmer Flores should continue to serve as the Giants' primary first baseman while Wade remains out.

Olson went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and two runs scored in Sunday's loss to the Rays.

The first baseman extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and his extra-base hit streak to five games, with another impressive performance. Olson is batting .410 (16-for-39) over that 10-game stretch, pushing his slash line on the season to .261/.342/.471 with 11 homers and 38 RBI in 69 contests.