MLB Player News

Pratto will sit Saturday against the Athletics.

Pratto started seven consecutive games after his late-April call-up, hitting .407 but striking out 32.3 percent of the time. His run of starts did include one against a lefty (Kyle Muller on Friday), but he'll hit the bench Saturday against southpaw Ken Waldichuk.

Kirilloff will remain on the bench Saturday against the Guardians, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Kirilloff was recalled Friday but has spent his first two days since his return on the bench. Saturday's off day is an expected one, however, as it comes against lefty Logan Allen. Willi Castro starts in left field.

Flores went 1-for-1 with a solo home run in Friday's win over the Brewers.

Flores pinch hit for designated hitter Joc Pederson in the eighth, promptly smacking a 397-foot shot to left center. This was his sixth homer of the year, so he's well on pace to pass his total from last season (19). The 31-year-old is now slashing .262/.311/.512 on the year.

Mervis went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 4-1 win over the Marlins.

Getting the start at first base and batting seventh, Mervis didn't have an eye-popping big-league debut but did bring home Cody Bellinger with a single in the eighth inning for the game's final run. Mervis figures to hold down a regular spot in the lineup as the Cubs see what their top hitting prospect can do, but if the 25-year-old does stumble out of the game, Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer remain available to cut into his workload -- at least for the moment.

Pratto went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and three total runs scored in Friday's 12-8 loss to the Athletics.

Pratto got the Royals on the board with his fourth-inning homer. He's produced four multi-hit efforts in the last week since his recall from Triple-A Omaha. The strong hitting of late has him up to a .353/.421/.471 slash line with a long balls, four RBI, five runs scored and a double through 38 plate appearances this season.

Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a run scored in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers.

Goldschmidt has opened May by going 6-for-17 (.353) with four doubles over four contests. The first baseman is now slashing .312/.403/.520 with four home runs, 16 RBI, 18 runs scored, 14 doubles and three stolen bases through 32 games on the season. He's still one of the best hitters in the majors at age 35, though his power has yet to show up in full force so far.

Noda went 3-for-4 with two doubles, three runs scored, three RBI and two walks during Friday's victory over Kansas City.

Noda was all over the stat sheet Friday. He scored in the third, fourth and eighth innings while also driving in three runs, including his two-run double in the fifth frame. He was stuck in an 0-for-12 skid prior to Friday's big performance and improved his slash line to .247/.408/.442 in the process. It was Noda's second career three-hit game.

Tellez is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against San Francisco.

Tellez will take a seat against southpaw Sean Manaea and the Giants for the series opener. Luke Voit will handle first base duties against Manaea and hit sixth.

Kirilloff was recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Kirilloff performed well over his 50 at-bats with the Saints with a .300 average, 1.006 OPS and four homers. The former top prospect has shown flashes of brilliance in his 104 games with the Twins prior to 2023, but his .251/.295/.398 slash over 359 at-bats shows that the brilliance has only been in spurts. He'll get a chance to show he can apply his minor-league success now that he's back with Minnesota.

Cooper (ear) is feeling better but remains shut down from baseball activities, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Cooper landed on the injured list Wednesday with an inner ear infection, an issue which had been bothering him for a few days. He should be able to make a quick return once he's totally symptom-free.