MLB Player News

The Cubs reinstated Hoerner (ankle) from the 10-day injured list Wednesday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Hoerner's return to the 26-man active roster comes as somewhat of a surprise, as the expectation was that he would require a brief minor-league rehab assignment before being activated after he had been sidelined for the past two weeks with a right ankle sprain. The Cubs evidently felt encouraged enough by how Hoerner looked in a full workout earlier this week to activate him, but the 25-year-old may have to settle for a utility role now that he's ostensibly healthy again. Hoerner will be on the bench for Wednesday's game against the Reds, as the hot-hitting Christopher Morel gets a look at second base while the defensive-minded Andrelton Simmons mans shortstop.

Estrada will start at second base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Mets, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Tommy La Stella's return from the injured list last week looked as though it would cost Estrada an everyday role, but that has yet to come to fruition. In fact, Estrada will make his ninth consecutive start Sunday, all of which have come at second base while La Stella has served exclusively as a designated hitter or third baseman since being activated. Estrada has done his part to ensure that La Stella nor anyone else encroaches on his role, as he's slashed .414/.469/.517 over his previous eight starts.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs in a win over the Mariners on Tuesday.

Both of the veteran's hits actually culminated with runs crossing the plate for the Athletics, but his seventh-inning single, which resulted in Sean Murphy scoring the go-ahead run, came as a result of Jesse Winker's error in left field. Andrus' season line is still a lackluster .227/.303/.328, yet he boasts a .316 average and .828 OPS across his last 13 games.

Kemp is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners.

With southpaw Robbie Ray on the hill for Seattle, the lefty-hitting Kemp will take a seat for the series finale after going 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and three runs out of the leadoff spot in Tuesday's win. Sheldon Neuse will spell Kemp at the keystone in Wednesday's matinee.

Garcia sustained a wrist injury Tuesday while playing for Triple-A Rochester, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

He exited the game after colliding with the opposing first baseman and is out of Wednesday's lineup. It's unclear how serious the injury is, but it seemed a call-up for Garcia was imminent, as he was hitting .331/.387/.576 with eight home runs in 37 games.

McNeil went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs in Tuesday's 13-12 loss to the Giants.

Coming off a 2021 campaign in which he hit a disappointing .251, McNeil's contact-heavy approach is bearing more fruit in 2022. Wednesday marked his second multi-hit performance of the series and his 17th of the season. McNeil's 23-homer campaign in 2019 continues to look like a major outlier, but with the exception of 2021, the 30-year-old has shown that he's one of the more bankable contributors in the batting-average category throughout his career.

Manager Rocco Baldelli said Wednesday that Polanco is dealing with some slight soreness in his right ankle, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The 28-year-old is out of the lineup for a second consecutive game Wednesday against the Tigers, and his absence is related to an ankle issue. However, Baldelli said the team isn't concerned about Polanco's injury and is hopeful the second baseman will be fine after spending a few days off the field.

Chavis will start at first base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Rockies in Pittsburgh.

Chavis will pick up his second straight start at first base, and he looks like he'll have a path to an everyday role against both right- and left-handed pitching after the Pirates moved Daniel Vogelbach (hamstring) to the 10-day injured list Tuesday. Over a 12-game stretch dating back to May 9, Chavis has slashed .395/.415/.605 with five extra-base hits, three runs, three RBI and a 1:9 BB:K.

Polanco isn't starting Wednesday against Detroit.

After starting in all but one of the first 42 games of the season, Polanco will be out of the lineup for a second straight game after he went 1-for-4 with a run and two strikeouts in Monday's series opener against the Tigers. The Twins haven't given any indication that Polanco is dealing with an injury, but Nick Gordon will start at the keystone and bat eighth Wednesday.

Altuve went 2-for-4 with two runs scored Tuesday against the Guardians.

Altuve collected a single in both the third and fifth frames and scored on each occasion. He has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games and maintained a .357 average with four home runs, five RBI and 10 runs scored in that span. Overall, Altuve has an excellent .936 OPS and .405 wOBA across 126 plate appearances.