MLB Player News

Hoerner (hamstring) could return during the Cubs' weekend series in Cincinnati, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Hoerner began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, and he's gone 2-for-5 with an RBI and two strikeouts across two games. He'll appear in another rehab game Thursday, but manager David Ross said it's possible that the second baseman could rejoin the major-league club this weekend.

Merrifield went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and a stolen base in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Red Sox.

Merrifield led off the game with an opposite-field home run that traveled only 343 feet and barely cleared the wall in right field. He walked his next time up and then singled and stole his league-high 22nd base of the year. The 32-year-old is slashing .287/.336/.435 with eight homers, 45 RBI, 48 runs scored and a 23:43 BB:K over 342 plate appearances.

Torres went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a walk, a run and a stolen base during Tuesday's win over the Angels.

The 24-year-old brought home two runs on a single during the fourth inning, and he notched a stolen base two frames later after hitting another single. Torres entered Tuesday's contest in a 3-for-42 slump, and it was his first run scored since June 10 and first RBI since June 6, spans of 14 and 17 games, respectively.

Albies went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Tuesday against the Mets.

Albies delivered Atlanta's entire offensive output with one swing of the bat when he took Tylor Megill yard in the fifth inning. It was Albies' 13th home run of the season and fourth in his last 12 games. He's recorded at least one hit in eight of those 12 contests, racking up eight runs scored, nine RBI and four stolen bases in the process. Albies has delivered on his promise as a strong power and speed producer, as he has a career-best .247 ISO along with 10 stolen bases through 76 games.

Semien went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run, a double, five RBI, a stolen base and another run scored during Tuesday's win against the Mariners.

Semien took Will Vest deep in the seventh inning. He also swatted a two-run double against Chris Flexen in the second. The 30-year-old has tallied 19 long balls on the season, including six in the month of June. Overall, he's slashing .286/.350/.533 with 10 stolen bases and a team-leading 19 doubles.

Estrada was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Estrada spent five days on the big-league roster earlier in June and will rejoin the Giants on Tuesday. The 25-year-old will provide infield depth with Evan Longoria (shoulder), Brandon Belt (knee) and Tommy La Stella (hamstring/thumb) on the injured list. Mauricio Dubon was optioned to Sacramento in a corresponding move.

The Giants optioned Dubon to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Dubon has had a tough season offensively, getting on base at a .272 clip in a backup role at a number of positions. Perhaps some time at Triple-A will allow him to recapture his 2019-2020 bat, as he hit .274 in both of those two seasons with a .337 OBP in 2020. Thairo Estrada was recalled in a corresponding move to fill Dubon's roster spot.

Rodgers is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Pirates.

Rodgers will get his first rest since June 17 as Garrett Hampson takes over at second base.

Arroyo (knee) is expected to return for the Red Sox's upcoming weekend series in Oakland, if not sooner, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

As anticipated, the 26-year-old will not have missed much time with his bruised right knee, which he suffered June 20 in Kansas City. Before the injury, Arroyo had hit .250 with four homers and 14 RBI in his last 15 games. It's unclear whether Michael Chavis, Danny Santana or another player will be sent down to Triple-A Worcester, but Arroyo figures to get frequent starts at second base regardless.

Urias went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs in Monday's victory over the Cubs.

Urias entered the contest with a 10-game hitting streak, and he wasted no time extending that to 11 with a single in his first at-bat. Urias led off Monday with Kolten Wong (calf) down, but he will be bumped down the order a bit when Wong returns to action. Nevertheless, expect him to remain a regular in the lineup, as he has started all but one game in June.