MLB Player News

Hoerner is not in the lineup Thursday against the Pirates.

The Cubs are trotting out mostly reserves for Thursday's series finale after getting eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday. Addison Russell is starting at shortstop and hitting seventh in place of Hoerner.

McNeil (wrist) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Thursday.

This move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for Dominic Smith (foot), who was activated from the 60-day IL on Thursday. According to Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record, McNeil will likely undergo surgery to repair his fractured right wrist Tuesday. The procedure typically carries a six-week recovery timeline, so he should be ready to go by the start of spring training.

Lux is not starting Thursday against the Padres, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Lux will head to the bench Thursday with a left-hander in Joey Lucchesi starting for the Padres. In his place, Max Muncy is starting at second base and hitting fourth.

Castro is not in Thursday's lineup against the Twins.

He is hitting .333 with one home run and zero steals in 21 games this month. Ronny Rodriguez will start at second base and hit cleanup.

Polanco is not in Thursday's lineup against the Tigers.

All of Minnesota's regulars are resting after they clinched the division Wednesday. Ronald Torreyes will start at shortstop and hit ninth.

Dubon appeared to suffer an injury in Wednesday's contest against the Rockies, but he just had the wind knocked out of him and stayed in the game, Hank Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

There was an initial scare that Dubon took a shot from Tony Wolters' knee to the head/neck area, but he ended up absorbing the blow with his chest and simply had the wind knocked out of him. The rookie second baseman was able to stay in the game and finished with two hits in three at-bats. Perhaps manager Bruce Bochy will give Dubon the day off with an early start for Thursday's series-finale against the Rockies.

Arraez went 2-for-3 with a walk and two-run home run Wednesday against the Tigers.

Arraez took Drew VerHagen deep in the seventh inning to record his fourth homer of the season. Though power hasn't been Arraez's calling card, he's maintained an impressive .344 batting average and is currently in the midst of a four-game hitting streak. In addition to the strong batting average, Arraez has shown the ability to get on base -- he's maintained a .409 on-base percentage -- and has also scored 53 runs in 90 appearances this season.

Altuve is expected to be out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve started the last seven contests and will take the day off with the Astros expected to make a pre-dawn arrival into Los Angeles on Thursday. The 29-year-old has a .284/.329/.541 slash line with five home runs through 19 games in September.

McNeil was diagnosed with a distal ulnar fracture in his right wrist Wednesday, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

McNeil will see his season come to an end four games early after being hit by a pitch during the sixth inning Wednesday against the Marlins. It's unclear if surgery will be necessary, but it's a tough way to end a spectacular season for the 27-year-old. McNeil will finish 2019 with a .318/.384/.531 slash line with 38 doubles, 23 home runs and 75 RBI in 133 games.

McNeil was removed from Wednesday's game against the Marlins after being hit by a pitch around his right hand, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

McNeil appeared to be in significant pain and left the contest after being examined by the athletic trainer. The 27-year-old went 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI to help the Mets build a 9-0 lead before being removed.