MLB Player News

Madris will serve as the Pirates' designated hitter and No. 5 batter in Tuesday's game against the Brewers.

He'll get his fourth start in the last five games despite having gone hitless in 12 at-bats since getting called up from Triple-A Indianapolis last Thursday. Though the Pirates have fully embraced their rebuild and are handing several rookies steady playing time of late, Madris will still likely need to show some signs of progress at the plate to ensure he sticks in a near-everyday role for the duration of the campaign.

Meneses' contract was selected by the Nationals on Tuesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

There should be plenty of at-bats to go around in Washington down the stretch after the team's deadline-day sell-off. Meneses can play the outfield corners or first base, two spots vacated by Juan Soto and Josh Bell, both of whom were sent to San Diego, though the arrival of Luke Voit in that same deal means Meneses may be nothing more than a bench player. He's a 30-year-old with zero big-league experience, so that's probably for the best, though his .286/.341/.489 line for Triple-A Rochester this season suggests he might be able to hold his own if called upon.

Morel is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.

Morel has gone from a relatively unheralded prospect to one of the better players on the Cubs this season, though he's recently hit a bit of a wall, going hitless in his last six games. He'll hit the bench for the second time in three games Tuesday, and he could see his playing time opportunities at the keystone take a hit moving forward with Nick Madrigal (groin) returning from the injured list.

Atlanta reversed Ford's option to Triple-A Gwinnett and placed him on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a strained neck.

Since Ford was already moved off the 26-man active roster in the wake of Atlanta acquiring Robbie Grossman from the Tigers on Monday, the change in the transaction type won't dramatically change Ford's timeline for rejoining the big club, provided his strained neck isn't anything more than a short-term concern. Even before the injury surfaced, Ford was having a tough time finding at-bats off the Atlanta bench, as he appeared in just one game during his week-long stay on the active roster.

Encarnacion-Strand was traded from the Twins to the Reds on Tuesday along with Spencer Steer and Steven Hajjar in exchange for Tyler Mahle, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Encarnacion-Strand is a bat-first player who has raked everywhere he has played. He has been at least 60 percent better than the average hitter by wRC+ in every league he has played in and hit .302/.374/.612 with 25 home runs and a 33.1 percent hard-hit rate in 390 plate appearances between High-A and Double-A. The 22-year-old has seen time at third base, first base and designated hitter this season. He could also be an option in left field down the road.

The Mets acquired Ruf from the Giants on Tuesday in exchange for designated hitter J.D. Davis and minor-league pitchers Thomas Szapucki, Carson Seymour and Nick Zwack, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

Ruf is expected to provide an upgrade over Davis as the right-handed-hitting option in a platoon at DH with the lefty-hitting Daniel Vogelbach or Dominic Smith (ankle). The 36-year-old Ruf owns an .886 OPS versus southpaws on the season.

Canha is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Nationals.

Canha racked up five hits over the last two days, but he will be held out in favor of Tyler Naquin with the Mets loading up on left-handed hitters against Nationals righty Cory Abbott. Canha has held down an everyday role for most of the season, but with he and Naquin splitting the last four starts, it appears the Mets are giving their new acquisition a chance to show what he can do.

Ford was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Ford appeared in only game after being recalled from Gwinnett on July 24, and he was sent back there to open up a roster spot for trade acquisition Robbie Grossman. Atlanta will be left with only one true first baseman at the big-league level, so Ford could be summoned again if the team decides it needs another player at that position.

Belt is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Dodgers.

Belt rarely starts against left-handed pitchers, so it should come as little surprise that he is sitting out Monday with southpaw Andrew Heaney on the bump for the Dodgers. Darin Ruf will start at first base in Belt's place.

Harper had his pins removed from his left thumb Monday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Harper underwent surgery to repair a fractured left thumb in late June, but he'll be able to begin his ramp-up process now that his pins have been removed. The 29-year-old will likely require a few weeks before he's cleared to return to game action, but it's possible that he'll be able to return sometime in mid-to-late August.