MLB Player News

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Monday that Griffin has been cleared to transition out of the splint he had been wearing on his injured left ring finger, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Ditching the splint represents an important milestone in Griffin's recovery from a torn tendon in the finger, as he'll now be able to increase the intensity and volume of his baseball activities. Once the Pirates' homestand concludes Wednesday, Griffin is scheduled to report to the team's spring training facility in Florida to begin a hitting progression and playing catch. He'll likely remain in Florida for the duration of his rehab program before he's cleared to report to a minor-league affiliate to start playing in games. If all goes well, Tomczyk relayed that the Pirates are "optimistic" that Griffin will be ready to return to the big-league roster when he's first eligible to come off the 60-day injured list Sept. 4.

Swanson was diagnosed Monday with a Grade 2 left oblique strain, which typically carries a recovery timeline of 4-to-6 weeks, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The Cubs are expected to officially place Swanson on the 10-day injured list prior to Monday's game against the White Sox after he was forced out of Sunday's 11-4 loss to the Cardinals with the injury. Assuming the projected recovery timeline holds, Swanson won't be available until around mid-September in a best-case scenario, though the Cubs are hopeful that he'll be back to full health in advance of the playoffs. While Swanson is out, Nico Hoerner is expected to settle in as the Cubs' everyday shortstop, and Pedro Ramirez could operate as the primary option at second base until Matt Shaw (hand) is ready to come off the IL.

Walls is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Walls is in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak, but he'll put it on hold for a night as the Rays give him some rest. Jorge Mateo will step in at shortstop in place of Walls, who is still slashing just .240/.296/.360 since the All-Star break in spite of his recent hot stretch at the dish.

Turner (knee) will start at shortstop and bat second in Monday's game versus the Marlins.

Turner did not play in Sunday's contest against the Twins after fouling a ball of his lower right leg Saturday. It will be only a one-game absence for the shortstop, as he's feeling well enough to give in a go Monday as the Phillies open up a homestand.

King isn't expected to receive a promotion to the majors before the end of the season, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic reports.

The Nationals' decision to shift CJ Abrams off shortstop created some speculation that the organization could be making room for King, who's produced a .301/.376/.505 slash line in 47 games since a promotion to Triple-A Rochester. The Nats believe the 23-year-old still has things to learn and improve on in the minors, however. King also isn't likely to be the team's shortstop of the future, with Eli Willits rising quickly behind him in the system, and having him adapt to a new position as well will be easier in the minors than the majors.

Gimenez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the Yankees.

The steal was Gimenez's 17th of the season, and five of them have come in August -- a month in which he's produced a .296/.361/.407 slash line with one homer, eight runs and eight RBI in 16 contests. The veteran infielder is still batting in the lower part of the order, but if he stays hot he could get some looks in a more fantasy-friendly spot as the Jays search for offense while Vladimir Guerrero (concussion) is on the shelf.

The Brewers promoted Pena from High-A Wisconsin to Double-A Biloxi on Monday.

Pena missed just over a month of action earlier this season after he collapsed during an April 22 game when he became overheated in the Wisconsin dugout, but fortunately, his development wasn't dramatically sidetracked by the scary incident. The 19-year-old shortstop finished his time in the Midwest League with a .298/.384/.420 slash line to go with two home runs and 27 stolen bases across 219 plate appearances.

Pratt (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with High-A Wisconsin.

It must have been a mild hamstring strain, as he is well ahead of schedule in his recovery. Pratt is eligible to return from the injured list Wednesday at home against the Mariners, and with the Brewers' High-A affiliate located just a couple hours away from Milwaukee, Pratt could be in the lineup for Wednesday's big-league game if all goes well Tuesday.

Story (sports hernia) started at shortstop and went 1-for-2 with a run scored for Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.

Story played four innings in the field and handled the lone chance that came his way. Following a day off Monday, Story will join the WooSox for a trip to Syracuse and start at shortstop Tuesday. The Red Sox haven't mapped out anything beyond that, and interim manager Chad Tracy confirmed Story won't play any position other than shortstop. Utility infielder Andruw Monasterio has held down shortstop nicely over the last month, but the Red Sox did not add an established shortstop at the trade deadline, suggesting Story, who played second base when he first signed with Boston, can reclaim the position he's play the most during his career.

Pena went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Mariners.

Pena got the Astros on the board in the fourth inning with a solo shot off Bryan Woo, his 14th homer of the year, to cut the deficit to 2-1. While Pena now has three extra-base hits in his last four games, he's cooled off significantly at the plate, going just 4-for-43 (.093) across 10 contests prior to Sunday after going 27-for-64 (.422) with seven homers in his previous 15 games. Overall, Pena is now slashing .288/.343/.477 with 59 runs scored, 40 RBI and eight stolen bases across 335 plate appearances this season.