MLB Player News

McLain (oblique) remains on track to be activated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

McLain resumed taking batting practice earlier this week and is nearing the end of his recovery from a right oblique strain that has kept him on the shelf since late August. The 24-year-old infielder had delivered an impressive .290/.357/.507 slash line with 16 homers and 14 steals across his first 89 major-league games prior to suffering the injury.

Hamilton underwent surgery Thursday to repair a torn UCL in his left thumb, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Hamilton suffered the injury recently at Triple-A Worcester and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season. The 25-year-old put up a .438 OPS over 15 games during his brief time with the Red Sox this season.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a loss to the Tigers on Thursday.

Smith had one of only two extra-base hits for the Athletics on Thursday, with his two-bagger serving as his third during his current big-league stint. Smith has seen near-everyday playing time since being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Sept. 5, but the same issues that have plagued him in prior samples against big-league arms persist -- the 27-year-old has just a .212 batting average across 36 plate appearances, with that figure largely the byproduct of a bloated 38.9 percent strikeout rate.

Lindor went 2-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases in Thursday's loss to the Phillies.

The shortstop's bat has slowed down in September -- Lindor's slashing .257/.325/.392 through 83 plate appearances -- but he's remained busy on the basepaths with four steals in his last four games, giving him 30 in a season for the first time in his career. Lindor still has an outside shot at a 30-30 campaign, but he would need four homers in the Mets' final nine contests to pull it off.

Jorge hit .283 with zero home runs, 10 steals and a 16.3 percent strikeout rate in 49 games for Single-A Fresno.

Jorge put up video game numbers (178 wRC+) in the Arizona Complex League, but given that he was two years older (turns 21 in March) than most legitimate prospects in that league, we should focus on his production in the California League, where he was still a little older than the typical high-end prospect. There's no doubting Jorge's athleticism and projectable 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame, but he struggled to lift the ball consistently (51.6 percent groundball rate), which led to a .056 ISO.

Swanson went 2-for-5 with a home run and three total RBI in Thursday's loss to the Pirates.

Swanson singled home a run in the seventh inning, then plated two more on a home run in the ninth, his 22nd of the season. The shortstop had 25 long balls last year and a career-best 27 a year before that, so he'll need a strong final nine games of 2023 to reach either of those figures. Swanson has still been a solid contributor for the Cubs as they fight for a playoff spot.

Baez (back) is expected to rejoin the lineup Friday against the Athletics, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Baez has been out of the lineup for three consecutive games, but he is available off the bench Thursday. His return will likely hurt the playing time of Andy Ibanez.

Baez (back) is out of the lineup again Thursday at Oakland.

Baez missed the final two games of the Tigers' three-game set at Dodger Stadium due to lower-back tightness and remains sidelined for Thursday's series opener against the Athletics. Zach McKinstry will start at shortstop and bat second versus A's right-hander Luis Medina.

Rojas isn't in the Dodgers' lineup Thursday against the Giants, Kirsten Watson of SportsNet LA reports.

Rojas will get a breather Thursday after failing to record a hit in each of his last two games. Enrique Hernandez will fill in at shortstop and bat ninth.

The Giants recalled Luciano from Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday.

Luciano seems positioned to serve as the Giants' primary shortstop over the final 10 games of the 2023 regular season after the team placed Brandon Crawford (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list Thursday and released Paul DeJong. Luciano is a high-ranking prospect and can use this time as an audition to be the Opening Day starter at short in 2024, though he hasn't been much of a counting stats compiler in either the minors or majors this year.