MLB Player News

St. Louis manager Oli Marmol said Friday that Baez will be in the Cardinals' lineup against the Cubs on Saturday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Baez is scheduled to make his major-league debut in Chicago on Saturday, five years after being selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft. He's been heating up at the plate at the right time, having gone 20-for-58 (.345) with six steals, six doubles, five home runs and 16 RBI over his last 15 games with Triple-A Memphis, which has brought him up to an .898 OPS across 460 plate appearances this season. Baez has played in all three spots in the outfield and should see a fair amount of reps in the majors, with most of his starts likely coming in left field.

Nationals manager Blake Butera revealed Friday that Abrams will be the team's primary second baseman moving forward, with Nasim Nunez shifting to shortstop, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Abrams remains at shortstop for Friday's game against the Mets, and he will still see occasional starts at the position. However, his main spot on the diamond will be second base, a position he hasn't played since 2022 with the Padres. The alignment should improve the Nationals' middle-infield defense, as Abrams has long been a poor defender at shortstop, while Nunez is considered an above-average fielder. Additionally, several of the team's top prospects are shortstops, so an eventual shift to the keystone for Abrams felt inevitable.

Carrigg is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest in San Francisco.

Carrigg was in the lineup for the previous 11 games, splitting time between center field (eight starts) and shortstop (three starts). He'll exit the lineup for Friday's series opener, with the Rockies leaning on Jake McCarthy in center field and Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop.

Goodman is not in the lineup for Friday's game in San Francisco.

Goodman will receive a day of rest after starting each of the previous six contests. Brett Sullivan will do the catching for the Rockies in Friday's series opener.

Crews is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Mets.

It's a routine day of rest for Crews, who had started in each of the last nine contests. Jose Tena, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile will patrol the outfield for the Nationals in Friday's series opener.

Mets interim manager Andy Green said Friday that Vientos (hand) has begun baseball activities, Laura Albanese of Newsday reports.

Vientos is finally ready to ease back into workouts after missing more than a month of action with a fractured right hand. There's no timetable yet for the infielder's return, and he is likely to require a rehab assignment before being reinstated to the active roster.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said that Lopez (knee) completed a bullpen session Tuesday, Jesus Cano of The Athletic reports.

Shortly after Lopez landed on the 15-day injured list Aug. 2 due to left knee inflammation, Weiss indicated that Lopez was expected to return when first eligible Friday. The 32-year-old righty looks like he'll need at least a little extra time beyond that before being activated, and he may also be headed for a role change upon his return. Though Weiss noted Tuesday that he still views Lopez as a starter, the skipper noted that Lopez could be an option out of the bullpen, depending on the club's needs. Atlanta has gotten excellent results from trade-deadline pickup Tyler Mahle in his first two starts, and Weiss may prefer to keep Mahle in the rotation ahead of Lopez, who had started in his last six appearances prior to landing on the shelf and posted a 3.86 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 28 innings over that span.

Nootbaar is absent from the lineup for Friday's game in Atlanta.

The Diamondbacks have faced two lefties since the trade deadline and the left-handed-hitting Nootbaar has been out of the lineup both times. Tyler Locklear is in the designated hitter slot and Ryan Waldschmidt will play left field for Arizona.

The Pirates recalled Dotel from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

Dotel has made 14 appearances for the Pirates this season, collecting a 5.06 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 29:11 K:BB through 26.2 innings. He's taking the roster spot vacated by Yohan Ramirez (paternity) and could be sent back down in a few days when Ramirez returns.

The Pirates recalled Cook from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday.

Cook has produced a .200/.200/.267 slash line with 18 strikeouts in 45 plate appearances at the big-league level this season. He is likely slated for a reserve outfielder role.