MLB Player News

The Cardinals claimed Alcala off waivers from the Red Sox on Thursday.

Alcala has split time between the Twins and Red Sox this season, posting a 6.64 ERA and 46:23 K:BB over 40.2 frames. The 30-year-old reliever cannot be optioned to the minors, so he will go onto to the Cardinals' active roster. St. Louis will have to make a corresponding transaction once Alcala officially reports to the club.

Arenado (shoulder) is tentatively slated to rejoin the Cardinals on Aug. 18 before their series against the Marlins, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Arenado is headed to the team's spring training complex in Jupiter, Florida on Friday to strengthen his injured right shoulder before eventually participating in rehab games with the club's rookie-level Florida Complex League squad. If all goes well on that front, he will then make the short drive from Jupiter to Miami to rejoin the Cardinals for the start of a road trip. Arenado has slashed just .167/.219/.200 over his last 17 games since suffering finger and shoulder injuries.

The Brewers sent Zastryzny (ribs) to Triple-A Nashville on Thursday to begin a rehab assignment.

Zastryzny was pulled off his initial rehab assignment in late July following a setback with his rib stress reaction, but he's been cleared for game action again. The lefty reliever should be ready to rejoin the Brewers bullpen around mid-August if he can avoid another setback.

The Brewers optioned McGee to Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.

McGee's most recent stint in the big-league bullpen wasn't fruitful, as he yielded seven runs over four frames covering two appearances. The Brewers will announce a corresponding move prior to Friday's game against the Mets, and it could be Shelby Miller (forearm) returning from the 15-day injured list.

Ferrer (3-3) picked up the win Wednesday over the A's, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.

The southpaw got the call to protect a 1-1 tie in the ninth and dispatched the bottom of the A's order on 12 pitches (10 strikes). Ferrer was then rewarded for his efforts when CJ Abrams walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame. The Nationals haven't had a save situation since Kyle Finnegan was traded to the Tigers, but Ferrer's usage Wednesday suggests he'll be first in line to handle closing duties when needed. Since the beginning of July, Ferrer's posted a 3.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 11:2 K:BB over 10.1 innings.

Soto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Guardians.

Gavin Williams took a no-hitter into the ninth inning for Cleveland, but Soto played spoiler on both the no-no and the shutout by driving a one-out fastball 420 feet to straightaway center field. The 26-year-old superstar is up to 26 homers on the season in 113 contests, but he's been struggling to get going since the All-Star break, slashing .177/.301/.339 through 17 games.

Clifford went 2-for-5 with two solo home runs for Double-A Binghamton on Wednesday.

The 22-year-old leads all Double-A hitters with 23 long balls on the season, and Clifford has shown overall improvement in his second stint at the level, slashing .250/.363/.503 over 101 games with a 25.8 percent strikeout rate. He'll never be a threat to hit for a high average, but Clifford's power is legit, and he's in line to be the Mets' first baseman of the future if Pete Alonso departs in free agency this winter.

Carrasco is slated to start Thursday's game against the Marlins at Truist Park.

Carrasco will be awarded a second start for Atlanta after he came over in a trade with the Yankees and impressed in his team debut last Thursday. He took a no-decision in Atlanta's 12-11 win over the Reds that day, covering six innings and allowing three earned runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out five. With the Atlanta rotation having been thinned by injuries in recent weeks and with Chris Sale (ribcage) not on track to return for a couple more weeks, Carrasco should get the opportunity to make additional starts for the club beyond Thursday.

Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's win over Houston.

The 25-year-old took Spencer Arrighetti deep in the third inning, staking the Marlins to an early 5-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Hernandez has six homers in his first 42 big-league games, and three of them have come since July 26, a stretch in which he's batting .250 (7-for-28) with six runs and seven RBI.

Pauley went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's win over Houston.

The third baseman took Hector Neris deep in the fifth inning. Pauley has two homers on the season for the Marlins, but both have come in the last seven games, and since the All-Star break he's batting .278 (10-for-36) with three RBI and five runs. Connor Norby (wrist) still lacks a firm timeline for his return, but Pauley is beginning to make a case to keep the starting job at third base regardless of when Norby gets activated.