MLB Player News

Steer went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-0 win over Miami.

Steer crushed his 11th homer of the season and his second of the month of July. Additionally, the 27-year-old first baseman has registered at least one hit in 16 of his last 20 outings. During that span, Steer is hitting a torrid .361 with six long balls, five doubles, 16 RBI and two stolen bases covering 72 at-bats.

Chandler threw six scoreless innings, striking out seven while allowing five hits and two walks with Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

Chandler had a turbulent June with Indianapolis, failing to complete more than four innings across five starts with a 12:11 K:BB in the month. However, he's now turned in consecutive scoreless outings to begin July, working a combined 12 frames while posting a 13:4 K:BB. His timeline to reach the majors remains unclear, though the Pirates are likely to deal at least one member of their rotation before the trade deadline, potentially clearing Chandler's path.

Nootbaar was removed from Thursday's game against the Nationals in the seventh inning due to a rib cage injury, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The team stated that the move was precautionary, and Nootbaar is expected to be back in the lineup Friday versus Atlanta. While that's encouraging news, it is worth noting that the outfielder nursed a similar issue a couple weeks ago that costed him two games. Nootbaar went 1-for-3 with double and a run before departing Thursday's contest.

King (shoulder) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Thursday, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

King was originally slated to throw a "touch and feel" bullpen session, but the team instead termed it a full session. There hasn't been an exact timeline for his return to San Diego's rotation, but both King and the team have suggested early to mid-August is a realistic target for his activation.

Swanson went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 8-1 win over the Twins.

Swanson was one of five Chicago players to record multiple hits in the easy win. The shortstop is now riding a nine-game hitting streak, and he's batting .342 this month with a home run, four RBI and seven runs scored. Swanson remains a steady fantasy performer who plays nearly every day, which gives him a stable floor for managers.

Suzuki went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in Thursday's 8-1 win over the Twins.

After going 0-for-6 in the first two games against Minnesota, Suzuki broke out in the series finale. The outfielder is now hitting .314 through nine games in July with three home runs, seven runs scored and eight RBI. For the season, Suzuki is batting .263 with an .874 OPS, and his 25 long balls are good for sixth in the majors, tied with teammate Pete Crow-Armstrong, who went deep twice Thursday.

Crews (oblique) threw from the outfield Wednesday for the first time since being placed on the injured list in late May, Mark Zuckerman of MASN reports.

Crews began hitting off a tee and taking soft-toss batting practice in early July and continues to ramp up toward a return. He still hasn't taken traditional batting practice on the field, so he likely still has a couple hurdles to clear prior to beginning a rehab assignment. Zuckerman estimates Crews is 10-to-14 days away from activation, setting him up to rejoin the Nationals shortly after the All-Star break.

Baldwin isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

Baldwin will get a day off Thursday after going 2-for-5 with a three-run homer during Wednesday's win over the A's. Sean Murphy will get the nod to start at catcher instead while batting fourth in the series finale.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Fedde will start Saturday's game against Atlanta, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

The Cardinals mulled replacing Fedde in the rotation with Michael McGreevy, but they've decided to give the former at least one more start. Fedde has been pummeled for 17 earned runs with a 2:9 K:BB over 10 innings covering his last three starts and will be on a short leash moving forward.

Ashby (hand) retired one batter and allowed one earned run on one hit and two walks in his relief appearance during Wednesday's 3-2 extra-inning win over the Dodgers.

Ashby's pitching hand was struck by a comebacker during his previous appearance in Monday's series opener with the Dodgers, but he avoided any significant damage and received the green light to pitch just two days later. Even though he wasn't at his best Wednesday, Ashby continues to hold down sterling ratios (1.66 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 22.1 K-BB%) in 21.2 innings out of the Milwaukee bullpen since returning in late May from a season-opening stint on the injured list.