MLB Player News

The Cubs designated Fulmer for assignment Thursday.

Fulmer tossed three scoreless frames over two appearances during his brief time with the Cubs. The veteran right-hander elected free agency after being removed from Boston's 40-man roster earlier this season, and he's likely to become a free agent again if he passes through waivers.

The Cubs activated Imanaga (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Imanaga is set to rejoin the Cubs' rotation Thursday with a start in St. Louis after being out since early May with a strained left hamstring. The left-hander threw 72 pitches and went 4.1 innings in his final rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa, so he's likely to have a somewhat limited workload against the Cardinals.

Realmuto is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Houston.

It's a well-earned day of rest for Realmuto, who started at catcher in each of the Phillies' previous five contests. Rafael Marchan will be behind the dish for Thursday's matinee.

Walker (abdomen) did not require surgery for his recent bout of appendicitis and was allowed to return home Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Because the appendicitis was caught early, Walker was able to treat it with antibiotics and other treatments. The avoidance of surgery could allow Walker to return sooner, perhaps when his 10 days are up or close to it. He will rest for 4-to-5 days and could go out on a short rehab assignment before being activated from the 10-day injured list.

Brown could see his workload reduced a bit at Triple-A Iowa as the Cubs seek to keep him fresh for an eventual return to the majors, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Brown is slated to still start games for the Iowa Cubs, though he could face an innings limit or potentially see some work in long relief. The team also wants the young righty to keep developing his changeup and improve his control, as he walked 27 batters in 79.1 innings for Chicago before his demotion. Brown has the stuff to make an impact again in the majors this season, though fantasy managers will likely need to be patient.

McGuire went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Cardinals.

McGuire is making the most out of his playing time as Chicago's backup catcher, as he now has five home runs in only 14 games this season. For comparison, he hit just three long balls last year in 53 games for Boston and only one home run the year before that across 72 games. McGuire will likely be squeezed off the roster when Miguel Amaya (oblique) returns in the coming weeks, but for now, the former remains an intriguing DFS bargain option on days that he's in the lineup.

Busch went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Cardinals. He also stole a base.

Busch continued to pound right-handed pitching, as he helped lead an onslaught against St. Louis starter Erick Fedde, who lasted only 3.2 innings. On the season, the infielder has a robust .948 OPS against righties compared to a lowly .388 OPS against southpaws, albeit in a limited sample. Busch also swiped just his fourth bag of the year, giving him two more steals than he had in 2024.

Atlanta optioned Cox to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Right-hander Michael Petersen was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move and will provide Atlanta with a fresh arm in the bullpen for Thursday's series finale versus the Mets. After being called up from Gwinnett over the weekend, Cox made two appearances for Atlanta, covering three innings and allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out five.

Atlanta recalled Petersen from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Atlanta will send left-hander Austin Cox to Triple-A in a corresponding move while the right-handed Petersen takes his spot in the bullpen. Petersen has previously made two appearances for Atlanta this season, giving up two earned runs on three hits and no walks over three innings.

Tucker went 2-for-4 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-0 win over the Cardinals. He also stole a base.

Tucker showed off his tantalizing mix of power and speed, as he hit his 16th home run of the year and also recorded his 19th stolen base. In the power department, that's now three long balls over the outfielder's last five games. Tucker reached the 20-20 mark in homers and steals twice while with the Astros, and he seems poised to repeat the feat during his first season in Chicago.