MLB Player News

The Nationals recalled Lipscomb from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

With CJ Abrams heading down to the minors for the final week-plus of the season, Lipscomb will return to Washington to bolster the Nats' infield depth. The 24-year-old owns just a .515 OPS through 204 plate appearances in the big leagues this season, and he will almost certainly be limited to a bench role while Nasim Nunez takes over for Abrams at shortstop.

Conine is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against Atlanta.

The lefty-hitting Conine will dodge a matchup with southpaw Max Fried on Saturday. In his place, Jesus Sanchez will play right field while Derek Hill slots in at left field.

The Nationals optioned Abrams to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports.

Since the All-Star break, Abrams has slashed just .203/.260/.326 with five home runs and 17 RBI -- a stark contrast from the .832 OPS he logged during the first half of the year. However, manager Dave Martinez said Saturday that Abrams' demotion is not related to his performance. Instead, the decision to send him down to the minors comes amid reports that he stayed out past curfew at a casino in Chicago prior to Friday's early-afternoon game against the Cubs, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com. With Rochester's season wrapping up, the 23-year-old will instead report to the Nationals' complex in Florida for the final week of the season. Meanwhile, Nasim Nunez will likely be first in line to take over as Washington's primary shortstop.

Rojas (leg) started at shortstop for the Dodgers on Friday and went 0-for-4 in a 6-4 victory versus the Rockies.

Rojas was out of the lineup Wednesday and Thursday while tending to a sore left leg, but he was able to return Friday. There was never much concern about the shortstop's leg issue, as Rojas said Wednesday that he just needed time off in order to avoid risking a worsening of the condition ahead of the postseason. Tommy Edman filled in at shortstop for the two games Rojas missed and will likely resume working mostly in center field with the latter's return.

Pages went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-4 win against Colorado.

Pages put the Dodgers on the board in the fifth inning with a 407-foot solo shot. The rookie outfielder finished with his second straight two-hit game, and he's driven in four runs over the pair of contests. Pages has been in and out of the lineup throughout September, but he's started each of Los Angeles' past three contests in center field while Tommy Edman temporarily moved to shortstop in the absence of Miguel Rojas. Rojas returned to the lineup Friday while Edman began the game on the bench, though both of those players are lineup regulars for the Dodgers, meaning Pages' recent run as a starter may be short-lived.

Kim (shoulder) made "light" throws across the diamond Friday, per MLB.com.

Kim's right shoulder injury has kept him out of action for over a month, and a lack of progress resulted in the Padres temporarily shutting him down from throwing in mid-September. The shortstop was able to play catch and toss balls across the diamond from his position Friday, though not at full velocity. Kim has also been hitting at full capacity, but it remains unclear if he'll be able to return to the Padres' lineup before the end of the regular season.

Holmes is scheduled to start Sunday against the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.

After making eight straight appearances out of the bullpen, Holmes was thrust back into the rotation Tuesday as a replacement for Reynaldo Lopez (shoulder), who was placed on the injured list the week prior. While taking the hill Tuesday on two days' rest, Holmes took a no-decision against the Reds, covering four innings on 78 pitches and giving up two earned runs. Holmes should be able to provide Atlanta with more length as he makes his second turn through the rotation Sunday.

Steer isn't in Cincinnati's lineup for Saturday's game against Pittsburgh.

Steer will get a day to rest Saturday after slashing .190/.301/.365 with six RBI across 73 plate appearances since the start of September. His absence will allow Will Benson to pick up a start in left field and bat ninth.

Cruz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored Friday against the Reds.

Cruz hasn't hit for much power across the last six weeks, as Friday's shot was only his second homer in his last 35 games. Nevertheless, it was his 20th of the season -- his first time hitting that threshold -- and he has still put together an encouraging second half. Since the All-Star break, he's hit .302 with a .368 on-base percentage to go along with 15 stolen bases.

Gibson (8-8) took the loss Friday as the Cardinals fell 5-1 to the Guardians, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out two.

A Thomas Saggese throwing error allowed Gibson to barely qualify for his 13th quality start of the season, but he once again didn't get much run support. The right-hander has only one win since the All-Star break, going 1-5 over his last 11 outings despite a respectable 4.08 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 50:24 K:BB through 64 innings. Gibson will try to close out his season on a high note next weekend on the road in San Francisco.