MLB Player News

The Dodgers designated Heyward for assignment Thursday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The 35-year-old outfielder has seen a significant drop in playing time ever since Mookie Betts returned from the injured list and moved back to right field, and Heyward has now officially lost his roster spot. He's slashed .208/.289/.393 with 28 RBI across 197 plate appearances this year and could attract interest on the waiver wire from other teams in need of outfield depth.

The Reds agreed to a major-league contract with Smith on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

The 29-year-old was recently cut loose by the Red Sox following the return of Triston Casas from injury, but he's managed to quickly land another major-league deal. Smith slashed just .237/.317/.390 in 83 games for Boston, although he has a respectable .747 OPS since the All-Star break. Smith could see some action at first base while Jeimer Candelario (toe) is out.

Ohtani went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs and a stolen base Wednesday in an 8-4 victory over the Mariners.

Ohtani has begun to emerge from a slump that saw him bat .164 over his first 14 games in August -- he's since built a five-game hitting streak during which he's batting .300 with two homers, two RBI and five runs. The slugger has added four thefts during that span to push his total to a career-high 39 in 43 attempts. Ohtani is now one home run and one stolen base away from going 40-40 on the campaign.

Siani (oblique) took a full round of batting practice Thursday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

It's the first time he's done so since landing on the 10-day injured list in early August with a right oblique strain. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Siani will begin a rehab assignment soon, although the team is still determining when and where that will occur. The center fielder has a shot to return before the end of August.

Matz (back) is expected to make one more minor-league rehab start prior to being activated from the 60-day injured list, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

On Wednesday, Matz made his third rehab start for Triple-A Memphis, striking out three batters in five innings and giving up four earned runs on nine hits and one walk while pushing his pitch count up to 85. Though Matz looks to be fully stretched out at this point, the Cardinals may want to see a sharper outing from the lefty before bringing him back from the IL. According to John Denton of MLB.com, Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak previously floated the idea of the team using a six-man rotation down the stretch, though Matz could still find himself as the odd man out for a starting role once he's activated. Lance Lynn (knee) looks to be tracking toward a return from the IL around the same time as Matz, and current fifth starter Andre Pallante (3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP in five starts since the All-Star break) may be pitching well enough to keep his spot in the rotation.

The Brewers activated Perkins (calf) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Perkins required a minimum-length absence for a right calf strain and didn't go out on a rehab assignment prior to being activated. The 27-year-old outfielder should be deployed mostly against left-handed pitching by the Brewers down the stretch.

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

Black will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to outfielder Blake Perkins (calf), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. After getting recalled from Nashville on Aug. 12, Black started at designated hitter in five of the Brewers' ensuing nine games while going 2-for-15 with three walks against five strikeouts. Now that Black is out of the mix, the Brewers will likely rotate a number of players at DH, with Gary Sanchez, Jake Bauers and Perkins all being candidates to see upticks in opportunities.

Wisdom is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.

The 32-year-old has started in just three of the Cubs' 18 games thus far in August and is expected to continue seeing limited usage while Michael Busch and Isaac Paredes are healthy and entrenched as the team's everyday starters in the corner infield. Wisdom has logged three straight seasons of 20-plus home runs, but he's slugged just six long balls so far in 2024 while receiving only 135 plate appearances.

Muncy went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI in Wednesday's win over Seattle.

Muncy doubled in two of his first three trips to the plate, plating three runs on the latter two-bagger as the Dodgers jumped out to a commanding 8-1 lead. The third baseman has now hit safely in three straight games since returning from the injured list due to an oblique strain, driving in at least one run in all three contests. In fact, he's recorded at least one RBI in each of his last five starts, dating back to May 14 against the Giants.

Goldschmidt is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Goldschmidt went 1-for-9 with four strikeouts in the first two games of the series and will now begin the rubber match on the bench. The Cardinals will go with Alec Burleson at first base.