MLB Player News

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Wednesday that Cowles will likely miss the rest of the minor-league regular season as a result of being hit on the wrist by a pitch in his final game with Double-A Somerset on July 25, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Cowles was placed on Somerset's 7-day injured list this past Saturday before he was dealt to the Cubs three days later as part of a two-prospect package that sent reliever Mark Leiter to the Yankees. The Cubs were presumably aware of the nature and severity of Cowles' injury before the trade was agreed upon, and the wrist issue shouldn't dramatically affect the 24-year-old infielder's long-term outlook. He had been in the midst of a productive season with Somerset prior to getting hurt, slashing .292/.372/.471 with nine home runs and 14 steals over 88 games.

Crow-Armstrong went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Reds. He also stole a base.

The return of Cody Bellinger from a finger injury for Tuesday's game was seemingly bad news for Crow-Armstrong, but the former served as the DH the last two days, which kept Crow-Armstrong locked into center field. Bellinger should eventually see more time in the field, and Mike Tauchman is still around as well, so Crow-Armstrong could see his role decrease. The 22-year-old has struggled at the plate with a .194 average, though he has chipped in 20 stolen bases.

Hoerner went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Reds. He also stole a base.

It's been a bit of a down year for Hoerner, who's batting .252 with a .670 OPS after hitting .283 with a .729 OPS last season. The infielder has a total of 17 stolen bases this year, though he ran wild in 2023 with 43 steals. It doesn't seem like Hoerner will match last year's production overall, but if he can reach base consistently down the stretch, he could still be a fantasy difference-maker due to his ability on the basepaths.

Bellinger went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Reds.

In two games since returning from a finger injury, Bellinger has gone 5-for-9 with a home run and four RBI. The 29-year-old former MVP can heat up in a hurry, and it looks like he could be primed for a big finish to the season. Bellinger's counting stats could also benefit from the addition of Isaac Paredes to the Chicago lineup.

Suzuki went 2-for-5 with two doubles, a run scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Reds.

Suzuki recorded his second straight two-hit effort and fifth in his last seven games. The hot streak has pushed his season batting average up to .270 and he now has 52 RBI as well. Suzuki posted career bests with a .285 average and 74 RBI a year ago, and while he'll need a strong finish to reach both those marks, he should remain a solid fantasy contributor as long as he stays healthy.

Paredes went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Reds.

After going 0-for-4 in his Chicago debut Tuesday, Paredes got things going Wednesday. The former Cubs prospect batted second, in between Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki. It's a good spot for sustained production, and after recording a career-best 31 home runs and 98 RBI a season ago, Paredes could be in line for a strong finish to the year with his new team.

Happ went 3-for-4 with a walk, a two-run home run and three total runs scored in Wednesday's 13-4 win over the Reds.

Happ batted leadoff and helped pace the Cubs in the blowout victory. The outfielder now has 17 long balls this season, bringing him closer to the 20-homer plateau for the second straight year. Happ also pushed his OPS up to .785, which is in line with the .782 and .791 figures he posted in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Peralta came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 6-2 loss to Atlanta, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks over six innings. He struck out seven.

The right-hander served up back-to-back homers to Matt Olson and Travis d'Arnaud in the fourth inning, but otherwise Peralta went unscathed as he delivered his ninth quality start of the year on 101 pitches (59 strikes). Over his last eight outings, he's given up more than three runs only once, posting a 3.05 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 51:18 K:BB through 44.1 innings. Peralta lines up for a road rematch with Atlanta next week.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.

The veteran catcher went back-to-back with Matt Olson in the fourth and eighth innings, as they became the third pair of teammates in Atlanta history to accomplish that feat. It's d'Arnaud's second multi-homer performance in his last seven games, adding to an impressive July that has seen him bat .370 (17-for-46) with nine runs and 10 RBI over 14 games, in addition to the four long balls.

Olson went 2-for-4 with a walk and two solo home runs in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.

The slugger took Freddy Peralta deep in the fourth inning before clobbering a Nick Mears offering in the eighth. Travis d'Arnaud followed up each blast with a homer of his own, as they became the third pair of Atlanta teammates to go back-to-back twice in a game -- Fred McGriff and David Justice accomplished the feat in 1993, with Javy Lopez and Andruw Jones also doing it in 1998. Olson's first multi-homer performance of 2024 comes as part of a hot streak that has seen him bat .290 (9-for-31) over the last eight games with four long balls and six RBI.