MLB Player News

Hoerner went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

After batting .301 in July, Hoerner has carried his strong play over into August. He has three multi-hit performances in five games this month, which has pushed his overall batting average up from .255 to .262. A career .279 hitter, Hoerner is trending in the right direction after struggling at the plate in May and June, and he should be able to rack up plenty of stolen bases if he continues to get on base at a similar clip.

Zeferjahn allowed a solo home run but also retired two batters via strikeout to earn a hold in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

Zeferjahn allowed a solo home run to Shohei Ohtani, which happens to even the best pitchers. The hard-throwing righty rebounded from that small blemish to tally two more strikeouts, bringing his season-long total to 77 across 53.1 innings. Zeferjahn has now recorded a hold in each of his first two appearances since joining the Cubs at the trade deadline, working ahead of Jacob Webb on both occasions. That seems to indicate that Webb has the inside track on the closer role, at least until Daniel Palencia (elbow) returns, but Zeferjahn has the stuff to be effective in the ninth inning if the Cubs decide to go in that direction at some point.

The Pirates selected Simon's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh released designated hitter Marcell Ozuna to clear room on the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster for Simon, who will be up in the big leagues for the first time in 2026. The 26-year-old posted an .883 OPS with eight home runs and 32 steals at Triple-A this season and should offer the Pirates some versatility off the bench. Simon is a switch hitter who is capable of playing multiple infield and outfield spots.

Webb tossed a scoreless ninth inning to record the save in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

After starter Shota Imanaga allowed just one run in his five innings of work, Chicago's middle relievers allowed five runs in three innings. Webb then managed to slow down the imposing Los Angeles lineup for his sixth save of the season. The righty has pitched well with a 2.49 ERA and 56 strikeouts across 50.2 innings this year, and he's done a good job since stepping into the closer role. However, Daniel Palencia (elbow) is due back soon, and the Cubs also picked up Ryan Zeferjahn at the trade deadline, which clouds the back end of Chicago's bullpen a bit moving forward. At the very least, Webb has earned the opportunity to keep seeing high-leverage work, possibly as part of a closer committee.

Imanaga (8-9) allowed one run on eight hits across five innings to earn the win in Wednesday's 7-6 victory over the Dodgers. He had no walks and struck out six.

Imanaga was challenged by a stout Los Angeles lineup, but he managed to scatter his eight hits allowed and mostly stay out of trouble. The only damage against the lefty came on a Shohei Ohtani leadoff home run. Imanaga continued his strong recent play, as he's allowed no more than two earned runs in any of his last five starts, and he's posted a 25:3 K:BB across 29.2 innings during that span. He'll carry a solid 3.60 ERA and 1.09 WHIP into his next appearance, which is currently scheduled to come next Wednesday on the road against another tough lineup in Washington.

Crow-Armstrong went 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and four total RBI in Wednesday's 7-6 win over the Dodgers.

Crow-Armstrong continued his stellar season with his first two home runs of the month, bringing him to 26 long balls overall. In five August games, the star outfielder is now slashing a robust .412/.545/.941, continuing a run of strong play that dates back to June following a slower start to the year. Crow-Armstrong's big game Wednesday came with Shohei Ohtani in the other dugout, who clubbed two homers of his own in what's shaping up to be a two-man race for National League MVP.

Jarvis is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Jarvis will hit the bench after he went 5-for-19 (.263 average) with two RBI and one run while starting in Atlanta's previous six games. With the club recently getting all of Ronald Acuna, Mike Yastrzemski and Sean Murphy back from the injured list and also adding Lane Thomas ahead of the trade deadline, Jarvis could end up ceding more time at shortstop to Mauricio Dubon, who may not be needed in the outfield as frequently.

Yastrzemski is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

The left-handed-hitting Yastrzemski often sits against lefties, but he'll head to the bench Wednesday while a right-hander (Eury Perez) takes the hill for the Marlins. Yastrzemski will give up his spot in the lineup to Sean Murphy, who will start behind the plate while Drake Baldwin gets a day off from catching but serves as Atlanta's designated hitter.

Hernandez will start in left field and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

Though his playing-time outlook appeared to have worsened after Owen Caissie returned from the injured list Saturday, Hernandez looks poised to remain a near-everyday player for the Marlins after Liam Hicks was traded to the Rays on Monday. Dating back to July 8, Hernandez has started in all but one of the Marlins' 22 games and has produced a .761 OPS during that span.

Torres will start in left field and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

Torres has been an early beneficiary of Monday's trade that sent Lars Nootbaar to the Diamondbacks. With Nootbaar out of the picture, Torres will pick up his fourth consecutive start in left field. Torres has performed at a near-league-average level this season with a .239/.293/.424 slash line and 97 wRC+ over 100 plate appearances, but the 29-year-old rookie may only be a placeholder in left field until the Cardinals are ready to promote top prospect Joshua Baez from Triple-A Memphis.