MLB Player News

Smith is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Pittsburgh.

Smith started the first two games of the series, going 3-for-7 with a double, a walk and an RBI. He will yield to Austin Barnes for the series finale as the Dodgers try to avoid a sweep.

Kerr tossed 2.1 innings of relief in Wednesday's 9-0 loss to the Red Sox, giving up two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two.

Kerr had started in both of his previous two appearances, but he shifted back to the bullpen this week while Atlanta opted to scale back to a five-man rotation following Monday's off day. With starter Spencer Schwellenbach getting chased from the game midway through the fifth inning while Atlanta faced a 5-0 deficit, Kerr immediately allowed a run-scoring double and then walked a batter before inducing an inning-ending flyout to leave the bases load. The run he let in was tacked on to Schwellenbach's final line, but Kerr was charged with two runs of his own when he served up a 361-foot home run to Rafael Devers in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on base. Assuming Atlanta isn't yet ready to pull the plug on Schwellenbach as its No. 5 starter, Kerr looks set to remain in the bullpen as a lower-leverage, multi-inning option.

The Diamondbacks recalled Jacques from Triple-A Reno on Thursday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 in Houston reports.

Jacques was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in late April and has spent most of the season at the Triple-A level, allowing 14 runs over 10.1 innings. The left-handed reliever holds a career 5.08 ERA and 22:10 K:BB across 28.1 innings during his time in the majors.

The Diamondbacks claimed Vieira off waivers from the Orioles on Thursday, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Vieira made just one appearance with the O's before being DFA'd, allowing three earned runs on one hit and four walks while failing to record an out. He'll now join his third organization of the year but will almost certainly be limited to low-leverage situations out of Arizona's bullpen.

Joe is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Dodgers.

It's the first time since May 13 that Joe has been absent from the Pirates' starting nine. Rowdy Tellez will occupy first base and Edward Olivares will patrol right field while Joe gets some rest.

Brito struck out a batter over two-thirds of an inning out of the bullpen in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Padres.

After the Padres lost Yu Darvish (groin) and Joe Musgrove (elbow) to the injured list last week, Brito looked to be a potential candidate to enter the rotation, but San Diego instead called up Randy Vasquez and Adam Mazur to fill the open starting roles. Vasquez and Mazur have already been confirmed for their second turns through the rotation Thursday and Sunday versus the Diamondbacks, respectively, so Brito will stick around in a lower-leverage role out of the San Diego bullpen. Since he fell short in his bid for a spot in the Opening Day rotation, Brito has made 19 relief appearances for the Padres this season, going 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA and 1.26 WHIP over 31 innings.

Hurt (shoulder) is slated to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Hurt has been out since landing on the injured list April 20 due to right shoulder inflammation. He was eventually transferred to the 60-day injured list and isn't eligible to be activated until June 16. The right-hander will likely need to make several rehab appearances before he's deemed ready to return to the big club. He got into three games for the Dodgers prior to his injury, allowing one earned run while posting a 3:1 K:BB over 6.2 innings.

Kershaw (shoulder) is expected to pitch a two-inning simulated game Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Kershaw tossed one inning against live batters Saturday and appears to have come out of that session well given that he will next progress to throwing two simulated frames. Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday that the future Hall of Fame hurler is "way ahead of schedule," but the skipper also implied that Kershaw is likely still "about six weeks" away from being ready to join the big club, per Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com. Kershaw himself has declined to establish a timeframe for his return from the 60-day injured list, though mid-July is looking like a reasonable expectation.

The Pirates signed Bruihl to a one-year contract Thursday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Bruihl had been at Triple-A Louisville with the Reds until being released earlier this week in what was presumably an opt-out situation. The left-handed reliever collected a 2.31 ERA and 24:10 K:BB over 23.1 innings with Louisville. The Pirates will announce a corresponding move later Thursday.

Freeman went 1-for-5 with a stolen base and a run against Pittsburgh in a loss Wednesday.

Freeman has been much less active on the basepaths this season -- he's attempted just four steals (with three successes) after going 23-for-24 last year. That 2023 performance was likely an aberration, as the 23 thefts were 10 more than his previous career-high mark. Freeman's other numbers are mostly down so far this season as well, but he's still been quite productive with a .294/.397/.476 slash line, seven homers, 17 doubles, 35 RBI and and 36 runs through 63 contests.