MLB Player News

Taylor left Sunday's game against the Giants with a left knee contusion.

He avoids a serious injury after getting hit by a pitch and exiting the season finale. Taylor should have enough time to get right for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday.

Taylor was removed from Sunday's game against the Giants after being hit by a pitch on the left knee, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 33-year-old initially remained in the game after the hit-by-pitch, but he was lifted just an inning later. The specifics of the injury remain unclear, but Taylor will have most of the week to recover ahead of Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday.

Fried (finger) is scheduled to pitch in a moderated game Tuesday, which lines him up to start Game 2 of the NLDS on Oct. 9, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Fried landed on the 15-day injured list Sept. 22 with a blister on his index finger, but the team was always hoping to get him back for the postseason. The left-hander should be good to go assuming he has no issues when throwing Tuesday, which would be huge for Atlanta since Charlie Morton (finger) also went down with an injury shortly after Fried.

Votto was ejected from Sunday's game against the Cardinals for arguing balls and strikes, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

The 40-year-old started at first base and batted third Sunday in the final game of the season, and potentially his final game with the Reds, but he was ejected for arguing after striking out in his only at-bat. It's an unceremonious close to Votto's 17th season, and he finishes the year with 14 homers, 38 RBI and a .203/.315/.435 slash line in 64 contests.

Lauer was optioned to the Arizona Complez League on Sunday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Lauer was promoted Saturday for his first appearance in the big leagues since May, but he was tagged for three homers and eight earned runs by the Cubs. The left-hander began the season in the starting rotation but is a potential DFA candidate this offseason after he posted a 6.56 ERA over 46.2 innings for the Brewers this year.

Junk was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Sunday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Junk made his lone big-league appearance of the season in April and allowed five runs (four earned) over 4.2 frames in a start at Arizona. He also underwhelmed at Triple-A with a 4.18 ERA over 140 innings but will rejoin the big club for the final game of the regular season.

Ramos was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.

The 24-year-old was called up by San Francisco on Sept. 23, and he went 0-for-8 with two strikeouts during his weeklong stint in the majors. Ramos had a .928 OPS at Triple-A this season but hit .179 with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate over 60 plate appearances in the big leagues.

The Cubs selected Duffey's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The right-hander was cut loose by the Cubs in early June but re-signed on a minor-league deal a couple weeks later. Duffey posted a 4.91 ERA in 40 outings with Minnesota last year and had a 3.77 ERA over 45.1 innings at Triple-A this season.

The Cubs selected Greene's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Greene was designated for assignment by Chicago in early September, but he'll rejoin the 40-man roster for the final game of the season. The veteran right-hander delivered a scoreless frame in his lone big-league appearance of the season and posted a 1.75 ERA over 25.2 innings at Triple-A.

Steer is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at St. Louis.

Steer had a strong finish to the season with a .942 OPS while starting the past 11 games, but he'll take a seat for Sunday's finale. The 25-year-old has put together a strong rookie campaign with 23 home runs, 15 steals, 86 RBI and an .820 OPS in 665 plate appearances.