MLB Player News

Valdez was removed during the fourth inning of Monday's game against the Diamondbacks after he was hit by a pitch on his left hand, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Valdez was plunked by a 91 mph fastball from Merrill Kelly in the fourth frame and was in visible pain. Valdez walked off the field with trainers, and the Pirates should have an update on his injury once he undergoes further tests. He was replaced by Jared Triolo, who has taken over at shorstop with Jacob Gonzalez moving to first base and Tyler Callihan shifting to right field.

Cabrera (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell relayed Monday that Cabrera will likely need three rehab starts before rejoining the rotation, which would put the right-hander on track to return to the majors in mid-August. Cabrera landed on the 15-day injured list in late June due to a left hamstring injury. In his 14 starts before the injury, he had a 5-4 record with a 5.10 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 65:29 K:BB over 72.1 innings.

Liberatore is expected to be piggybacked by Hunter Dobbins in Monday's start versus the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The opposition is slashing .358/.463/.627 off Liberatore the third time through the batting order, so the southpaw will likely be allowed to face the lineup just twice before turning things over to Dobbins. Liberatore has collected a 5.18 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 95:38 K:BB over 99 innings covering 20 starts for St. Louis this season.

Dobbins is expected to piggyback Matthew Liberatore in Monday's game against the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

It had seemed as though Dobbins would draw another spot start this week, but instead he will follow Liberatore out of the bullpen in a tandem outing Monday. Dobbins tossed six shutout frames in a start last week against the Angels and holds a 3.18 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 28:10 K:BB across 28.1 innings with St. Louis this season. The righty could receive regular turns in the Cardinals' rotation soon if the club trades Dustin May at the deadline.

Hamilton is not in the Brewers' starting lineup against the Giants on Monday.

Hamilton will be out of the lineup for a second consecutive game while Joey Ortiz starts at third base and bats ninth. Hamilton has gone 1-for-7 with one steal and three strikeouts in his two games since returning from the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.

The Pirates acquired Rodriguez from the Orioles on Monday in exchange for cash considerations.

Rodriguez will report to Triple-A Indianapolis as he moves on to his third organization of the season following stops with the Guardians and Orioles. The outfielder has spent the majority of the campaign at the Triple-A level slashing .269/.369/.384 with four home runs and one stolen base across 255 plate appearances.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.

Though he'll cede his spot to Miguel Amaya on Monday, Ramirez appears to be emerging as a regular in the Chicago lineup. He had started in six of the Cubs' previous eight contests, going 11-for-25 with four doubles, two walks, one stolen base, six RBI and five runs during that stretch.

Benge is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.

The left-handed-hitting Benge isn't always shielded from left-handed pitching, but he'll head to the bench Monday while Atlanta sends southpaw Martin Perez to the bump. With Benge out of the lineup, Tyrone Taylor will pick up a start in left field and will bat seventh.

Susac is not in the Giants' starting lineup against the Brewers on Monday, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Susac will be idle for a second consecutive game while Jesus Rodriguez starts behind home plate and bats ninth while forming a battery with right-hander Tyler Mahle. Since the All-Star break, Susac has gone 2-for-14 with one steal and one RBI.

Yastrzemski is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mets.

The left-handed-hitting Yastrzemski will be on the bench against Mets southpaw Zac Thornton in the series opener, but he should be able to hold down a regular spot in the lineup versus right-handed pitching moving forward. After coming off the injured list last Tuesday, Yastrzemski made five starts -- all against righties -- in Atlanta's ensuing six games and went 2-for-13 with a walk.