MLB Player News

The Reds activated De La Cruz (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

De La Cruz has been out for all of June with a right hamstring strain, but he's ready to go after playing three rehab games with Triple-A Louisville. He will return to shortstop for the Reds, pushing Matt McLain back to second base.

Poulin will serve as the Nationals' opening pitcher in Tuesday's game versus the Phillies, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.

Poulin is no stranger to opener assignments, as Tuesday will mark his 10th of the season. The southpaw has held lefty bats to a .173/.283/.346 batting line in 2026, so it makes sense to have him face Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at the top of the Philadelphia lineup before turning the game over to righty Zack Littell, who will work in bulk relief.

Littell will be used in bulk relief Tuesday against the Phillies, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.

He's fared better this season as a bulk reliever (3.20 ERA) than traditional starter (6.31 ERA). The right-handed Littell will be preceded Tuesday by left-handed opener PJ Poulin.

Nimmo went 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base and two runs scored in Monday's 4-3 win over the Marlins.

The Rangers had a pair of two-run innings with Nimmo involved in both. He singled in the fourth and scored on Ezequiel Duran's home run, and then doubled and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. This was Nimmo's eighth multi-hit game over the last 13 contests, during which the outfielder is slashing .358/.370/.509.

Duran went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday's 4-3 win over Miami.

Duran swatted a two-run home run in the fourth inning to give Texas a 2-0 lead. It was his sixth homer of the season and upped his RBI count to 40, second on the club behind Jake Burger (46). Duran will continue to operate as the fill-in shortstop until Corey Seager (concussion) is ready to return. At that point, Duran is expected to shift to second base.

Farmer (forearm) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Columbus on Tuesday.

Farmer went down a little over a month ago with a right forearm strain but has progressed enough to try things out in a game setting. Interestingly, Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Monday that Farmer is "gonna catch a lot" on his rehab assignment, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The 35-year-old Farmer has not seen any action at catcher since 2019, and it's unlikely Atlanta would use him behind the plate on a regular basis even if Drake Baldwin gets hurt.

Bazzana went 1-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base and two runs scored in Monday's 6-5 loss to the White Sox.

Bazzana's third-inning single extended a hit streak to six games, during which he's gone 10-for-21 with five walks, five extra-base hits (three HR), seven RBI and eight runs scored. He also ignited a two-run, ninth-inning rally with a walk and a stolen base, his 12th steal in 48 games.

Smith (2-1) was the losing pitcher Monday, surrendering two runs on two hits and one walk while striking out three over 1.2 innings in a 6-5 loss to the White Sox.

The three-game series between the AL Central's leaders kicked off Monday in exciting fashion. Smith entered to start the eighth inning with the Guardians trailing 4-3 and got through his first inning without issue. After Cleveland scored twice in the top half of the ninth, Smith was in position for a win while pitching in a save-like situation -- ahead by a run in the ninth inning. The White Sox rallied for a pair of runs and the walk-off win. This was Smith's first hiccup of any kind since April 14, when he blew a save.

McLain started at shortstop and went 0-for-3 in Monday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to Milwaukee.

McLain's started 17 of the last 19 games while operating as the primary fill-in for the injured Elly De La Cruz (hamstring), who is expected to be activated from the injured list Tuesday. De La Cruz's return should put an end to McLain's time as a regular presence in the starting nine. The offensive production he generated during the first week of his residency at shortstop (1.319 OPS over seven games) suggested McLain was moving past a season-opening slump, but he's slipped back since, going 5-for-33 (.152) with a .475 OPS and zero RBI over the last 11 contests.

Santillan (1-4) was the losing pitcher Monday, allowing two runs (one earned) while walking one in a 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Brewers.

Santillan, who entered a scoreless tie in the 10th inning, gave up runs for the first time in eight outings. Monday's results aside, he appears to have settled in as the Reds fill-in closer until Emilio Pagan (hamstring) returns, which could happen within a week. Pagan threw a second live batting-practice/simulated-game session Monday and is expected to begin a brief rehab assignment Thursday.