MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Pereira (hand) is "making progress" and is "in a good spot," Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Pereira landed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left hand contusion. While the Cardinals have not revealed a timeline for the outfielder's return to the active roster, Pereira's absence is likely to be relatively brief.

Winn (thumb) is expected to resume swinging a bat Friday, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Winn was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a small fracture in his left thumb, an injury he suffered Aug. 18 while sliding into second base. The Cardinals are optimistic that Winn will be able to return soon, perhaps as early as Sept. 1 when he's first eligible, but how things go when he swings a bat Friday will go a long way in determining his timeline.

The Red Sox signed Nido to a minor-league contract Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Nido spent the first four months of this season at Triple-A Toledo in the Tigers organization before being released in late July. The 32-year-old has a career .560 OPS over parts of nine big-league seasons and will give the Red Sox some experienced catching depth at Triple-A Worcester.

The Rangers optioned Ahlstrom to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Ahlstrom loses his spot in the bullpen after being knocked around for 10 runs over his last 5.1 innings covering six appearances. It's unclear what the corresponding roster move will be, but the Rangers will announce one before Friday's game in Milwaukee.

The Cubs optioned Alcantara to Triple-A Iowa on Thursday.

Alcantara's most recent stint in the majors lasted a week and a half, and he went 1-for-4 at the dish. The Cubs will make a corresponding roster move prior to Friday's game versus the Reds.

Young went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two stolen bases in Thursday's 7-1 win over Colorado.

Young's been heating up at the plate, going 5-for-14 (.357) with three doubles and three steals in his last four games. The outfielder has gone 17-for-20 in stolen base attempts this season while slashing .249/.314/.399 with 10 homers, 43 RBI and 49 runs scored across 408 plate appearances.

The Diamondbacks are expected to recall Drake from Triple-A Reno to start Friday's game against the Giants in San Francisco.

Arizona will add a new starter to the rotation for the second day in a row, as Jose Cabrera was previously summoned from Reno to get the start Thursday. Drake will be up with Arizona for the third time this season, after turning in a 5.40 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB in 16.2 innings across four starts during his prior two stints in the majors.

Blubaugh earned a hold in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Yankees, allowing one hit while striking out three over two scoreless innings.

Blubaugh continues to impress since shifting to Houston's bullpen. The right-hander has held opponents scoreless in 11 of his last 13 appearances, posting a 0.93 ERA and 0.78 WHIP across 19.1 innings in that span. Blubaugh's ERA is down to 3.17 through 82.1 innings this season with a 1.17 WHIP and 84:34 K:BB. He's totaled seven holds and one save.

Ruiz went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and a double in Thursday's 7-1 win over the Rockies.

The backstop capped the scoring by taking Jimmy Herget deep in the eighth inning, Ruiz's ninth homer this season. The 28-year-old has been hot since the start of August, going 20-for-53 (.377) with a pair of homers and a .978 OPS in his last 16 games. Overall, he's slashing .281/.320/.453 with 45 RBI, 41 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases across 306 plate appearances this year.

Gilbert went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in a 6-1 victory over the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Gilbert led off the Giants' half of the first inning with a 407-foot solo shot to right-center field. He added a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. The 25-year-old has gone 5-for-12 over his past four games, with four of his knocks (three doubles and a homer) during that span going for extra bases. Gilbert hasn't started either of San Francisco's past two games against a lefty starter, so he appears locked into the strong side of a center-field platoon.