MLB Player News

Higgins will start at catcher and bat eighth Wednesday against the Padres.

Higgins will enter the lineup for only the fifth time since his May 19 call-up from Triple-A Iowa. The 28-year-old is off to a 1-for-21 start to his big-league career, and his playing time will likely remain scarce so long as top catcher Willson Contreras is healthy.

Naylor went 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's 10-1 win over the Cardinals.

Naylor doubled off Junior Fernandez in the ninth inning and scored on a Bradley Zimmer single. He has doubled in back-to-back games. The 24-year-old is slashing .255/.305/.397 with five home runs, 15 RBI and 22 runs in 197 plate appearances.

Voit (oblique) is increasing his volume of swings and could begin a rehab assignment next week, the Associated Press reports.

Voit has been on the 10-day injured list since May 26 with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, but he appears to be progressing toward a return. He would likely need a few minor-league rehab games to get back up to speed, which puts his target date to rejoin the big club at sometime in late June. Voit has played in only 12 games this year as a result of this injury and knee surgery that delayed the start of his season.

Lowe isn't starting Wednesday against the Giants.

Lowe will get a breather after he went 3-for-15 with a run, an RBI and four strikeouts across the last four games. Charlie Culberson will start at first base and bat seventh.

Votto (thumb), activated from the injured list earlier in the day, went 0-for-2 with two walks in a loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.

The veteran first baseman saw his first game action since May 5 and displayed his trademark patience at the plate. Votto operated out of the cleanup spot for the seventh time this season, and it remains to be seen if he'll begin to log more time in a premium slotting that will often place him behind Nick Castellanos and ahead of Eugenio Suarez. Votto will also look to rediscover the momentum he seemed to be generating before his injury, as he'd slashed an impressive .273/.385/.545 across the 26 plate appearances covering his last seven games leading into his month-plus absence.

Gurriel went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in Tuesday's 7-1 win over the Red Sox.

There's no batter seeing the ball better than Gurriel right now. The first baseman extended his hitting streak to five games, going 12-for-18 (.667) with a 1.616 OPS during that stretch. After a tepid 2020 (.658 OPS), the 37-year-old Gurriel is experiencing a resurgence in 2021.

Vaughn went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Tuesday's 6-1 win over Toronto.

Vaughn put the White Sox on the board in the seventh inning, driving a solo shot to right field, his first big swat since May 24. He added another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the following frame. The rookie has been a mild disappointment with a .230/.312/.412 slash line on the season.

Alonso went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI during Tuesday's 10-3 loss at Baltimore.

The 26-year-old clubbed a two-run shot during the first inning and also hit a solo homer during the ninth, but the rest of the New York's offense mustered only two singles on the day. Alonso is 10-for-30 with three homers, nine RBI and six runs across his past eight contests.

Rizzo went 2-for-3 with a home run, double, two runs and four RBI in Tuesday's 7-1 triumph over the Padres.

Rizzo laced a two-run double as part of a four-run sixth and later launched a two-run home run the next inning to extend the lead to 7-0. The long ball was a welcome sight as it was only the veteran first baseman's sixth all season and his first since May 2. While Rizzo's on base and average are near his career rates, a .445 slugging is well below a career .483.

Wade went 3-for-5 in Tuesday's 9-4 win over Texas.

All three of his hits were singles. Wade hit safely in seven of nine games while Brandon Belt was out with an oblique injury. Now that Belt is back, Wade is likely to play in the outfield mostly -- he started in right field Tuesday. The 27-year-old is slashing .310/.408/.548 with three home runs, five RBI, six runs scored and a stolen base across 49 plate appearances. He'll compete for extra time in the outfield while Mike Yastrzemski (thumb) is out.