MLB Player News

Burger (wrist) will start at first base and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Angels.

Per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, Burger said that his left wrist is still sore after he was hit by a pitch Saturday, but he's made enough improvement to play in the series finale. The wrist issue probably won't help Burger's chances of regaining the offense that's been missing for much of the second half; he's slashing an unremarkable .220/.274/.394 with five home runs in 31 games following the All-Star break.

Young is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

The White Sox are deploying lefty Sean Newcomb as their opener, so Young will begin the game on the bench. Eric Wagaman will draw the start at first base.

Chaparro will start at first base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Since being called up from Triple-A Rochester on May 19, Chaparro has largely served as a short-side platoon player for the Nationals, but he's begun to gain traction in the lineup versus right-handed pitching. He'll crack the starting nine against a righty for the third time in four games, and on the season he sports a 1.127 OPS with three homers in 35 plate appearances in that split.

Busch went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Mariners.

The first baseman went back to back with Alex Bregman in the top of the sixth inning, giving Busch 16 home runs on the season and two long balls in his last four games. He also has 65 RBI and a .744 OPS across 128 contests. Busch seems unlikely to match last year's marks of 34 homers, 90 RBI and an .866 OPS, but he's still been a useful fantasy contributor in 2026.

Velazquez went 3-for-4 with a walk, three home runs and four RBI for Triple-A Columbus on Saturday.

Velazquez has been mashing for the Clippers of late, going deep 16 times over the last 20 contests. He had just four home runs over his first 48 games for Columbus. With 27 homers combined between Double- and Triple-A this season, Velazquez should be a top candidate to join the Guardians when rosters expand Sept. 1. Cleveland currently ranks 29th in home runs (123), last in slugging (.369) and last in OPS (.682).

Tawa went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 11-5 loss to the Reds.

Tawa has gone 12-for-38 (.316) with two homers and six RBI over his last 10 games. The utility man has found a home at first base lately, and it looks like he'll stay there while Ildemaro Vargas fills in for Ketel Marte (knee) at second base. Tawa is hitting .245 with a .707 OPS, eight homers, seven stolen bases, 32 RBI, 25 runs scored and 10 doubles over 73 contests, but he's been a little better lately, batting .266 since the All-Star break.

Stewart went 3-for-6 with one RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 11-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

The Reds' first four hitters in the lineup all had multi-hit efforts, going a combined 13-for-22 with eight RBI. Stewart was the only one of the quartet who didn't have an extra-base hit in this contest, but it was still a strong game. He's batting .293 (24-for-82) in August and is up to a .262 average, .809 OPS, 27 home runs, 97 RBI, 72 runs scored, 24 doubles and 12 stolen bases over 130 games this season.

Harper went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 12-3 win over the Cardinals.

Harper struck out in his first three at-bats before launching a three-run shot in the sixth inning. The veteran slugger has now reached base in 25 straight games dating back to July 26, a stretch in which he's tallied five home runs, 14 RBI, 21 runs scored and a fantastic 29:22 BB:K. On the year, he's slashing .257/.378/.492 with 26 homers, 75 RBI, 82 runs scored and seven steals across 555 plate appearances.

Burger was removed from Saturday's game against the Angels due to a left wrist contusion, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Burger was hit by a pitch on his left wrist in the third inning, and he was replaced by Nicky Lopez in the top of the fifth. The good news for Burger is that X-rays did not show a fracture, so he can be considered day-to-day and could be available to play in Sunday's series finale.

The Angels placed Schanuel on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 21, due to a right intercostal muscle strain Saturday.

Schanuel existed Thursday's game against Houston due to side soreness and didn't play Friday. He's since been diagnosed with an intercostal muscle strain and will be sidelined for at least 10 days. The Angels recalled both Christian Moore and Gustavo Campero from Triple-A Salt Lake while also placing outfielder Wade Meckler on the 7-day concussion IL in a series of roster moves. With Schanuel sidelined, Vaughn Grissom is logging a second straight start at first base Saturday and could see steady work at that position for the time being.