MLB Player News

Encarnacion-Strand is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rockies.

Encarnacion-Strand will cede his spot in the starting nine to Blaze Alexander, who will handle the hot corner and bat seventh. While starting in each of the last eight games, Encarnacion-Strand went 10-for-32 (.313 average) with one home run, three doubles, two walks, six RBI and five runs.

Mead (wrist) played catch on the field at Fenway Park on Monday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Mead ditched his cast last week after follow-up imagining on his fractured left wrist came back negative. He had been performing strength and mobility exercises and has now progressed to light on-field baseball activities. Mead could be ready to return to Boston's active roster around mid-September if all goes well, but he still has lots of rehab boxes to check before making that a reality.

Ramirez went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, a walk and an additional run scored in Sunday's 11-1 win over the Royals.

The star third baseman shined Sunday, tallying his second-most RBI of the season. Ramirez is having a down year by his lofty standards, but he's now collected nine RBI in his past five outings as he looks to heat up. Through 447 plate appearances, he's slashing .243/.339/.393 with 11 homers, 48 RBI, 31 stolen bases and 61 runs scored.

Mayo went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 8-5 win over the Athletics.

Mayo's lone hit was a long one, as he crushed a three-run homer off Jeffrey Springs in the fourth inning. The corner infielder has put together a solid August, slashing .269/.321/.551 with five homers, 15 RBI, 14 runs and a stolen base across 24 games. Overall, he's hitting .218/.282/.447 with 19 homers, 55 RBI, 52 runs and three stolen bases in 109 contests.

McMahon (thumb) is likely to be activated from the injured list Tuesday, per Meredith Marakovits of YES Network.

McMahon expects to return to the big-league club just 11 days after being sidelined by a thumb sprain. The 31-year-old is slashing .216/.282/.367 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI over 306 plate appearances this season. With rosters expanding Sept. 1, McMahon should be able to rejoin the big-league club with no corresponding move.

Freeman started at third base and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Brewers.

Freeman sent Shane Drohan's middle-middle fastball over the fence in left-center for his first home run of the season. He's started nine consecutive games, bouncing between second and third base while going 7-for-26 (.269 average) with one triple, one home run, two RBI and five runs scored during that stretch. Freeman should continue to have a fairly clear path to a near-everyday role while Josh Jung (calf) remains on the shelf.

Rojas went 2-for-2 with a home run and four RBI in Saturday's 8-3 win over Cleveland.

Despite coming off the bench Saturday, Rojas registered his second career four-RBI effort. He's looking to make a case for more playing time, hitting safely in each of his last three games since being recalled from the minor leagues. Through 91 major-league plate appearances, Rojas is still slashing a pedestrian .247/.281/.365 with two homers, 13 RBI, one stolen base and nine runs scored.

Caminero went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's 7-6 win over the Padres.

Caminero tied the game with a 426-foot blast off Walker Buehler in the sixth inning. It snapped a 15-game homer drought for the 23-year-old, and he's now riding an impressive 12-game hitting streak dating back to Aug. 17. For the year, he's slashing .280/.367/.533 with 36 home runs, 86 RBI, 83 runs scored and three steals across 588 plate appearances.

Alexander isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics.

After going 1-for-5 during his first game back from the injured list Friday, Alexander will move to the bench Saturday as the O's look to ease him back into action after missing more than a month. Christian Encarnacion-Strand will man the hot corner and bat fourth.

Smith (hamstring) will play in one more rehab game with Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Assuming Smith comes out of his third rehab game without any issues, he will rejoin the big-league club and officially return when rosters expand Sept. 1. Smith has endured a tough season between Texas and Toronto, but his versatility around the diamond will likely afford him occasional opportunities with the Blue Jays down the stretch.