Morel went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run home run in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Reds.

Morel can be streaky with his power production, but he appears to be locked in right now, as he has two home runs across his last three games and three in his last seven contests. The surge has pushed him up to 12 long balls for the season. Morel popped 26 home runs last year, and he certainly could reach or surpass that figure in 2024 if he stays healthy.

Madrigal suffered a fractured left hand when he was hit by a pitch during a game with Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register reports. Iowa placed him on its 7-day injured list Thursday.

Madrigal was playing in his first game with Iowa after being optioned to the affiliate earlier this week. It's not clear at this juncture how much time he might miss, but he certainly he won't be an option to return to action at Iowa for several weeks.

Morel (foot) is starting at third base and batting cleanup Thursday against the Reds.

Morel was taken out of Wednesday's game after fouling a ball off his left foot, but he appears to be feeling well enough to return to the Cubs' lineup without a day off. The 24-year-old has posted just a .203 batting average so far this season, but he has been heating up recently, going 6-for-19 with two homers, three RBI and six runs scored across his last six games.

Arenado went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Astros.

This was Arenado's third homer in his last seven games, doubling his total to six long balls on the year. He's gone 6-for-28 (.214) in that seven-game span as he continues to try and put it all together this season. The veteran third baseman is at a .252/.306/.376 slash line with 28 RBI, 23 runs scored, 10 doubles and no stolen bases through 58 contests in 2024, numbers far too similar to the down year he posted in the abbreviated 2020 campaign.

Manager Craig Counsell said after Wednesday's game versus the White Sox that he believes Morel will be fine after he fouled a ball off his left foot, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Morel had to leave Wednesday's contest because of his foot, and although he never received an X-ray, the Cubs are confident he escaped the incident without any severe damage. There's a chance Morel sits out a game or two in order to recover from any lingering soreness, but a trip to the injured list shouldn't be necessary.

Candelario went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and two stolen bases in a 12-7 win over Colorado on Wednesday.

Candelario got the Reds on the board in the third inning with a two-run blast off Dakota Hudson, his eighth homer of the year and second in three days, before picking up his first two stolen bases of the season later in the contest. It was an impressive road trip for the 30-year-old Candelario, who's now gone 9-for-24 (.375) with three extra-base hits in his last five games. Overall, he's slashing .236/.304/.443 with 25 RBI and 22 runs scored through 224 plate appearances this season.

Morel was removed from Wednesday's game against the White Sox after fouling a ball off his left foot, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Morel looked to be in a considerable amount of pain after getting hit in the foot, but he remained in the game to finish his at-bat, during which he drew a walk. Patrick Wisdom entered the game as a pinch runner, and the Cubs will now take a closer look at Morel. The 24-year-old had gone 5-for-16 with two homers and three RBI across his last five games heading into Wednesday's contest.

Burger said that he's not dealing with any soreness or pain in his intercostal muscle, but he's out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays as a matter of caution, Noah Berger of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Burger was on the injured list from April 15 through May 6 with a left intercostal strain, and he appeared to tweak the muscle on a swing during Tuesday's 9-5 loss. He was able to stay in the game, and Burger's condition hasn't seemed to have taken a turn for the worse heading into Wednesday's series finale. However, with a team off day Thursday, both Burger and manager Skip Schumaker agreed that it was for the best for the third baseman to get a two-day break by exiting the lineup Wednesday. Burger is fully expected to be back in the starting nine Friday versus the Guardians.

Hernandez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Since Max Muncy made his last start May 15 before landing on the injured list with an oblique strain, Hernandez has served as the Dodgers' primary option at the hot corner. However, after starting at third base in the first seven games of Muncy's absence, Hernandez's hold on an everyday role may be slipping. He'll be on the bench for the second day in a row, with Chris Taylor getting the nod at the hot corner Wednesday after Miguel Rojas occupied the position Tuesday. Hernandez's move to the bench comes while he's supplied just five hits in 37 at-bats (.135 average) over his last 13 games.

Burger is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

While Burger was likely overdue for a day off after making 17 consecutive starts dating back to May 15, his absence from the lineup Wednesday could be the result of an injury. As Christina De Nicola of MLB.com points out, Burger looked to have tweaked an intercostal muscle on a swing during Tuesday's 9-5 loss, though he stayed in the game after telling manager Skip Schumaker that he was fine. Burger was previously on the injured list from April 15 through May 6 with an intercostal strain, so fantasy managers will likely want to keep close tabs on his status heading into the Marlins' series versus the Guardians this weekend.