MLB Player News

Vientos went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Marlins.

Vientos began the scoring in the contest with a solo shot in the second inning and added another solo blast in the sixth. This was the rookie's first multi-homer game of his big-league career -- he came into the contest with just six long balls over his first 236 plate appearances as a major leaguer. Vientos has demonstrated ample power in the minors, however, with 65 long balls over 245 minor-league games across the past three seasons.

Morel went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 13-7 loss to the Pirates.

Morel is now up to 24 home runs after hitting 16 long balls as a rookie last season. While it's a solid total, the 24-year-old did hit nine of them in his first 12 games of the year. Since then, Morel has 15 home runs in 89 games. For fantasy purposes, the youngster has been a good player to use during a hot streak, though he's still looking for more consistency at the plate, and he'll need to cut down on the strikeouts moving forward.

Baker will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth Wednesday versus the Brewers.

The 26-year-old should see an uptick in playing time over what remains of the 2023 regular season with Alec Burleson (thumb) joining Nolan Gorman (hamstring) on the injured list. Baker has gone 12-for-56 (.214) with 22 strikeouts through his first 22 games at the MLB level, but he was slashing .334/.440/.720 with 33 homers and 98 RBI in 84 games for Triple-A Memphis prior to being recalled in mid-August.

Canario went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and five RBI in Tuesday's 14-1 win of the Pirates.

Making his first big-league start and batting ninth as the DH, the 23-year-old helped put the finishing touches on the rout by slugging his first career homer in the eighth inning -- a grand slam off Kyle Nicolas. Canario has flashed big-time power in the minors, launching eight homers in 36 games for Triple-A Iowa this season after mashing 30 over 101 games in the high minors the year before, but he still needs to prove he can make consistent enough contact against major-league pitching to become a significant part of the Cubs' future.

Meneses went 1-for-1 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's win over the White Sox.

Pinch-hitting for Blake Rutherford in the seventh inning, Meneses launched a clutch three-run homer off Bryan Shaw, putting the Nationals ahead 4-2 en route to a 4-3 victory. The homer was Menses' first in 37 games, with his last coming Aug. 8. While he's hit only 12 homers this year, the 31-year-old Menses is still slashing a solid .279/.326/.406 with a team-high 84 RBI to go with 67 runs scored through 610 plate appearances.

Martinez went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Tigers.

Martinez has enjoyed hitting against his former team, going 5-for-6 with three homers and six RBI over the first two games of this series. The designated hitter is at 29 long balls this season, putting him within striking distance of his first 30-homer campaign since 2019. He's added a .270/.324/.566 slash line with 92 RBI, 56 runs scored, a stolen base, 24 doubles and two triples through 102 contests in his first season with the Dodgers.

Pederson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 8-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Pederson is hitting .261 (12-for-46) with five extra-base hits and six RBI over 14 contests in September. His homer in the first inning put the Giants ahead 2-0, but the lead was gone by the end of the second. The veteran slugger is up to 14 homers, 50 RBI, 56 runs scored and a .248/.357/.432 slash line through 111 contests in his customary strong-side platoon role.

Blackmon is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Padres.

Blackmon has put together four straight multi-hit games, but it'll be Kris Bryant manning the DH role for the Rockies on Tuesday as they take on tough left-hander Blake Snell at Petco Park in San Diego. Nolan Jones, Brenton Doyle and Hunter Goodman are starting across the outfield.

Meneses is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the White Sox.

Dominic Smith will start at first base for the Nationals as Keibert Ruiz takes a turn in the DH role and Drew Millas does the catching. Meneses went 0-for-4 in Monday's series opener against Chicago and is slashing just .222/.271/.259 in 59 plate appearances since the calendar flipped to September.

Canario will serve as the designated hitter and bat ninth Tuesday versus the Pirates.

Canario has spent most of September on the Cubs' active major-league roster, but this will be his first appearance in the starting lineup. The 23-year-old put up an .866 OPS with eight homers, 35 RBI, two steals and 23 runs scored in 36 games for Triple-A Iowa prior to arriving in Chicago.