MLB Player News

Encarnacion-Strand finished the 2022 campaign with a .304/.368/.587 line, 32 home runs, eight steals and 114 RBI across 122 games in High-A and Double-A.

He wasn't quite as spectacular after being traded to Cincy as he had been in Minnesota's organization, but Encarnacion-Strand still hit .309/.351/.522 in 35 games for Double-A Chattanooga. Plate discipline remains the one main concern for the 22-year-old slugger, as he posted a fairly high 25.5 percent strikeout rate and an unimpressive 7.4 percent walk rate. Unless he makes some adjustments, Encarnacion-Strand may have a difficult time hitting .300 in the majors, but his impressive power gives him a strong chance to develop into an impactful middle-of-the-order bat.

Meneses went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk Wednesday against Atlanta.

Meneses took Jesse Chavez deep in the seventh inning to record his 10th home run of the season. After a slow stretch, Meneses now has three long balls across his last 10 starts, while also racking up seven RBI and six runs scored in that span. Meneses has had an impressive MLB debut, maintaining a .328/.364/.563 line across 187 plate appearances.

McCutchen isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Mets.

McCutchen started the last two games and went 3-for-6 with a double, a run, an RBI, two walks and two strikeouts. He'll get a breather while Christian Yelich serves as the designated hitter and leads off.

Canha is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Brewers.

Canha will get a breather after he went 1-for-6 with a run scored and three strikeouts while starting the first two games of the series. Jeff McNeil will slide out to left field while Luis Guillorme enters the lineup at second base and bats eighth in the series finale.

Pederson isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's contest with the Rockies, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Pederson -- along with his .679 OPS against lefties -- will take a seat Tuesday as Kyle Freeland will begin the game for Colorado. In Pederson's place, Austin Slater will pick up a start in left field and lead off for the Giants.

Vogelbach is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Brewers, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

He will head to the bench with lefty Aaron Ashby starting a bullpen game for Milwaukee. Vogelbach is hitting .250/.400/.364 with one home run in 16 games this month.

Morel is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins.

Morel homered and walked in Monday's contest, but that was not enough to earn him a spot in Tuesday's lineup. Morel owns a .590 OPS since the start of September, so even though the Cubs are out of the playoff hunt, he is getting a breather every few days.

Reyes is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins.

Reyes went 1-for-3 Monday but just 3-for-29 (.103) over his last eight games, so he will be held out for the second time in four games. Jared Young will serve as the Cubs' designated hitter Tuesday night.

Blackmon went 3-for-5 with a triple and an RBI on Monday against the Giants.

Blackmon drove in his 76th run of the season with an RBI single in the first inning and also chipped in a two-out triple seven frames later. He has emerged out of a prolonged slump and is in the midst of a modest three-game hitting streak, during which he's collected six hits across 13-bats. Though Blackmon is no longer a threat on the basepaths, he has chipped in 16 homers, 59 runs scored and a .263 average across 551 plate appearances on the campaign.

Meneses went 4-for-4 with a stolen base in Monday's 5-2 loss to Atlanta.

All four hits were singles, but it was still an impressive performance for the 30-year-old rookie, who also added his first career steal in the majors and only his second at any level since 2016. Meneses has been a bright spot for a Nationals team that's otherwise just playing out the string, and he's slashing .315/.342/.493 through 17 games in September with three homers and 12 RBI.