MLB Player News

Meneses is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Phillies.

Meneses started at first base in the final two games of the Nationals' series with the Mets and went 1-for-8 with a solo home run, but he was merely keeping a seat warm in the lineup for Luke Voit, who was acquired in Tuesday's blockbuster deal that saw Juan Soto and Josh Bell go to San Diego. Voit has joined the Nationals in Philadelphia and will make his team debut Thursday at first base, taking over the everyday role that briefly belonged to Meneses. Unless Nelson Cruz's neck issue forces him to the injured list and the Nationals are in need of a new designated hitter, Meneses doesn't look like he'll have a path to playing regularly in Washington.

Canha isn't starting Thursday against Atlanta.

Canha is out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout Wednesday. Tyler Naquin will take his place in left field and bat seventh.

Pederson (concussion) is expected to be activated from the 7-day injured list Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Pederson landed on the concussion IL on July 29, and he'll rejoin the active roster Saturday after being sidelined for the 7-day minimum. The 30-year-old struggled in his first eight appearances out of the All-Star break, going 2-for-18 with a double, a walk and six strikeouts.

Mercedes will serve as San Francisco's designated hitter and No. 4 batter in Thursday's game against the Dodgers.

Despite going 1-for-11 in the first three games of the series, Mercedes will get another look as the Giants' DH in the finale. It's worth noting that the Giants faced four lefty starters in the series, so the righty-hitting Mercedes should still be viewed as a short-side platoon player.

Belt is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.

The lefty-hitting Belt will head to the bench for the day game after a night game while the Dodgers bring a southpaw (Clayton Kershaw) to the hill. The righty-hitting David Villar will spell Belt at first base.

Morel is on the bench for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Cardinals.

Though Morel will likely play in the nightcap, he'll be on the bench for the third time in four games while the Cubs go with David Bote at second base and Rafael Ortega in center field for the afternoon contest. After he was dialed in at the plate to begin his MLB career, Morel has cooled down since the beginning of July and has gone 0-for-16 over his last five starts.

McCutchen went 2-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base in an 8-7 loss to the Pirates on Wednesday.

McCutchen ripped a pair of doubles out of the cleanup spot against his former team. He now has 19 doubles on the year and six over the last 15 days. McCutchen also picked up his eighth steal of the season by swiping third off Chase De Jong. The 35-year-old center fielder isn't elite in any category anymore, but he still combines a fair mix of pop and speed while hitting in the heart of the Brewers lineup.

Vogelbach went 2-for-5 with a grand slam in Wednesday's 9-5 victory over the Nationals.

Vogelbach's first home run for his new team turned out to be a grand slam that scored Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Pete Alonso. It came in the fifth inning and put the Mets up 6-0. It was home run No. 13 this season for the designated hitter and his first since July 10. In nine games since joining the Mets, Vogelbach is 8-for-21 with a .971 OPS.

Beer isn't starting Wednesday against the Guardians.

Beer is getting a breather after he went 0-for-8 with three strikeouts over the last two games. Ketel Marte will serve as the designated hitter while Emmanuel Rivera starts at third base.

Meneses went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's victory over the Mets.

In his first career big-league game, Meneses launched a home run that helped seal a 5-1 win for the Nationals. The rookie spent a good chunk of his minor-league career in Atlanta's organization, but he'd toiled in the Phillies, Red Sox, and Nationals farm systems since 2018. He has shown the ability to hit for both power and average in the minors, batting .311 with 23 home runs in 2018 and .286 with 20 home runs this season, all at the Triple-A level. Perhaps his debut appearance with the Nationals is a sign of things to come for the 30-year-old rookie.