MLB Player News

The Pirates selected Madris' contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday. He'll start in right field and bat seventh in the Pirates' series opener with the Cubs.

Pittsburgh placed starting pitcher Zach Thompson (forearm) on the 15-day injured list to open up a spot on the 26-man active roster for Madris, who is up with the big club for the first time in his career. With fellow rookies Jack Suwinski and Cal Mitchell seemingly established as the Pirates' primary starters at the corner-outfield spots, the 26-year-old Madris may have to settle for a reserve role with Pittsburgh initially. As a left-handed hitter, Madris, who submitted a .904 OPS in 179 plate appearances at Indianapolis, won't represent a viable platoon mate for Suwinski or Mitchell either.

Atlanta recalled Ford from Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday.

Ford will join the big club for the first time after he had spent the past week and a half at Triple-A when Atlanta claimed him off waivers from Seattle earlier this month. He'll provide Atlanta with a left-handed bat off the bench but isn't expected to usurp either of Matt Olson or Marcell Ozuna for the top job at first base or designated hitter, respectively.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Sunday that Madris will be called up from Triple-A Indianapolis in advance of Monday's series opener with the Cubs, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Though he'll be getting second billing among the Bucs' call-ups Monday with top prospect Oneil Cruz also headed to the majors, Madris arrives in Pittsburgh after an impressive showing at Triple-A. In 177 plate appearances with Indianapolis, the 26-year-old slashed .308/.390/.526 with five home runs and two stolen bases. Madris may not have a direct path to an everyday role in Pittsburgh, but he'll give the team another left-handed-hitting option in the corner outfield, at designated hitter or at first base.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

The 31-year-old's move to the bench allows both of Atlanta's two backstops -- Travis d'Arnaud and William Contreras -- to stick in the lineup, as Contreras will handle designated-hitter duties in Ozuna's stead. Ozuna went 0-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts in the first two games of the series in Chicago.

Canha is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Jeff McNeil will pick up a start in left field in place of Canha, who sits for the second time during the Mets' six-game week. Canha still appears to be fairly secure in a near-everyday role, though the Mets' eagerness to open up more playing time in the infield for Luis Guillorme means that McNeil will spell Canha in the outfield more often than was anticipated heading into the season.

Soler is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

He'll sit for the first time since June 9, affording Luke Williams a start in left field Sunday. While starting in each of the Marlins' past eight games, Soler went 5-for-31 (.161 average) with two doubles, two walks, three runs and an RBI.

Blackmon went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Saturday against the Padres.

Blackmon took Nick Martinez yard in the fifth inning to record his 11th home run of the season. He's enjoyed a strong homestand, hitting .455 with a pair of long balls, six RBI and five runs scored across his last five games. Blackmon has also maintained a .802 OPS across 264 plate appearances on the campaign.

Harper (hand) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

He'll be sidelined for the third consecutive game overall and a second straight on account of a blister on his left hand. Harper received antibiotics to treat the blister, so he could be ready to rejoin the lineup for Tuesday's series opener against the Rangers if his treatment has taken full effect by then.

Vogelbach went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in a 7-5 loss to the Giants on Saturday.

Vogelbach pinch hit for Michael Chavis in the eighth inning and brought the Pirates to within a run. It was his eighth home run of the year and 18th RBI. The left-handed slugger was on the bench to start the game with lefty pitcher Alex Wood on the mound for San Francisco.

Mercedes was claimed off waivers by the Giants on Saturday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Mercedes made a brief splash at the start of last season as a 28-year-old rookie, but his overall .271/.328/.404 slash line in 68 games was merely good for a 101 wRC+, a number which isn't good enough for a player who shouldn't feature anywhere other than designated hitter. He's spent all of this season with Triple-A Charlotte, where he's hit .230/.376/.425 in 25 games. The Giants are quite good at building a roster that gets the most out of a set of imperfect players, but whether or not they'll eventually carve out a meaningful role for Mercedes remains to be seen.