MLB Player News

Cabrera will serve as the Tigers' designated hitter and No. 3 batter in Thursday's game against the Rays, but manager A.J. Hinch said the 39-year-old will start in every other game through the duration of the homestand while he manages lingering right knee pain, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Once the homestand concludes Aug. 11, Hinch said the Tigers' training and coaching staffs will meet with Cabrera to decide if he's ready to step back into an everyday role, or if he'll continue to require more frequent rest. Though Cabrera doesn't seem to be dealing with a major injury, it's clear the rigors of the long season is taking a toll on the future Hall of Famer, who is sitting on a career-worst .657 OPS for the campaign. To that end, Woodbery noted that Cabrera alluded to the possibility of retirement Thursday when he spoke to the media. Given that Cabrera is due $32 million in 2023 in the final season of his eight-year contract extension, the most likely outcome remains that he'll hold off on retiring for one more year.

Collins was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

Collins spent over a month on the major-league roster but appeared in just four games and went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts. He'll head back to the minors with the Blue Jays activating their recent trade acquisitions.

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.

Ohtani (forearm) will serve as the Angels' designated hitter and No. 2 batter in Thursday's game against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The Angels are facing a quick turnaround from Wednesday's 3-1 loss with Thursday's contest beginning at 4:07 p.m. ET, but Ohtani's inclusion in the lineup for the series finale implies that the forearm cramping he experiencing a night ago isn't a concern. He was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Wednesday's contest, but the move looks to have been mostly out of an abundance of caution. Ohtani will take a .253/.349/.491 slash line to go with 22 home runs and 11 stolen bases into Thursday's contest.

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.