MLB Player News

Winn (thumb) will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Friday's game versus the White Sox.

Winn was scratched from the lineup for the Cardinals' last game Wednesday in San Francisco, just one day after he had returned from a left thumb fracture. He may continue to deal with some lingering soreness in the thumb the rest of the way, and the Cardinals plan to evaluate Winn's readiness on a day-to-day basis.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Friday that the team plans to activate Swanson (oblique) from the 10-day injured list prior to its Sept. 18-20 series in Cincinnati, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

He will have to get through a brief rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa first, but as long as Swanson doesn't encounter any setbacks he will be available for the Cubs' final nine games of the regular season. Swanson has been sidelined since mid-August with a Grade 2 left oblique strain.

Winn (thumb) said Wednesday that he expects to be back in the lineup Friday when the Cardinals return home to host the White Sox, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Winn returned from a left thumb fracture Tuesday but was then scratched from Wednesday's lineup versus the Giants due to lingering soreness in the thumb. The shortstop noted that he took a bad-hop grounder off his glove hand pregame, which caused the thumb to swell up. However, Winn said after Wednesday's contest that the swelling had already subsided, and he expects to be ready to roll Friday. Manager Oliver Marmol said Winn's availability for the final weeks of the season will be a "daily basis" decision.

De La Cruz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 14-1 loss to the Dodgers.

De La Cruz's bat has been nearly unstoppable lately with homers in five straight games. Since Aug. 22, he has gone 31-for-69 (.449) with six homers and 13 RBI over 17 contests. The shortstop is up to a career-high 26 homers on the year while adding 70 RBI, 89 runs scored, 26 doubles, five triples, 25 stolen bases and an .873 OPS across 127 contests.

Betts went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and two additional runs scored in Wednesday's 14-1 win over the Reds.

Betts has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games, supplying three homers and 14 RBI in that span. The shortstop is batting .249 with a .742 OPS, 19 homers, 60 RBI, 61 runs scored, 19 doubles and one stolen base over 108 contests. While he missed a month early in the year due to an oblique strain, he's on the cusp of another 20-homer campaign and will reach it soon given his hot start to September (1.224 OPS through eight games).

Griffin went 1-for-4 with two RBI and two stolen bases Wednesday in the 4-2 win over the White Sox.

Griffin singled home what would become the winning runs of the game in the seventh inning to get his first RBI since coming off the injured list with a torn sagittal band on his left ring finger. The rookie batted leadoff for the fourth straight game and proved he was still going to be aggressive on the basepaths with his 21st and 22nd stolen bases of the season. The 20-year-old is slashing .266/.325/.389 with five home runs and 27 RBI in 64 games so far this season.

Lindor went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored during Wednesday's 15-14 win over the Marlins.

Wednesday's series finale was a high-scoring affair, and Lindor capped off the Mets' six-run seventh inning with a three-run long ball off Tyler Zuber. Lindor has gone deep in back-to-back games and will end the three-game series against Miami having gone 4-for-15 with two home runs, four RBI and five runs scored. He has a .747 OPS with three steals, 18 home runs and 42 RBI across 392 plate appearances this season.

Winn was scratched from the lineup for Wednesday's game in San Francisco due to left thumb soreness, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Winn just returned from the 10-day injured list Tuesday after missing more than two weeks with a left thumb fracture, and it seems he might have been activated too soon. If Winn needs to go back on the IL, it would likely end his season. The Cardinals could offer more on the shortstop's status after Wednesday's contest. Jose Fermin will enter the lineup in Winn's place and will play second base, while Thomas Saggese will shift over to shortstop.

Turner went 2-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 6-5 loss to the Astros.

The shortstop took Hayden Wesneski deep in the sixth inning as the Phillies tried to rally from an early 5-0 deficit, but they couldn't quite find an equalizer. Turner snapped a 24-game power drought with the blast, his 18th of the season, and over that stretch he slashed a meager .184/.266/.245 with one steal, five RBI and 10 runs. Despite his struggles in 2026, Turner still sits two home runs and two stolen bases away from his fourth career 20-20 campaign.

De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Dodgers.

De La Cruz supplied the Reds' runs when he took Tarik Skubal deep in the third inning. This was De La Cruz's fourth straight game with a homer and his sixth consecutive multi-hit effort, with the power surge getting him to 25 long balls on the year. The shortstop is batting .283 with an .868 OPS, 69 RBI, 88 runs scored, 26 doubles, five triples and 25 stolen bases. With one more homer this season, he'll set a career high.