MLB Player News

Hicks is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Phillies.

Hicks will give way to Nick Fortes behind the plate against lefty Cristopher Sanchez, which is the norm for Tampa Bay against southpaws. The 27-year-old Hicks is enjoying a breakout campaign, and he's been even better by OPS with the Rays (.804) than he was with the Marlins to begin the year (.795).

Pederson (hand) took some swings in the batting cage Friday and is scheduled to face teammate Jack Leiter (ankle/biceps) in live batting practice this weekend, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

A small fracture in Pederson's left hand ended the 34-year-old's regular season, but it sounds like he's expecting to play Tuesday -- that is, if the Rangers are able to punch their ticket to the playoffs. Pederson put together a resurgent campaign with an .816 OPS and 26 homers after posting a .613 OPS with nine homers in 2025.

Williams (upper body) is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Astros.

The A's scratched Williams from Thursday's lineup due to upper-body soreness, and he will miss at least one additional start as a result of the injury. With Joshua Kuroda-Grauer also on the bench, Donovan Walton will start at shortstop while Jeff McNeil shifts over to second base and Tommy White mans first against right-hander Hunter Brown.

Nimmo will start in right field and bat leadoff Friday against the Twins.

Nimmo will be making his first start atop the order since May 11 after primarily batting fourth or fifth in recent months, as manager Skip Schumaker tries to jumpstart the offense and beat out the Astros for the AL West crown. The 33-year-old Nimmo hit .276/.358/.414 out of the leadoff spot earlier this season before shifting down the lineup.

Meidroth is out of the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies due to left hamstring discomfort, James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Manager Will Venable downplayed the issue, saying that the 25-year-old is available off the bench. However, Meidroth is reportedly playing through a variety of injuries, and with Chicago now locked into the playoffs, it wouldn't be surprising to see him receive additional rest over the final weekend of the regular season.

Scherzer could be the starter for the Blue Jays' regular-season finale against the Reds on Sunday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

With the Blue Jays eliminated from playoff contention, Sunday's game could be Scherzer's final start in his major-league career, in what would be in front of the home crowd at Rogers Centre. It hasn't exactly been the final season that the veteran right-hander has hoped for, with Scherzer sporting a 3-9 record (across 17 starts) with a 6.14 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 77.2 innings. Still, Sunday's matinee would be the opportunity for Scherzer to end his career on a high note, assuming he hangs up the cleats during the offseason.

Cease (shoulder) said Friday that he anticipates having a relatively normal offseason, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Surgery was ruled out, but Cease will take some downtime over the next several weeks to allow the inflammation in his shoulder to subside. He still expects to be ready for the start of spring training in 2027. A Cy Young candidate throughout much of the campaign, Cease finishes the 2026 season with a 2.40 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 239 strikeouts across 29 starts and 169 innings.

Bateman (hip) is expected to return to the starting lineup Saturday against the Reds, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Bateman left Monday's game with right hip discomfort and has not seen the field since, but he is making progress and it sounds like he will play again this weekend, even with the Blue Jays now officially out of playoff contention. Depending on how Bateman responds to pregame work Friday, he could be available off the bench for the series opener against Cincinnati.

Gasper will likely miss the AL Wild Card Series against the Yankees after suffering a biceps injury during the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Cubs, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

The results of Gasper's MRI have not been disclosed, but it sounds like the Red Sox are preparing to be without him for at least the first round of the playoffs. Gasper was injured on a swinging strikeout in the fifth inning of Friday's matinee. Manager Chad Tracy said afterward that Gasper was in "some pretty good discomfort."

Rafaela remains out of the starting lineup for the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Cubs, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports.

Right hamstring tightness forced Rafaela from Wednesday's game -- his very first game back from a right quad strain -- though he was back in the lineup Thursday. He may be dealing with some lingering effects of the hamstring injury. It's also possible the Red Sox are just playing it safe with their playoff seeding now set.