MLB Player News

Griffin will report to the Pirates' facility in Bradenton on Sunday to continue rehabbing his right forearm strain, Aidan Stepansky of MLB.com reports.

Griffin began playing catch out to 90 feet Wednesday and is expected to gradually increase the distance and intensity of his throwing while he's in Florida. The standout rookie has been on the shelf since May 31 but could return to action before the end of June, depending on how quickly he's able to resume full baseball activities.

Merrill went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk versus the Orioles in Saturday's 9-3 win.

Merrill opened the scoring with a two-run blast in the first inning. That was the initial salvo in what would become a five-homer day for San Diego's offense. The long ball was Merrill's second in what has been a rough June so far, as he's slashing just .178/.229/.378 through 11 contests this month. However, four of his eight knocks during that stretch have gone for extra bases, and his 20.8 percent strikeout rate in June is an improvement on his 24.2 percent mark overall on the campaign.

Sheets went 1-for-5 with a solo home run against Baltimore in a 9-3 victory Saturday.

Sheets was one of five Padres to go deep in the win, and his seventh-inning solo shot off Albert Suarez gave the team a 7-2 lead. The veteran slugger has played a key role in the offense this season, ranking second in homers (11) and RBI (30). Sheets' defensive versatility has also been useful, as he's jumped around between first base and right field while also logging starts at DH.

Reynolds went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Saturday against the Marlins.

Reynolds delivered an RBI double in the third inning to give the Pirates the lead and extend his hitting streak to five games. He has two doubles and a home run in that span, continuing a resurgent season. Reynolds is on pace to top both 80 RBI and 80 runs scored thanks to a .265 batting average and .386 OBP across 306 plate appearances.

Duran hit a solo home run in his only plate appearance during Saturday's 9-3 win against the Orioles.

Freddy Fermin started behind the plate but had to leave after taking a warm-up pitch from Yuki Matsui to the head area in the sixth inning. Duran finished out the contest and took Albert Suarez deep in the eighth. Luis Campusano remains on the IL due to a toe injury, so if Fermin needs to miss additional time, Duran figures to take over as the Padres' primary catcher.

Rumfield went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored Saturday against the A's.

Rumfield hit doubles in consecutive plate appearances in the fourth and fifth innings, marking his third straight game with an extra-base hit. After slumping to start June, Rumfield is in the midst of a four-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 7-for-14 with three RBI and three runs scored.

Machado went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a 9-3 win against Baltimore on Saturday.

San Diego belted five homers as a team, and Machado capped the long-ball fest with a 429-foot shot to center field in the ninth inning. The star third baseman is still trying to climb out of an early hole and remains saddled with a poor .178/.255/.364 slash line on the campaign. However, Machado does lead San Diego with 12 home runs and 35 RBI, and he's showing signs of busting out of the season-long slump. Over his past four contests, he's gone 6-for-18 with five extra-base hits (four doubles and a homer) along with three RBI.

Johnston went 2-for-3 with an RBI on Saturday against the Athletics.

Johnston delivered an RBI single in the fourth inning and tallied another base knock four frames later before getting pulled for a pinch runner. It was his sixth multi-hit performance in his last 12 games, and Johnston has hit .348 with seven RBI and five runs scored in that span. He has an impressive .316 batting average across 249 plate appearances for the campaign.

Swanson went 0-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three strikeouts in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Giants.

While Swanson salvaged some fantasy value by drawing a walk and coming around to score, he still had a rough day. The shortstop is just 1-for-12 over his last four games and is batting a paltry .133 this month, which has lowered his batting average on the season to .176. The Cubs don't have an obvious replacement for Swanson on their roster, however, unless they wanted to try Nico Hoerner at short on a more regular basis and open up second base for the likes of Matt Shaw or Pedro Ramirez.

Realmuto went 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI and a walk in Saturday's win over the Brewers.

Realmuto blasted a three-run homer in the top of the sixth inning, after contributing an RBI single that scored Bryson Stott in the fourth. Despite this strong showing, Realmuto has been slumping at the plate of late. He's gone hitless in nine of his last 12 games, slashing .135/.256/.297 in that span.