MLB Player News

Locklear is expected to take over as the Diamondbacks' primary first baseman due to Pavin Smith's (quadriceps) likely placement on the injured list following Thursday's game against the Brewers, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Since being acquired from the Mariners at the trade deadline, Locklear has gotten off to a listless start to his time with the Diamondbacks, slashing just .186/.269/.271 with two home runs and a 37.2 percent strikeout rate over 21 games. The right-handed-hitting Locklear had moved into the short side of a platoon at first base after Smith moved past an oblique injury and was activated from the IL on Aug. 18, but the latter player will end up returning to the IL less than two weeks later due to a new injury. The Diamondbacks don't have an obvious option to use in a platoon with Locklear while Smith is out, so Locklear should have the opportunity to play fairly regularly against right-handers.

Manager Oliver Marmol said Thursday that Arenado will return to St. Louis in the coming days to have his injured right shoulder examined by team doctors so that the Cardinals can map out a potential rehab assignment for him, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Arenado has been rehabbing his right shoulder strain at the club's spring training complex in Florida and is still in the early stages of a throwing program. If he gets good news from his visit with team doctors, Arenado could be cleared for rehab games before long. Nolan Gorman has been serving as the Cardinals' primary third baseman since Arenado landed on the injured list Aug. 1.

Smith (quadriceps) is likely to be placed on the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's series opener against the Dodgers, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Smith was removed from Wednesday's win over the Brewers due to left quad tightness. He won't stick around in Milwaukee for Thursday's series finale and will instead head back to Phoenix to undergo imaging. Assuming the MRI confirms a quad strain, Smith will likely require a stint on the IL. Tyler Locklear will start at first base Thursday and should serve as the Diamondbacks' primary option at the position while Smith is shelved.

Yelich is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

With Milwaukee wrapping up its series against Arizona with a day game after a night game, Yelich will receive a breather after he had started in each of the last 17 contests. Yelich's absence will clear the way for William Contreras to get a break from catching yet remain in the lineup as Milwaukee's designated hitter.

Beck threw a scoreless inning in Wednesday's 12-3 win over the Cubs, striking out two.

After allowing a run in each of his previous three appearances, Beck retired all three batters he faced and threw 10 of his 15 pitches for strikes. Over eight appearances in August, the right-hander has allowed eight earned runs on 12 hits -- including one home run -- and three walks while striking out 10 and hitting one batter in 13 innings. He owns a 4.82 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 24:12 K:BB across 37.1 innings in 22 games this season.

Peguero threw two scoreless relief innings in Wednesday's 12-3 win over the Cubs, striking out three.

Peguero retired all six batters he faced, throwing 18 of his 25 pitches for strikes. The right-hander had his contract selected from Triple-A Sacramento last Thursday, when he made his big-league debut. The 28-year-old has tossed three scoreless outings since joining the Giants, allowing four hits and one walk while striking out four across 5.2 innings.

Ramos went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two additional runs scored in Wednesday's 12-3 win over the Cubs. He was also hit by a pitch.

Ramos singled in the third inning before coming around to score. He was later hit by a pitch in the sixth and scored again. Finally, he launched a solo homer to left-center field off catcher Reese McGuire in the eighth. Ramos' three runs marked a season high, and he's now slashing .266/.339/.410 with 68 runs scored, 57 RBI, 16 home runs and six stolen bases across 572 plate appearances in 130 games this season.

Lee went 1-for-4 with a double in Wednesday's 12-3 win over the Cubs.

Lee lined a double to center field in the fourth inning, marking his eighth two-bagger in August. The 23-year-old outfielder has recorded at least one hit in all but two of his 23 appearances this month, slashing .307/.344/.477 with 11 runs scored, four RBI, three stolen bases, two triples and one home run across 93 plate appearances during that span. Overall, he owns a .259/.322/.408 slash line with 61 runs scored, 47 RBI, 30 doubles, 10 triples, 10 stolen bases, seven homers and an 11 percent strikeout rate across 525 plate appearances in 126 games this season.

Ortiz (hamstring) said Thursday that he's running at close to 100 percent and is on track for activation from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Monday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

It's not clear whether Ortiz will be asked to go out on a brief rehab assignment prior to being activated, but either way, he appears set to rejoin the big club for the start of its series next week against the Phillies. The shortstop has missed the last week of action with a left hamstring strain, with Andruw Monasterio stepping in as his primary replacement in the everyday lineup.

Ritter is out of the lineup for Thursday's game in Houston.

Though he's hitting .294 since being activated from the injured list Aug. 15, Ritter hasn't yet taken full control of an everyday role at second base for the Rockies. He'll hit the bench for the third time in four games while the Rockies use Tyler Freeman at the keystone on Thursday.