MLB Player News

Baldwin went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

The rookie backstop took Clay Holmes deep in the fourth inning to briefly tie the game at 1-1, before the floodgates opened for the Mets in the bottom of the frame. Baldwin has started two of every three games lately as he takes a firmer hold of the top job over Sean Murphy, and over his last six games he's batting .316 (6-for-19) with two of his nine homers on the season, plus five runs and seven RBI.

Sykora has been promoted from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Sykora got a late start to the season while recovering from hip surgery, but he's been utterly dominant across three levels since returning to action, posting a 1.11 ERA, 0.62 WHIP and 70:11 K:BB over 40.2 innings covering 10 starts. The 21-year-old went six innings in his last start for just the second time in his pro career and is ready to test himself at the Double-A level for the first time. Sykora has emerged as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball.

Goodman is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.

Goodman reached base four times in the first two games of the series but will nonetheless take a seat for Thursday's finale. Braxton Fulford is at catcher and batting eighth for the Rockies.

Nootbaar is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.

Nootbaar homered in each of the first two games of the series against the Cubs, but he's now been on the bench for two straight versus left-handed pitching. Brendan Donovan is playing left field and Thomas Saggese will cover second base for the Cardinals.

Hampson will start in center field and bat ninth in Thursday's game versus the Cubs.

A waiver claim earlier this week, Hampson has now started back-to-back games in center field against left-handed pitching. It appears the utility player will form the short side of a platoon at the position with Victor Scott.

The Cubs designated Fulmer for assignment Thursday.

Fulmer tossed three scoreless frames over two appearances during his brief time with the Cubs. The veteran right-hander elected free agency after being removed from Boston's 40-man roster earlier this season, and he's likely to become a free agent again if he passes through waivers.

The Cubs activated Imanaga (hamstring) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Imanaga is set to rejoin the Cubs' rotation Thursday with a start in St. Louis after being out since early May with a strained left hamstring. The left-hander threw 72 pitches and went 4.1 innings in his final rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa, so he's likely to have a somewhat limited workload against the Cardinals.

Realmuto is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Houston.

It's a well-earned day of rest for Realmuto, who started at catcher in each of the Phillies' previous five contests. Rafael Marchan will be behind the dish for Thursday's matinee.

Walker (abdomen) did not require surgery for his recent bout of appendicitis and was allowed to return home Wednesday, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Because the appendicitis was caught early, Walker was able to treat it with antibiotics and other treatments. The avoidance of surgery could allow Walker to return sooner, perhaps when his 10 days are up or close to it. He will rest for 4-to-5 days and could go out on a short rehab assignment before being activated from the 10-day injured list.

Brown could see his workload reduced a bit at Triple-A Iowa as the Cubs seek to keep him fresh for an eventual return to the majors, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Brown is slated to still start games for the Iowa Cubs, though he could face an innings limit or potentially see some work in long relief. The team also wants the young righty to keep developing his changeup and improve his control, as he walked 27 batters in 79.1 innings for Chicago before his demotion. Brown has the stuff to make an impact again in the majors this season, though fantasy managers will likely need to be patient.