MLB Player News

The Cubs placed Shaw on the 10-day injured list Friday with mid-back tightness, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

It's not clear how long the injury has been bothering Shaw, who has just one May 18 plate appearance over the last five days, but a backdated IL stint will keep him out of action for another week-plus, at minimum. Pedro Ramirez is taking Shaw's spot on the active roster.

Beeter walked one and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning Thursday during a 2-1 loss to the Mets.

The right-hander was activated off the IL earlier in the day and was immediately thrust into a high-leverage spot, taking over from Cade Cavalli in a one-run game. Beeter has been sidelined since April 21 due to forearm soreness, but in his absence no one staked a strong claim to the Nationals' closer job -- Gus Varland leads the team with four saves to Beeter's two. Control remains the biggest obstacle between Beeter and the gig, and through 11.1 innings this season he has a 3.18 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 11:9 K:BB.

Ruiz went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Thursday's loss to the Mets.

The 27-year-old backstop accounted for the Nationals' only run in a 2-1 loss, leading off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single before eventually being brought home by an Andres Chaparro groundout. Ruiz has hit safely in six straight games, and over 42 plate appearances in May he's slashing a sizzling .375/.381/.775 with seven doubles, three homers, eight runs and 13 RBI over 11 contests.

Bichette went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Thursday's win over the Nationals.

It wasn't much, but Bichette's two-run single in the third inning wound up being all the offense David Peterson and the Mets' bullpen would need on the day. Bichette has racked up seven hits and nine RBI over the last four games as he shows signs of getting comfortable in his new uniform, but on the season the former Blue Jay is slashing just .225/.276/.328 through 50 contests with five homers, one steal, 24 runs and 27 RBI.

Ramirez was spotted in the Cubs' clubhouse Friday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

There's no word on whether Ramirez will be added to the active roster or is on the taxi squad, but the Cubs should provide clarity soon. Ramirez has certainly done enough at Triple-A Iowa to earn a promotion, slashing .312/.395/.547 with nine home runs and 19 stolen bases in 43 games this season. The 22-year-old primarily plays second and third base, though he has a bit of experience at shortstop and in left field, as well.

Williams credits a mechanical adjustment for his current 10-appearance scoreless streak, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

The right-hander has suddenly regained the elite form he showed to begin his career in Milwaukee, where he posted a sub-2.00 ERA over three straight seasons before being traded to the Yankees in 2025. His new club had Williams adjust the position of his hands when he began his motion to the plate in an effort to combat perceived pitch tipping, but the end result was a 4.79 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 90:25 K:BB over 62 regular-season innings last year, and he eventually lost the closer job to David Bednar. Williams signed a three-year contract with the Mets this offseason, and after a shaky start to 2026, a video review session in late April prompted the 31-year-old to return to his original hand placement. Since then, he's converted five straight save chances over 9.2 shutout innings with a 12:2 K:BB.

Caissie went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to Atlanta.

The 23-year-old rookie took Spencer Strider deep in the third inning to get the Marlins on the board. Caissie has homered twice in his last eight games, but those are his only extra-base hits since April 24, and he hasn't produced a multi-hit performance since April 9. Simply making contact has been the biggest issue for Caissie in his first campaign with the Marlins -- through 43 contests this season he's slashing .210/.269/.361 with four home runs, three steals, 15 runs, 20 RBI and a troubling 41.0 percent strikeout rate.

Mikolas will be used as the Nationals' primary pitcher for Friday's game in Atlanta, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Mikolas has fared better this season when used in bulk relief, posting a 4.86 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in that role versus an 8.28 ERA and 1.64 WHIP as a traditional starter. The veteran righty will be preceded by lefty opener Richard Lovelady.

Lovelady will serve as the Nationals' opener in Friday's game versus Atlanta, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

Lovelady has been used in a variety of roles by the Nats this season -- this will be his third opener assignment, but he has also collected three saves. The lefty will likely pitch just one inning before handing things off to Miles Mikolas, who is set to handle the bulk of the workload Friday.

Kim went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Thursday's win over the Marlins.

The shortstop missed the first six weeks of the season while completing his recovery from finger surgery, and Kim looks like a player still scrambling to catch up. Over his first eight games, he's batting just .115 (3-for-26) with zero extra-base hits, but Thursday's steal was his first of 2026 and he's drawn a walk in three straight starts. Kim's also committed three errors on the season.