MLB Player News

Ritter is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

After missing five straight games due to an unspecified issue, Ritter had returned to the lineup to start in both of the Rockies' past two contests. He went hitless with two strikeouts in five at-bats between those games and will now retreat to the bench Wednesday. Orlando Arcia will get the nod at second base in Ritter's stead.

Moniak is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Moniak went 7-for-13 with three home runs, two stolen bases and eight RBI while starting in each of the last three games, but the lefty-hitting outfielder will exit the lineup while the Marlins send southpaw Ryan Weathers to the hill Wednesday. Colorado will roll out a starting outfield of Jordan Beck, Brenton Doyle and Tyler Freeman from left to right.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Gorman could "potentially" see some start at first base following the season-ending injury to Willson Contreras (shoulder), Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Alec Burleson will be the team's primary first baseman down the stretch, but Gorman might also see some action there on days when Burleson plays the outfield. Gorman's playing-time outlook took a hit with the returns of Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado from the injured list, but Gorman now has another avenue to playing time, albeit a narrow one.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Walker will get "a little bit more of a run" in right field following the season-ending injury to Willson Contreras (shoulder), Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Alec Burleson will take over for Contreras as the team's primary first baseman, allowing Lars Nootbaar to play left field and Walker to handle right field most days. Walker started in right field Wednesday, marking just his second start over the last six games versus righties. He's slashing only .133/.212/.167 in September and .215/.272/.303 for the season.

The Nationals recalled Lao from Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

Lao was claimed off waivers by the Nationals earlier this month and is now poised to make his team debut. The right-handed reliever has permitted four runs (three earned) over 3.1 frames covering two appearances at the big-league level.

The Nationals optioned Ribalta to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

Ribalta pitched each of the last two days, allowing a total of four runs over two innings. He's being replaced on the active roster by Sauryn Lao, who was called up from Rochester to give the Nationals a fresh bullpen arm after Tuesday's doubleheader against Atlanta.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that Crismatt will be moved to the bullpen while Arizona proceeds with a four-man rotation for the rest of the season, Alex D'Agostino of SI.com reports.

Despite moving several key pieces at the trade deadline, the 77-75 Diamondbacks surprisingly find themselves in the hunt for a playoff spot with a week and a half remaining in the season. As a result, Lovullo will take a postseason-like approach with the rotation down the stretch as the Diamondbacks look to chase down the 78-73 Mets for the final wild-card spot. Since being called up from Triple-A Reno on Aug. 17, Crismatt has given the Diamondbacks quality production out of the fifth spot in the rotation, turning in a 2.70 ERA over his six outings. Crismatt's underlying numbers (10.9 K-BB%, 4.45 SIERA) are far less impressive, so he likely would have been bound to regress had he continued to make regular starts for Arizona.

Padres manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday that Bogaerts (foot) took part in workouts at the team's facility in Arizona over the previous two days and could return from the 10-day injured list for this weekend's series in Chicago versus the White Sox, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Bogaerts was involved in a full range of baseball activities, as he did some running, fielded grounders at shortstop and hit against live pitching. Completing a running progression appears to be the final hurdle that Bogaerts will need to clear before being activated, with Shildt noting that the 32-year-old is sprinting at about 80-to-85 percent intensity at this point. Bogaerts has been on the IL since Aug. 29 due to a non-displaced fracture in his left foot.

Musgrove (elbow) threw an "up-down" bullpen session at Citi Field on Tuesday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Musgrove essentially completed a two-inning simulated game, albeit without facing hitters. He threw approximately 15 pitches, then rested for a bit before tossing another 15 pitches. The right-hander -- who underwent Tommy John surgery Oct. 11, 2024 -- remains hopeful that he'll be able to contribute out of the San Diego bullpen in the playoffs, though he's not on pace to be ready to go for the wild-card round. With that in mind, the Padres may need to make a deep postseason run for Musgrove to achieve his goal, and even in that scenario, he may not be trusted with pitching high-leverage innings coming off a major injury. The Padres' main focus remains in ensuring that Musgrove enters spring training at full health and is able to break camp as a member of the Opening Day rotation.

Cortes (biceps) is scheduled to face live hitters Friday at the Padres' facility in Arizona, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Cortes has thrown multiple bullpen sessions since landing on the injured list Sept. 5 due to left biceps tendinitis and is now ready to take the next step in the recovery process by facing hitters. Assuming Friday's workout goes well, Cortes will likely be activated from the IL for the final week of the regular season. Cortes doesn't tentatively line up for a start next week, but with the likelihood that the Padres' playoff positioning will be solidified ahead of their final series next weekend versus the Diamondbacks, Acee speculates that Nick Pivetta won't be asked to start against Arizona. As a result, the Padres could turn to Cortes to make a 3-to-4-inning start or bulk-relief appearance at some point during the series.