MLB Player News

Smith went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday in a 7-0 win against the Padres.

Smith put the finishing touch on a dominant Dodgers win with his solo blast to left field in the seventh inning. The backstop has gone deep in each of his past three starts. Smith missed nearly three months due to a neck issue, and he initially struggled upon returning to action Sept. 1. However, he's perked up with the bat of late, going 7-for-18 with three homers, a double, four runs and five RBI across his past five games.

The Cardinals believe Bernal can be "an everyday, workhorse catcher," per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and are giving him a heavy workload down the stretch to prepare him to be the everyday catcher in 2027.

Bernal has started all 19 games since being promoted Sept. 1, including 13 starts at catcher. The 22-year-old rookie has slashed .299/.341/.494 with four home runs and 17 RBI and has also drawn rave reviews for his work with the pitching staff. St. Louis is overloaded with catching depth, but it's become clear that it sees Bernal opening 2027 at the top of the depth chart at the position. Ivan Herrera, Pedro Pages, Jimmy Crooks and eventually Rainiel Rodriguez are also in the mix at catcher for the Cardinals, though they could move Herrera off the position permanently at some point.

Sasaki allowed two hits and struck out two batters over one scoreless relief inning against San Diego on Tuesday.

Sasaki logged his first game action since landing on the IL due to a finger blister in late August. The right-hander entered in the fourth inning and worked around a pair of two-out singles to work a scoreless frame. Sasaki twice hit triple-digits with his fastball and seemed to have no lingering issues from the blister. The outing was his first out of the bullpen this season, and that could be his role in the playoffs as well, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. While Sasaki has had a mostly promising second MLB campaign, Los Angeles' postseason rotation may not have room for him if Blake Snell (groin) is ready to go, and Sasaki has already demonstrated he can be successful as a late-inning reliever based on his performance during the team's championship run last year.

The Orioles recalled Kjerstad from Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday.

He was just sent down this past weekend but is back to take the roster spot of the injured Samuel Basallo (concussion). Kjerstad is 4-for-19 with a 0:9 BB:K in 11 games for the Orioles this season and has slashed .289/.337/.462 with 11 home runs across 79 contests with Norfolk in 2026.

The Orioles placed Basallo (concussion) on the 7-day injured list Wednesday.

Basallo had to be removed from Monday's game versus the Blue Jays after taking a foul tip off his catcher's mask, and testing has determined he suffered a concussion. It will end the season of Basallo, who has also dealt with a nagging right shoulder injury during the second half. The 22-year-old will finish the 2026 campaign with a .222/.291/.406 batting line and 18 home runs over 112 contests. While Basallo is out, Carlos Narvaez will serve as the Orioles' primary catcher in the final days of the regular season.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Wednesday that Scherzer could pitch on short rest Sunday versus the Reds, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

Scherzer is starting the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader in Baltimore, but it might not be his final outing of the season. Bringing the 42-year-old back on short rest could serve two purposes. One is that the impending free agent would get to pitch in front of the home crowd in Toronto one more time. Another is that Scherzer is currently 11 strikeouts behind Justin Verlander on the all-time list, so he could pad that total this weekend. Scherzer has yet to commit one way or another in regard to continuing his career in 2027.

Cox went 0-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Twins.

Cox drew a walk in the first inning before recording his team-leading 15th stolen base of the season, and he also logged an RBI on a fielder's choice in the ninth. The 25-year-old has racked up seven stolen bases in September while batting .260 with 13 runs scored and seven RBI in 83 plate appearances. Overall, he's slashing .272/.317/.412 with 25 runs scored, 16 RBI and four long balls across 152 plate appearances this season.

Atlanta optioned Murphy to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

Murphy allowed three runs over three innings out of the bullpen for Atlanta in Tuesday's loss to the Reds. His roster spot will be absorbed by Robert Suarez (elbow), who is back from the 60-day injured list.

Atlanta activated Suarez (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

Suarez is finally ready to rejoin the Atlanta bullpen after missing more than three months of action with right elbow inflammation. The 35-year-old reliever made just one rehab appearance, striking out one in a scoreless inning for Gwinnett on Sunday. Atlanta might hold off on using Suarez on back-to-back days initially, but if he can stay healthy he'll give the bullpen a big boost. Suarez has yielded just two runs with a 26:6 K:BB over 32 innings this season.

Burns (groin) worked on adding a sinker in his September outings before getting placed on the 15-day injured list to end his season, Charlie Goldsmith of FOX19 reports.

Burns used the sinker nine times in his last start against the Cubs, with the purpose of giving his fastball another look. "It was moving a lot," Burns said. "Why not? My normal fastball is a cut-carry. This looks different to them. Having two fastballs is the big new thing. You look at Cam Schlittler. He has a cutter, a fastball and a sinker."