MLB Player News

Griffin is dealing with soreness in his right forearm, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Griffin won't be in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, but he will be available off the bench, so it doesn't seem like his forearm issue is anything serious. Jared Triolo will pick up a start at shortstop while Griffin sits.

The Pirates optioned Valdez to Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

Valdez appeared in five games for the Pirates during his first career stint in the majors, going 2-for-16 with a pair of homers, five total RBI and nine strikeouts. Pittsburgh presumably wasn't satisfied with the 22-year-old's poor strikeout rate, so he'll return to Triple-A while the team brings up utility man Tyler Callihan to fill the open spot on the bench.

Walton went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in a 7-1 victory versus Detroit on Thursday.

All three of Walton's hits were singles, but he came around to score following two of the knocks. The journeyman utility player started at third base for the fifth time in the Angels' past six games, so he appears to have earned a fairly firm hold on playing time in the absence of Yoan Moncada (knee). Walton entered Thursday having gone just 2-for-15 since his May 22 call-up, though, so he'd likely need to put together a period of consistent production before fantasy managers consider adding him.

The Pirates recalled Callihan from Triple-A Indianapolis on Thursday.

Callihan has spent the entire season at Indianapolis up to this point, slashing .223/.305/.346 with five home runs, 16 RBI, 30 runs scored and eight steals through 49 games. Although he hasn't been a very efficient producer at the plate, he'll give the Pirates value as a defender capable of covering all three bases as well as the corner outfield positions. Esmerlyn Valdez was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Trout went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, one run and two RBI in Thursday's 7-1 win against the Tigers.

Trout was a force for the Angels' offense Thursday, reaching base four times. He gave his team a final bit of a breathing room with a two-run double in the ninth inning to cap the scoring in the contest. Trout continues to exhibit patience at the plate -- he's walked multiple times in four of his past nine games and has recorded an 11:6 BB:K over that span. The veteran outfielder's .892 OPS through 56 contests is on pace for his highest mark since 2022.

Flaherty (0-7) took the loss against the Angels on Thursday, completing 5.2 innings and allowing three runs on six hits and one walk while striking nine batters.

Flaherty was dominant at times, racking up 20 whiffs and nine punchouts. He held the Angels scoreless through four frames, but he lost steam in a three-run fifth inning, and the lack of run support from Detroit's offense saddled Flaherty with yet another defeat. The veteran right-hander is not only tied for the MLB lead with seven losses, he's also yet to win a game through 12 starts. Flaherty is at least providing his fantasy managers with punchouts -- he has 64 over 52.2 frames -- but his 5.81 ERA and 1.61 WHIP have landed him on many waiver wires.

The Rangers reinstated Freeman (back) from the injured list Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

Freeman has been sidelined by a lower-back fracture since spring training but began playing in rehab games May 14. Since then, he's slashed .161/.194/.194 with five RBI and eight runs scored over nine games between the Arizona Complex League, Double-A and Triple-A. He'll stay put at Round Rock now that he's been given a clean bill of health, and he'll likely need to turn things around offensively before the Rangers begin to consider adding him to their major-league roster.

Rodriguez (2-1) earned the win over Detroit on Thursday, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out five batters over five innings.

Rodriguez allowed a second-inning solo homer to Wenceel Perez, but that was the only run the Tigers managed against him. In fact, Rodriguez yielded just one other hit -- a first-inning single -- and retired 10 of the 11 batters he faced following the long ball. This was easily the left-hander's best outing since making his season debut May 17, as he gave up 11 runs across 9.1 frames over his other two starts. Rodriguez will look to build upon Thursday's performance next time he takes the mound, which lines up to be at home versus Colorado early next week.

Meyers isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Meyers has gone 0-for-9 with a walk and a run scored since the beginning of Houston's four-game set with Texas, and he'll take a day to regroup Thursday. Zach Dezenzo, Taylor Trammell and Cam Smith will start across the outfield while Meyers sits.

Walker isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Walker will take a seat on the bench to begin Thursday's series finale after going 1-for-12 with a three-run homer and an additional run scored over the first three games of the series. His absence will cause Isaac Paredes to shift to first base, giving Braden Shewmake a start at third and Brice Matthews a start at second.