MLB Player News

Manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that Cabrera's right hand is feeling better, and he's expected to be on a normal schedule leading up to his next start, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

Cabrera was removed from his start Tuesday due to cramping in his right hand, but the Cubs don't seem to be very concerned about the issue. As long as he gets through his upcoming bullpen session without any problems, he should be ready for his next turn through the rotation against the Mets.

McGonigle went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Astros.

McGonigle is starting to get his power stroke going, as he now has three home runs across his last nine games. Before that, the rookie infielder had three long balls in his first 72 games of the season. McGonigle was already producing plenty of fantasy value thanks to his .282 batting average and .390 on-base percentage, but the uptick in power production is adding another element to his game.

Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Astros.

The seventh-inning blast for Carpenter was his 10th of the season and fourth this month across 13 games. The 30-year-old outfielder is now sporting a .946 OPS in June, and he continues to do most of his damage against righties. On the season, Carpenter has an .832 OPS in those matchups versus only a .490 OPS in limited action against southpaws.

Lodolo (2-2) took the loss Wednesday, coughing up seven runs on 11 hits and two walks over 4.2 innings as the Reds were routed 9-1 by the Mets. He struck out two.

The southpaw escaped potential trouble in the first two innings thanks to double plays, but Lodolo's luck began to run out in the third as New York strung together three straight two-out RBI singles. He finally got the hook after 90 pitches (54 strikes), with the only silver lining on Lodolo's performance being that he didn't serve up a homer for only the second time in eight starts this season. The 28-year-old has been unable to find any sort of rhythm since missing the first six weeks of the campaign with blister issues, and he'll carry a 6.12 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 32:17 K:BB through 42.2 innings into his next outing, which is set to come at home early next week against the Brewers.

The Athletics reinstated Civale (shoulder) from the injured list ahead of his start Wednesday against the Pirates.

Civale was brilliant during his rehab outing at Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday, striking out seven batters without allowing a man to reach base in 4.1 innings. He now has the green light to rejoin the Athletics' rotation, though he will be making his return against a Pirates offense that's posted a .764 OPS since the beginning of June. The 31-year-old righty is also likely to have his workload limited Wednesday after tossing just 56 pitches during his appearance in the minors. Luis Morales was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Canning (1-5) earned the win against the Cardinals on Wednesday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 4.1 innings.

Canning entered in the second inning and was actually the only Padres pitcher to allow a run, which came via a single in the fifth. The 30-year-old has opened June in uneven fashion, yielding one earned run in two of three outings with a seven-run blowup in between. Overall, he owns a 6.64 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 41:25 K:BB across 42 innings this season. With German Marquez (forearm) closing in on a return, it's unclear what Canning's role will be for his next turn through the rotation.

The Athletics optioned Morales to Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Morales will head back to Triple-A after just being recalled to the big-league club Monday. The 23-year-old made no appearances in his brief two-day stint in the majors. The Athletics activated Aaron Civale (shoulder) from the injured list to start Wednesday against the Pirates.

Soto went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Reds.

The superstar outfielder delivered his fifth multi-hit performance in the last seven games, as the big names in the Mets' offense have begun to come to life. Over his last 20 contests, Soto is batting .301 (22-for-73) with three doubles, five homers, one steal, 12 runs, 15 RBI and a 12:9 BB:K.

Ballesteros is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Left-hander Sean Sullivan will start for the Rockies, so the Cubs will send the left-handed Ballesteros to the bench and swap a righty bat (Matt Shaw) into the lineup. The Cubs have gone out of their way to shield Ballesteros from lefties this season, with the 22-year-old having logged just eight of his 175 plate appearances against same-handed pitching.

Bichette went 3-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored and an RBI in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Reds.

The former Blue Jay reeled off his sixth straight multi-hit performance while setting a season high in runs scored. Bichette was sitting on a .570 OPS after an 0-for-7 showing to begin June, but he's been on fire since then, batting .436 (24-for-55) over his last 13 games with five doubles, a triple, three homers, 11 runs and 14 RBI.