Cody Bellinger (knee) will begin facing live pitching this week in Arizona before progressing to a minor league rehab assignment.
Bellinger is working his way back from a left knee contusion that send him to the injured list back in mid-May and should be ready to get into minor league games sometime next week. There isn't an official timetable for his return, but he figures to rejoin Chicago's lineup before the end of June.
Brad Boxberger (forearm) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Saturday.
Boxberger is headed to the Cubs' spring training facility in Arizona to ramp up his throwing program before heading out on a minor league rehab assignment. He figures to return to Chicago's bullpen mix sometime later this month.
Yordan Alvarez made an early exit from Thursday's game against the Blue Jays with a possible injury.
Alvarez was lifted for pinch-hitter Corey Julks in the third inning after grounding out to first base in his only at-bat of the contest. The 25-year-old fantasy superstar was at designated hitter for this one, so he didn't get hurt in the field. There should be an update on his status shortly. He's dealt with recurring hand issues over the last year, so the hope here is that he didn't re-aggravate that issue.
Nationals released RHP Erasmo Ramírez.
Ramírez went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week and will test the free agent waters rather than accept an outright minor league assignment. The 33-year-old veteran righty has struggled to an inflated 6.33 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 13/6 K/BB ratio across 27 innings (23 appearances) this season.
Blue Jays sent RHP Zach Thompson outright to Triple-A Buffalo.
Thompson passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week and will presumably remain with the Blue Jays as extra organizational pitching depth. The 29-year-old righty has yet to appear in the majors this season after being acquired from the Pirates back in January.
Reds optioned RHP Eduardo Salazar to Triple-A Louisville.
Salazar heads back to the minors to open up a spot on Cincinnati's active roster ahead of Friday's series opener against the Cardinals. The 25-year-old righty reliever has recorded a lackluster 7.36 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 4/2 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings (five appearances) in the majors since being called up a couple weeks ago.
Randy Vásquez will serve as the Yankees' 27th man for Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
Vásquez draws the starting assignment for the nightcap of Thursday's doubleheader and figures to fill lefty Nestor Cortes' spot in New York's starting rotation for the next few weeks. He likely won't be officially recalled to the Yankees' active roster until his next outing sometime early next week.
Giancarlo Stanton is not in the Yankees' lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
It seemed unlikely that Stanton would wind up playing in both games of Thursday's twin bill, so he's taking a seat for the nightcap at Yankee Stadium with Willie Calhoun getting another turn at designated hitter.
DJ LeMahieu is not in the Yankees' lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
LeMahieu went 0-for-3 with a walk in the opening contest of Thursday's doubleheader and is batting just .183 (15-for-82) with two homers and five RBI in 21 games over the last month. It'll be Josh Donaldson at the hot corner instead on Thursday night.
Tim Anderson is absent from the White Sox lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees.
Anderson takes a seat for Thursday's nightcap after going 1-for-5 in the front end of the twin bill at Yankee Stadium. It'll be veteran Elvis Andrus sliding over to shortstop in his place with Romy González at the keystone.
Luis Severino gave up four runs over five innings on Thursday in a no-decision against the White Sox.
Severino drew the starting assignment for the opening game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox and wound up surrendering three homers in an abbreviated outing. He racked up six strikeouts and only handed out a pair of free passes. He's lined up to take the ball on Tuesday against the Mets in his next outing.
Lance Lynn surrendered five runs over five innings on Thursday in a no-decision against the Yankees.
Lynn took the ball for the first contest of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees and was ultimately tagged for eight hits, including a two-run homer by Willie Calhoun in the fourth inning. He notched four strikeouts and also issued three walks. He's in line for a challenging matchup on Tuesday against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
Kendall Graveman hurled a scoreless ninth inning in the opening contest of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees for his sixth save of the season.
Graveman was summoned to guard a one-run lead in the final frame and looked like he was going to be in trouble after issuing a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Josh Donaldson and surrendering an infield single to ensuing batter Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He managed to coax a harmless pop out from Gleyber Torres before inducing a game-ending double play from Anthony Rizzo to preserve the victory.
Yoán Moncada belted a solo homer in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees.
Moncada led off the third inning with his first round-tripper since April 2. Seriously, we're not making this up.
Willie Calhoun went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBI in the first game of Thursday's twin bill against the White Sox.
Calhoun delivered an RBI single in the second inning before adding a game-tying two-run blast off righty Lance Lynn in the fourth inning. It was his fourth long ball of the season, but it wasn't enough as the White Sox managed to hang on for a narrow victory.
Camilo Doval worked a hitless ninth inning on Thursday against the Rockies for his 16th save of the season.
Doval leads the National League in saves. While he did plunk Ryan McMahon, today's appearance was his eighth straight without a walk. He had 28 unintentional walks in 67 2/3 innings last year. This season, he has just eight in 27 2/3 innings.
Michael Conforto went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk as the Giants came back to beat the Rockies 6-4 on Thursday.
Conforto's 12th homer chased Chase Anderson in the sixth. With 28 hits and eight homers in his last 22 games, he's sitting at .251/.352/.469 for the season. On this date a month ago, he was at .170/.297/.300.
Anthony Rendon is not in the Angels' lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.
It's a scheduled maintenance day off for Rendon since he's being eased back into things since he didn't go on a minor league rehab assignment prior to returning earlier this week from a left groin strain.
Nolan Jones went 3-for-3 with two RBI, a walk and a steal against the Giants on Thursday.
The Rockies are going to have to commit to playing Jones somewhere after C.J. Cron returns. He's up to .366/.395/.610 in 43 major league plate appearances after posting an 1.192 OPS in Triple-A, and he's worth trying in mixed leagues, particularly if one can spot him in his home games.
Casey Schmitt went 0-for-3 before being removed for a pinch-hitter Thursday against the Rockies.
It's probably worse for Schmitt that Brandon Crawford came through in his place, hitting an RBI double that tied the game in the ninth. Schmitt is still playing most of the time for the Giants, but he's really cooled off after a fast start, and while his .287 average remains nice, it comes with a .298 OBP because he's walked just once in 104 plate appearances. He figures to lose more playing time if he doesn't pick it back up soon.