San Francisco Giants starter Alex Wood has tested positive for COVID-19.

Johnny Cueto was scratched from Monday night's scheduled start because of cold and flu-like symptoms, but he tested negative. The Giants placed Cueto on the COVID-related injured list.

Wood has headaches and a sore throat, with Gabe Kapler saying "he is not feeling well at all."

The Pittsburgh Pirates have fired hitting coach David Eckstein.

The last-place Pirates have struggled offensively all season. They entered Monday last in the majors in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and on-base percentage plus slugging.

"Making the decision now gives us the opportunity to use the rest of the season to focus on improvements in our hitting program while also starting the process of looking for a replacement," Ben Cherington said in a statement. "We wish Rick all the best moving forward."

The New York Mets have released Josh Reddick from his Minor League contract.

Reddick joined the Mets earlier this month after he was cut loose by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In 38 plate appearances over 11 games at Triple-A Syracuse, Reddick hit .182/.289/.303 with one home run.

The Washington Nationals have announced that catching prospect Keibert Ruiz has been called up and will start on Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The 23-year-old was part of the trade that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Since the trade, Ruiz in 20 games for the Nats' Triple-A affiliate has batted .308/.365/.577 with five home runs, six doubles, and more walks than strikeouts.

Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard encountered another hurdle in his recovery from Tommy John surgery Sunday when he was scratched from a rehab start because he tested positive for COVID-19, according to multiple reports.

New York manager Luis Rojas said Sunday that Syndergaard had a "non-baseball-related injury." He did confirm that Syndergaard has been vaccinated.

Javier Baez has had enough of New York Mets fans booing him, and is taking matters into his own hands.

Since his trade to the Mets at the trade deadline, the infielder is hitting .207/.258/.414 with three homers and five RBIs in 16 games. Fans have responded to his struggles at the plate by booing the former Chicago Cub, and during the Mets' 9-4 victory on Sunday over the Nationals, Baez gave a thumbs-down sign to the crowd at Citi Field.

Two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani reached yet another incredible milestone on Saturday night, as he became the first Angels player to ever hit at least 40 homers and steal 20 bases in a season.

Ohtani reached the mark with his 20th stolen base of 2021, coming in the fifth inning of a 10-2 win over the Padres at Angel Stadium. Ohtani already had reached the 40-homer mark -- he leads the Majors with 41 blasts this year. And it doesn’t include the fact that he’s also 8-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 105 innings as a pitcher this season.

Struggling White Sox lefty Dallas Keuchel understands the upcoming month of September will likely determine his playoff role on the team after lasting just one inning on Friday night against the crosstown Cubs.

"My last 10 starts have been ugly, to say the least," Keuchel said on Saturday. "There's probably only a handful of games where I've been my true self. I need to lock it in this last month. That's for sure."

The Pittsburgh Pirates, mired in last place and about to expand their roster to get extended looks at prospects in their organization, released veteran outfielder Gregory Polanco on Saturday.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton, in his availability with reporters before Pittsburgh's game vs. the St. Louis Cardinals, said that informing Polanco of the team's decision "was probably one of the most challenging things I've done."

Fresh off hitting his 500th home run, Miguel Cabrera has confirmed that he plans to retire after the 2023 season.

"My right knee is really bad," Cabrera said. "I need to take care of this in the offseason and prepare myself for next season. I say two more years. I think that's enough. I will be happy with 20 years in the big leagues if I can make it. Thank God for giving me this opportunity. Two more years and I'm done."

Cabrera is set to make $32 million in both 2022 and 2023. He has vesting options in his contract worth $30 million for both 2024 and 2025, but they are triggered by him finishing in the top 10 of AL MVP voting, something he hasn't done since 2016.