St. Louis Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Pirates - News - August 10, 2021 | FOX Sports

Canaan Smith-Njigba - Out with thigh injury Smith-Njigba was placed on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Altoona on Wednesday with a right thigh injury, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Impact Smith-Njigba was reinstated from the injured list Aug. 5 after missing time with an undisclosed injury, and he'll return to the shelf with the thigh injury without actually appearing in a game. It's unclear how long the 22-year-old, who has an .821 OPS with 13 stolen bases in 61 games this season for Altoona, will be sidelined.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Miles Mikolas - Next rehab start set Mikolas (forearm) will make his next rehab start Saturday with Double-A Springfield, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Impact The right-hander made his last rehab start Sunday and will go nearly a week between appearances, as he rejoined the big-league club this week for a throwing session. Mikolas surrendered seven runs in that previous outing, but he covered 5.2 innings and should be in the mix for the big-league rotation after starting Saturday for Springfield.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Help on the way for Pirates' beleaguered bullpen Sam Howard threw live batting practice Wednesday and should return to game action soon. That’s good. The Pirates bullpen needs him.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • POST-GAZETTE.COM

Oneil Cruz - Hitting again Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Cruz (forearm) has resumed taking full swings in the batting cage, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Impact Pittsburgh anticipates that Cruz will take another step forward in his recovery from a forearm strain later in the week, when he's scheduled to face pitching in live batting practice. Since Cruz has been out since late June with the injury, he'll likely require a rehab assignment in the lower levels of the minors before Double-A Altoona reinstates him from the 7-day injured list.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Ben Gamel - Expected to return next week Gamel (hamstring) is expected to return from the 10-day injured list next week, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Impact Gamel landed on the IL with a right hamstring strain Friday, but he's been hitting and throwing without issues and did some running Wednesday. Assuming he continues to trend in the right direction, the left fielder is slated to return following a brief absence.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Sam Howard - Faces hitters Wednesday Howard (oblique) threw a simulated game at PNC Park on Wednesday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Impact Howard resumed mound work last week as he continues to work his way back from a right oblique strain, and he felt good after facing hitters Wednesday. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk didn't say how many simulated games the southpaw will participate in, but Howard's next step in his recovery will likely be a rehab assignment.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE

Edmundo Sosa - Laces three-bagger in win Sosa went 2-for-4 with a triple in a win over the Pirates on Tuesday.

Impact Sosa is now 5-for-11 with Tuesday's triple and a home run over his last three starts. The 25-year-old's .254 average and .328 on-base percentage are serviceable, but the irregularity in his playing time helps cap his fantasy value overall.

AUGUST 11, 2021 • ROTOWIRE