MLB Player News

Senzel (knee) will start at third base and bat sixth in Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Senzel eventually had to depart Wednesday's contest versus Atlanta after fouling a ball off his right knee in the second inning, but he's back in there the following day. The 28-year-old has experienced a power outage in May, going homerless in 22 games after he hit five in just 12 contests during April.

Vargas went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over Atlanta.

The 32-year-old utility player began the game on the bench but took over at third base when Nick Senzel fouled a ball off his knee in the second inning. Vargas has posted career-best numbers to begin this season, slashing .298/.383/.404 through 109 plate appearances with four steals, seven RBI and 11 runs. If Senzel misses any time, Vargas would be the next man up at the hot corner.

Sim is hitting .207/.261/.313 over 161 plate appearances for High-A Hillsboro.

Sim, taken 148th overall in the 2023 Draft, is adjusting to his first full season of professional baseball and is "working through some things with the hitting coaches," Arizona farm director Shaun Larkin told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. "In my experience, the first professional season really is the hardest especially for college kids," Larkin said. "They're used to playing three-game series and four games a week. Here it's every night and they're not used to that. It's just a learning process for all of them." Thus far, Kim has maintained a two-position role, playing both first (25 games) and third base (13).

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday that Muncy is on a "slow program" due to lingering oblique soreness and isn't currently swinging a bat, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Muncy resumed baseball activities last Tuesday, but his progress has since been slowed by continued soreness in his oblique. The third baseman is already eligible to be activated off the IL, but given Roberts' comments, it doesn't seem like Muncy is on the cusp of returning. He'll almost certainly head out on a minor-league rehab assignment prior to rejoining Los Angeles' lineup.

Ortiz went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, one stolen base and three runs scored in Wednesday's 10-6 win over the Cubs.

Ortiz has drawn a walk in three straight games. His steal Wednesday was his second of the year, which has come on four attempts. The infielder is enjoying a strong first year with the Brewers, slashing .280/.382/.492 with five home runs, 18 RBI, 21 runs scored, nine doubles and two triples over 158 plate appearances. Ortiz got a chance to lead off in Wednesday's game -- the first time he's done so all season -- after batting no higher than fifth over the last week.

Senzel was removed from Wednesday's win over Atlanta after fouling a ball off his right knee in the second inning, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

The 28-year-old initially remained in the game to finish off his at-bat, drawing a walk before Ildemaro Vargas entered as a pinch runner. All imaging done on Senzel's knee came back negative after the game, per Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com, and the Nationals are hoping the 28-year-old will be able to return to the field for Thursday's series finale. However, if he isn't able to play Thursday, Vargas would likely step in as Washington's starting third baseman.

Short remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Short is on the bench for the third game in a row and has settled into a full-time reserve role after Austin Riley put an end to his to his two-week absence Monday. While Riley missed 13 consecutive games with a left intercostal strain, Short picked up 12 starts at third base during that stretch, with Luke Williams getting the other nod.

Hayes is out of the lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Tigers.

After being activated from the injured list Tuesday, Hayes had to wait a day to make his return to the lineup due to a rainout creating a doubleheader Wednesday. He started at third base and played all eight innings in the field in the Pirates' 8-0 loss in the first game of the day, going 0-for-2 with a walk. Hayes should settle back into an everyday role at the hot corner, but the Pirates won't have him play two full games in his first day back in the lineup. Jared Triolo will fill in for him at third base in the second game of the day.

Baty is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

Baty was in the lineup for three of the last four games with the Mets facing four right-handed starting pitchers, but he'll give way to the righty-hitting Mark Vientos on Wednesday while southpaw James Paxton takes the hill for the Dodgers. Vientos should continue to regularly replace the lefty-hitting Baty when the Mets face lefties, but the distribution of starts at third base between the two against right-handed pitching still looks to be up in the air. Baty has helped his cause by getting on base five times in 12 plate appearances over his last three starts, but Vientos owns a 1.085 OPS since his May 15 call-up from Triple-A Syracuse to keep himself in the mix for starts against righties.

Espinal is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

Espinal started at third base in all three games of the Reds' weekend series versus the Dodgers, but he's been a spectator for all three games of the series with St. Louis now that Jeimer Candelario is healthy again after missing time with a neck injury. The Reds will likely to continue to make room for Espinal in the lineup when the team faces left-handed pitchers, but his opportunities to play against right-handers will become more infrequent now that the team has all of its infielders available save for Christian Encarnacion-Strand (wrist) and Matt McLain (shoulder), the latter of whom has been on the injured list all season.