MLB Player News
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Luis Garcia 2B | WAS
Nationals' Luis Garcia: Riding pine against lefty
Garcia isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Arizona, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will start Saturday's game on the bump, so Garcia will stay put in the dugout while Amed Rosario starts at the keystone and bats second.
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Brice Turang 2B | MIL
Brewers' Brice Turang: Launches loud homer Friday
Turang went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 3-2 win over the Reds.
A number of middle infielders classified as light-hitting have been displaying surprising power early in 2025, a group led by the Dodgers' Tommy Edman (five homers in nine games), but Turang has put himself among that group with some loud contact of his own. The 25-year-old absolutely smoked a Nick Martinez cutter in the fifth inning Friday, depositing it 418 feet away over the right-center-field fence for what proved to be the winning runs. Turang had seven homers in 155 regular-season games last year with an average exit velocity in the 14th percentile, and a hard-hit rate in the ninth percentile. Through his first eight games of 2025 he's already gone yard twice, and while the sample size is very small, he boasts an AEV in the 84th percentile and a hard-hit rate in the 60th percentile.
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Matt McLain SS | CIN
Reds' Matt McLain: Available as pinch hitter Friday
McLain (hamstring) entered Friday's 3-2 loss to the Brewers in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter and flied out to center field.
The second baseman was a late scratch before the contest, but McLain's hamstring issue doesn't appear to be a serious one. The fact that he was available off the bench is a good sign he'll be able to return to the starting nine Saturday, although the Reds might continue to treat the 25-year-old with kid gloves given that he missed the entire 2024 season due to multiple injuries. McLain is batting .214 (6-for-28) to begin the year with three homers, a steal, five RBI and seven runs.
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Garrett Hampson SS | CIN
Diamondbacks' Garrett Hampson: Steps in at second base
Hampson replaced an injured Ketel Marte (hamstring) at second base and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored in Friday's 6-4 win over Washington.
Hampson entered as a pinch runner when Marte pulled up on a first-inning double. The injury was determined to be a left hamstring strain, and there's no timetable for his recovery. Hampson is expected to fill in for the final two games of the series and could continue on as the primary second baseman should Marte require more than a few days to heal. If Marte is added to the injured list, it's possible the Diamondbacks could call up a body from Triple-A Reno that can play second base. Hampson is 1-for-6 with three walks, one steal and three runs scored through four games this season.
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Luis Garcia 2B | WAS
Nationals' Luis Garcia: Gets back on track with first homer
Garcia went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-4 loss to Arizona.
Garcia turned on a Brandon Pfaadt fastball for a first-inning two-run homer Friday, snapping an 0-for-13 skid over his prior four games. The lefty-hitting Garcia has just three hits and no walks in 21 plate appearances to begin the season, but he should remain on the strong side of a platoon alongside the righty-hitting Amed Rosario at second base going forward.
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Brendan Donovan 2B | SEA
Cardinals' Brendan Donovan: Homers, drives in three in loss
Donovan went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's 13-9 loss to the Red Sox.
Donovan launched a solo homer off Walker Buehler in the fifth inning and then added RBI singles in the seventh and ninth frames. The 28-year-old is off to a solid start in 2025, hitting .267 with two home runs, six RBI and four runs scored across 33 plate appearances.
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Ketel Marte 2B | ARI
Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte: Strains hamstring Friday
Marte was pulled from Friday's game against Washington due to a strained left hamstring.
Marte limped off the field Friday after injuring himself running to second base on a double in the first inning. His diagnosis didn't come with a return timeline, though there's a chance the 31-year-old infielder will end up spending time on the injured list. If that ends up being the case, Garrett Hampson would be the favorite to take over as the Diamondbacks' regular second baseman.
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Matt McLain SS | CIN
Reds' Matt McLain: Scratched from lineup
McLain was scratched from the lineup ahead of Friday's game against the Brewers due to left hamstring tightness.
The Reds haven't offered any information regarding the severity of McLain's injury, though it's apparently enough to keep him out of Friday's contest. He can be viewed as day-to-day for now; meanwhile, his absence will open a spot in the lineup for Spencer Steer to serve as the DH and bat second.
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Ketel Marte 2B | ARI
Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte: Exits with injury
Marte was removed from Friday's game against the Nationals with an apparent leg injury, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
Marte seemingly suffered the injury on the basepaths during his first-inning double, which probably could have been a triple if he hadn't pulled up lame into second base. More details on the nature and severity of his injury will have to wait until the D-backs take a closer look at him, though he was visibly in pain while limping off the field.
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Nolan Gorman 2B | STL
Cardinals' Nolan Gorman: Hamstring strain seen as mild
Gorman said Friday that the right hamstring strain that sent him to the 10-day injured list is "super mild," John Denton of MLB.com reports.
Gorman has remained with the Cardinals on their road trip as he continues with strengthening his right leg, and he does not anticipate needing a rehab assignment before returning. It sounds like he has a good shot to be activated April 12 when first eligible.