MLB Player News

Marte is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

It's a rare day off for Marte, who had made 12 consecutive starts. Ildemaro Vargas will cover second base Friday, while Jose Fernandez will play first base and Adrian Del Castillo will slot in at designated hitter.

Lowe went 2-for-5 with a solo home run Thursday against the Cardinals.

Lowe briefly pulled the Pirates to within one run in the seventh inning with his eighth home run of the season. That marked his first long ball since April 14, a span of 11 starts. After a hot start to the campaign, Lowe is hitting only .235 with one home run, five RBI and five runs scored across his last 12 games.

The Mets claimed Ibanez off waivers from the Athletics on Thursday, Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports.

The A's designated Ibanez for assignment Sunday, but he'll reclaim a 40-man roster spot by moving to the Mets. He'll fill in as a depth piece in New York, though he isn't likely to see many opportunities after posting a .285 OPS in 18 plate appearances with the Athletics.

Black will start at designated hitter and bat fifth in Thursday's game versus the Diamondbacks.

With Christian Yelich (groin) still out, the left-handed-hitting Black is settling in as the Brewers' primary DH against right-handers, having now made four starts in five games in such situations. He's off to a nice start, going 5-for-14 with three RBI.

Marte went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-2 win over the Brewers.

Marte has gone 13-for-47 (.277) over his last 11 contests, logging four multi-hit efforts in that span. The second baseman has just two extra-base hits in that sample, but it's encouraging to see him make more steady contact after a slow start to the campaign. Marte is batting .239 with a .693 OPS, five homers, 11 RBI, 17 runs scored, three doubles and no stolen bases over 28 contests. It's worth monitoring to see if his power shows up more consistently as the season progresses, as he's hit at least 25 homers in three straight seasons.

Albies went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and a second run scored in Wednesday's 4-3 win over Detroit.

Albies made an early impression with a two-run blast off Tarik Skubal in the first inning. In the ninth, Albies drew a walk, allowing Matt Olson to play the hero with a walk-off blast against Kenley Jansen. Albies has now hit safely in 11 straight games, going 17-for-42 (.405) with three homers and 11 RBI in that span. The second baseman has been superb over the first month-plus of the year, batting .317 with an .897 OPS, seven homers, 20 RBI, 22 runs scored, five doubles and no stolen bases over 31 contests. He has added a 9:16 BB:K, showing a contact-based approach at the plate that's leading to the best rate stats of his career.

Garcia is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Garcia will head to the bench as the Nationals load up the lineup with right-handed bats to counter Mets southpaw David Peterson. Curtis Mead will fill in for Garcia at first base and will bat second.

Julien is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.

After starting each of the past three games, the left-handed-hitting Julien will hit the bench while the Reds send a southpaw (Brandon Williamson) to the bump. With Julien taking a seat, Willi Castro (knee) will cover second base in his return to the lineup, and Hunter Goodman will serve as the Rockies' designated hitter while Brett Sullivan draws a start behind the dish.

Arraez went 1-for-3 with a double in Tuesday's 7-0 loss to the Phillies.

Arraez lined a double to left field in the fourth inning, accounting for one of San Francisco's two hits on the night. The 29-year-old infielder has recorded a hit in eight of his last 10 games, batting .317 with four runs scored, two RBI, two stolen bases and zero strikeouts in 43 plate appearances over that stretch. Overall, he's slashing .315/.345/.380 with 11 runs scored, eight RBI, four stolen bases and a 3.4 percent strikeout rate across 118 plate appearances this season.

Norby went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases in Tuesday's win over the Dodgers.

A late addition to the lineup at DH due to an illness for Liam Hicks, Norby knocked a one-out single in the eighth inning and then promptly stole second and third base off the battery of Blake Treinen and Will Smith before being stranded. They were the first SBs of the season for Norby, and over his last 18 games he's slashing a solid .270/.347/.460 with three doubles, three homers, five runs and nine RBI. With Christopher Morel off the IL, Norby could be headed for a super-utility role that sees him bounce between first base, third base and DH as needed.