MLB Player News

Marte was scratched from Thursday's lineup in St. Louis due to back stiffness, Steve Zinsmeister of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.

Marte has a history of back issues and this flareup looks like a day-to-day situation for the time being. Tyler Locklear entered the Diamondbacks' lineup in Marte's place, with Tim Tawa shifting to third base and Ildemaro Vargas to second base.

McNeil went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 15-5 loss to the Diamondbacks.

McNeil clubbed a solo homer to right field in the fifth inning of what turned out to be a blowout defeat. The 34-year-old has primarily played second base this season, though he started Wednesday's contest at first base, where Jonah Heim and Tommy White have also seen time while Nick Kurtz (thumb) has been sidelined. McNeil's playing time has decreased sharply in recent weeks, as his season slash line sits at .238/.301/.321 with four homers, 31 RBI, 28 runs and two stolen bases across 90 games.

The Royals signed Lopez to a minor-league contract Wednesday.

Lopez will backfill the Royals' organizational middle-infield depth after Andrew Velazquez was called up to grab Bobby Witt's (back) roster spot. The 30-year-old Lopez had been at Triple-A Tacoma in the Mariners organization, where he slashed .302/.379/.419 with two home runs and a 13:10 BB:K in 43 games. He hasn't played in the majors since 2023.

Meidroth went 4-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Rangers.

His first two hits of the game were RBI singles. Meidroth has had a fairly consistent July at the plate, batting .293 (17-for-58) with four multi-hit efforts over 16 games. However, just three of those hits have gone for extra bases, and he's added only seven RBI. Meidroth is batting .277 with a .729 OPS, seven home runs, 34 RBI, 57 runs scored, 17 doubles and two stolen bases over 98 contests this season.

Lee went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Cubs.

Lee hit his fifth home run of the season in the fourth inning against Chicago starter Colin Rea with two runners on, which helped break the game open for the Tigers. The 23-year-old has held his own during his rookie campaign with a .256 batting average and .685 OPS across 60 contests. However, the recent return of Gleyber Torres (oblique) from the injured list is likely to cut into Lee's playing time at second base.

Wetherholt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 1-0 win over the Angels.

Wetherholt's 409-foot blast off Reid Detmers in the sixth inning proved to be the game's only offense. Through six games since returning from the All-Star break, the 23-year-old rookie has gone 6-for-26 with two homers, four RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. On the year, he's slashing .257/.352/.403 with 15 homers, 40 RBI, 62 runs scored and 10 steals across 435 plate appearances.

Altuve is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Altuve will head to the bench for the first time since June 28, ending a streak of 17 consecutive starts. Nick Allen will fill in for Altuve at the keystone in the series finale.

Ramirez is not in the Cubs' starting lineup against the Tigers on Wednesday.

Ramirez has gone 6-for-13 with three doubles and four RBI in his four games since the All-Star break. He'll be on the bench for the beginning of Wednesday's game while Michael Conforto serves as the Cubs' designated hitter and bats seventh.

Torres isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

After going 2-for-7 with two walks through the first two games of the series, Torres will move to the bench Wednesday as the Tigers look to ease him back to action following a month-long stay on the IL. Hao-Yu Lee will pick up a start at second base as a result and bat eighth.

Williamson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Toronto, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Richie Palacios will check back in at second base Wednesday while Williamson retreats to the bench following a big performance in Tuesday's 12-2 win. Williamson delivered his second four-hit game in his last five starts, bringing his batting average up to .257 on the campaign.