MLB Player News

Vargas went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-0 win over the Angels.

Vargas had gone 0-for-20 over his last six games and came up empty in his first three at-bats Wednesday before knocking a ninth-inning solo shot. It snapped an 11-game homer drought for the infielder. He continues to see regular playing time, but he's slashing just .207/.309/.388 with seven homers, 30 RBI, 32 runs scored and three stolen bases over 69 contests. Vargas also struck out three times Wednesday, but he's displayed a decent eye at the plate with a 19.9 percent strikeout rate and a 12.4 percent walk rate on the year.

Short went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and three total RBI in Wednesday's 9-4 win over the Royals.

Despite batting ninth, Short played a key offensive role in the win. The utility infielder entered the game mired in a 1-for-14 slump, but he bounced back in a big way and is now batting .271 for the season. Short is just a career .180 hitter.

Hoerner went 2-for-5 with a triple, a solo home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Pirates.

Hoerner was all over the bases Wednesday, registering his third triple of the year and fifth home run. The infielder now has at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games, and he's batting a solid .284 for the season. Hoerner should remain locked in as Chicago's leadoff man, giving him plenty of fantasy value due to his ability to get on base and score runs.

Estrada isn't starting Wednesday against San Diego, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Estrada has cooled off at the plate recently, hitting just 4-for-22 (.182) with one RBI in his last five games, so he'll get a day to regroup Wednesday. Casey Schmitt (arm) will fill in at second base in Estrada's absence, allowing Brandon Crawford to start at shortstop and bat eighth.

Remillard will start at second base and bat ninth Wednesday against the Rangers.

After coming off the bench and reaching base in all four plate appearances in his MLB debut in last Saturday's 4-3 win over the Mariners, Remillard will now pick up his fourth consecutive start at second base. Remillard, who has gone 2-for-12 with an RBI in his first three starts, will likely continue to hold down a spot in the Chicago middle infield until Tim Anderson (shoulder) is ready to return to the lineup.

Kemp will start at second base and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Guardians.

At least for the time being, Kemp seems to have re-emerged as the Athletics' preferred starting second baseman against right-handed pitching. He'll stick in the lineup for the third straight game while Jace Peterson slides back over to third base in place of Jonah Bride, who appears to have moved into a reserve role.

Valdez was removed Tuesday in the top of the third inning of Triple-A Worcester's 7-5 win over Lehigh Valley due to a jammed thumb, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

While Valdez's injury doesn't seem significant on the surface, it couldn't come at a worse time with the Red Sox's middle-infield depth taking another hit Tuesday, when Pablo Reyes was revealed to be dealing with abdominal soreness. The Red Sox remain hopeful that Reyes will avoid a trip to the injured list, but the team will still add an extra infielder to the taxi squad Wednesday in case Reyes' condition is worse than anticipated. Though Valdez likely would have been the logical choice to join the taxi squad after he previously played in 33 games with the big club earlier this season, his thumb injury prompted the Red Sox to bring Worcester infielder David Hamilton aboard.

Lopez is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's contest with the Tigers, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The lefty-hitting Lopez will take a seat against southpaw Matthew Boyd after he went 1-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts while starting the first two games of the series with Detroit. Matt Duffy will replace him at second base and bat cleanup in the series finale Wednesday.

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

The lefty-hitting Castro will step out of the lineup in the series finale while Cincinnati brings southpaw Andrew Abbott to the bump. Castro's platoon mate, Coco Montes, will pick up the start at second base Wednesday.

Donovan went 3-for-5 in Tuesday's win over the Nationals.

Donovan tallied three hits for the second time over his last three games, but he was unable to contribute to any of the Cardinals' nine runs on the evening. The 26-year-old continues to make consistent contact at the plate, as he's now slashing .396/.453/.521 in 11 games since June 9. Donovan had made just five starts against lefties coming into Tuesday but was kept in the lineup against lefty MacKenzie Gore and showed off his skill set by picking up two hits against him. For the year, the utility man is slashing .274/.361/.396 with seven homers, 21 RBI, 33 runs and a 26:39 BB:K over 263 plate appearances.