MLB Player News

Morel went 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, a walk and a steal in Monday's loss to the Padres.

Morel put the Cubs on the board with his two-run shot in the sixth inning after snagging a steal earlier in the contest. He has five hits over his last five games and four of them have left the yard. The 24-year-old is slashing .220/.315/.449 with 12 extra-base hits (eight home runs), four stolen bases and 23 RBI through 35 games this season.

Bride was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

After being called up Saturday, Bride went 1-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 12-3 win over the Athletics. With Jake Burger (oblique) returning from the 10-day injured list Monday, Bride was the odd man out on the major-league roster and he'll head back to Jacksonville. The 28-year-old has produced a .349 batting average with seven homers, 16 RBI, 14 runs scored and a stolen base over 86 at-bats in 25 games at Triple-A this season.

Dunn is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.

Dunn started at third base in each of the past four contests and went 5-for-13 with a triple, a walk, three runs and an RBI over that stretch. Despite the run of steady playing time of late, Dunn is still expected to move back into a utility role, as manager Pat Murphy noted Sunday that he wanted to give the rookie a more extended look after he had fallen out of favor in recent weeks. Dunn likely hit well enough to maintain his spot on the 26-man active roster for now, but Joey Ortiz still profiles as the Brewers' top option at the hot corner.

Bohm (hip) is starting at third base and batting fifth Sunday against the Giants, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The 27-year-old was removed from Saturday's contest due to right hip tightness but is back in the starting nine a day later. Bohm has been one of the best hitters in baseball through the first five weeks of the season with a .364/.435/.579 slash line in 34 games.

Rosario was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday.

Rosario hadn't made a start since April 29 and will now head down to the minors. The Padres selected the contract of Donovan Solano from El Paso in a corresponding move.

Muncy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

The 33-year-old launched three homers in Saturday's contest but will still sit Sunday as lefty Max Fried pitches for Atlanta. According to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, manager Dave Roberts said Muncy's absence was planned prior to Saturday's contest, and the third baseman is expected to play in the next six contests.

Candelario was scratched from Sunday's lineup against the Orioles due to a left shin contusion, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Candelario was penciled in at third base but won't start as scheduled due to the injury. He'll have Monday's team off day to rest up before Tuesday's series opener versus Arizona. Santiago Espinal will step in at the hot corner Sunday.

Dunn will start at third base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Over his final 13 games of April, Dunn had gone just 3-for-25 with 12 strikeouts and had seemingly removed himself from consideration for the everyday role at third base, which Joey Ortiz had claimed a firm grasp of due to his much stronger start to the season. However, the Brewers aren't yet willing to pull the plug on Dunn, as manager Pat Murphy told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Dunn would get an extended look this weekend to prove that he's worthy of sticking around with the big club rather than getting optioned to Triple-A Nashville. For his part, Dunn has done well to convince the Brewers he deserves to remain up in the majors, as he's gone 4-for-9 with a triple, a walk, three runs and an RBI over the previous three contests. Murphy said that the starting third base job still belongs to Ortiz, but Dunn will get his fourth straight nod Sunday and might have made a case to see more consistent playing time as a utility option.

Ortiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Ortiz finds himself on the bench for the fourth game in a row, a surprising development considering that he's maintaining an excellent .388 on-base percentage and .827 OPS through 80 plate appearances on the season. According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ortiz's benching isn't disciplinary in nature or due to any dissatisfaction of his performance. Instead, manager Pat Murphy expressed a desire to take a longer look at rookie Oliver Dunn, who hadn't gotten to play much over the past few weeks once Ortiz emerged as the superior option at third base. Dunn will start his fourth straight game Sunday, and Murphy said the Brewers are using the run of extended action to evaluate whether it's worthwhile to keep Dunn in a utility role with the big club or to have him play more frequently in the minors.

Fermin was hit by a pitch in his lone plate appearance and stole a base in Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning loss.

Fermin has received minimal playing time since his April 24 call-up from Triple-A Memphis. He's 1-for-3 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch over five contests, and the steal was his first of the season. Fermin provides cover around the infield, but he's yet to really push Nolan Gorman at second base or Masyn Winn at shortstop for more playing time.