MLB Player News

Sosa (wrist) remains on the bench for Thursday's game against the Brewers, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Sosa will sit for the sixth straight game as he recovers from a right wrist injury. The Cardinals have little incentive to rush him back, as they clinched a playoff spot Tuesday. Paul DeJong remains the starting shortstop.

Machado went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a walk and two runs scored in Wednesday's 11-9 loss to the Dodgers.

Machado notched a base hit his first time up and followed that with a two-run blast to right center in the third. The Padres have been sliding all month long as they slowly played their way out of playoff contention, though Machado has maintained strong play, as he's slashing .304/.366/.533 with five homers, 17 RBI, 15 runs scored, two steals and 8:10 BB:K over 24 games in September.

Muncy went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 11-9 win over the Padres.

Muncy singled home Trea Turner as part of a four-run first inning and later kicked off a five-run rally in the eighth by leading off the inning with a solo home run. Wednesday's effort broke a three-game hitless drought for the 30-year-old, as he's had an underwhelming month at the plate. While Muncy has hit seven home runs in September, he's only slashing .209/.277/.505 with 12 extra-base hits, 25 RBI, 14 runs scored and 8:26 BB:K over 25 games.

Newman went 1-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Cubs.

The shortstop's RBI came on a 10-pitch, sixth-inning sacrifice fly. Newman has hit safely in just four of his last 10 games, going 6-for-37 (.162) in that span. He's slashing a meager .221/.259/.306 through 543 plate appearances in a near-everyday role for Pittsburgh. He's added just five home runs, six steals, 37 RBI and 48 runs scored in 145 games, which makes his breakout in 2019 look more like an outlier compared to his other three seasons.

McMahon went 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk, four RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 10-5 win over Washington.

McMahon went deep with a three-run shot in the first inning, his 23rd long ball of the year. He's one homer shy of his career-best 24 from 2019. The infielder has added a .254/.333/.452 slash line with 85 RBI, 79 runs scored and six stolen bases through 583 plate appearances this year. He's hit safely in each of the last five games, going 5-for-20 with a homer and three doubles in that span.

Riley went 2-for-5 with three RBI in Wednesday's 7-2 win over Philadelphia.

Riley singled home the game's first run in the first inning, then he cashed in two more with a double off Philadelphia reliever Hector Neris in the seventh. It was the third multi-hit effort in the last five contests for Riley, who is slashing .302/.367/.527 on the year to go with 32 home runs and 103 RBI.

Arenado announced Wednesday that he won't exercise his opt-out clause after the season and will remain with the Cardinals for 2022, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Arenado has another opt-out following the 2022 campaign, though it appears he'll also turn that down to remain in St. Louis when the time comes. Things can change over the course of a year, but at this point it's been a perfect fit between Arenado and the Cardinals in Year 1 after he was acquired from the Rockies in February. The 30-year-old is hitting .256/.313/.499 with 34 home runs, 34 doubles, 105 RBI and 80 runs in 153 games this season. He's not in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup with the Brewers after the Cardinals secured their spot in the playoffs Tuesday.

Arenado isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Brewers, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The Cardinals clinched a postseason spot Tuesday, so Arenado will get a rare day off for Wednesday's matchup. Matt Carpenter will take over at third base and bat cleanup.

Sosa (wrist) isn't starting Wednesday's game against Milwaukee, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Sosa will be out of the lineup for a fifth straight game as he continues to deal with a right wrist injury. He's been able to play catch but hasn't yet resumed swinging, although the team is optimistic that he'll be able to do so soon. Manager Mike Shildt said Wednesday that he isn't concerned about the 25-year-old's injury but said he'll likely receive some more days off prior to the end of the regular season. Paul DeJong will start at shortstop and bat sixth.

Hayes was placed on the 10-day injured list with left wrist soreness Wednesday, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Hayes already missed two of the last three games with the injury, and the Pirates ultimately decided it was in the 24-year-old's best interest to shelve him for the season. According to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic, Pirates medical director Todd Tomczyk said that Hayes' wrist injury isn't a hamate issue and is in a different location than the one that previously sidelined him for two months earlier this season. As a result, Hayes' availability for spring training in 2022 is unlikely to be affected by the late-September shutdown.Hayes appeared in 96 major-league games this year and slashed .257/.316/.373 with six homers, 49 runs, 38 RBI and nine stolen bases.