MLB Player News

Moustakas (quadriceps) is starting at designated hitter and batting fifth in Game 1 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Royals. He is also planning to play the field in the nightcap, John Fay of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

It's encouraging that Moustakas may start both games of the twin bill after being sidelined with a quad strain. This will be a homecoming of sorts, as he will be playing in Kansas City, his home city for the early phase of his career.

Newman went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Indians.

He's slashing .378/.391/.511 in 47 plate appearances in August. Newman, who stole 16 bases last season, was thrown out in his lone attempt thus far in 2020. Still, after starting the season in a 1-for-20 funk, it seems as though the infielder has found his stroke.

Segura (hamstring) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Manager Joe Girardi will give Segura a second straight day off while the infielder contends with a hamstring injury. The Phillies are labeling Segura as day-to-day, leaving the team hopeful that he'll be ready to go for one or both halves of Thursday's doubleheader with the Blue Jays or the weekend series in Atlanta. Phil Gosselin will man the keystone in place of Segura on Wednesday.

Escobar started at second base in place of the resting Ketel Marte in Tuesday's 10-1 win over Oakland. He went 0-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

This was the first start at second base for Escobar, who played the same position 32 times in 2019. His eligibility for middle infield may end here in 2020, as second base is Marte's permanent home.

Davis went 1-for-3 with two walks and a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-3 win over the Marlins.

He smacked his fourth homer of the year when he drove a Humberto Mejia fastball to center field to lead off the fourth inning. Davis isn't yet matching the pace from his breakout 2019 but has still been a steady presence in the heart of the Mets' order, slashing .269/.418/.423 with two homers and six RBI through 15 games in August.

Longoria went 1-for-3 with one walk, a double, one RBI and three runs scored Tuesday against the Angels.

Longoria had an all-around productive day at dish, twice getting driven in by Pablo Sandoval. He had an RBI of his own in the top of the ninth inning, driving in Brandon Belt with a double. Longoria has swung the bat fairly well of late, racking up at least one hit in five of his last six starts. In that span, he's gone 6-for-24 with one home run, four RBI and five runs scored. In 72 plate appearances this season, Longoria is hitting .234/.292/.422 to go along with two home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored.

Moustakas (quadriceps) is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list Wednesday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Moustakas worked out at the Reds' alternate training site Monday, and it apparently went well since he's expected to return in time for the Reds' doubleheader against the Royals on Wednesday. The team's layoff gave the 31-year-old some extra time to recover from his bruised quadriceps. Moustakas slashed .238/.333/.524 with two home runs and six RBI over his first seven games of 2020.

Segura (hamstring) isn't in the lineup Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Segura will miss the series opener against the Red Sox after he was forced to exit Sunday's contest due to a hamstring injury. Scott Kingery will take over at second base in Segura's absence.

Sosa (illness) was cleared to resume baseball activities Monday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Sosa was sidelined since early August after testing positive for COVID-19, but he'll now report to the team's alternate training site in Springfield to get back into game shape. It's unclear how much time he'll need before he's ready to return to the active roster, but he should serve as infield depth once he's back in the majors.

Senzel and all other Reds on the 28-man roster tested negative for COVID-19 on Sunday, making it likely the team will be able to return to action Tuesday in Kansas City, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The Reds had the final two games of their weekend series versus the Pirates postponed after a Cincinnati player was revealed to have tested positive for the coronavirus Friday. Senzel was widely speculated to be the player in question after the team pulled him from the victory line following Friday's 8-1 win, but he now looks to be in the clear with the entire roster having since tested negative. The center fielder previously missed three games in July after self-reporting possible symptoms of the coronavirus, though he never actually tested positive.