MLB Player News

Farmer (concussion) will begin a rehab assignment with Low-A Dayton on Thursday.

Farmer, who has been sidelined for a little more than a week with a concussion, has received the green light to begin the final stage of his recovery process after meeting with a doctor Thursday. The Reds have yet to specify how many rehab games Farmer will need to appear in before being cleared to return.

Farmer (concussion) will be re-evaluated by a doctor within the next couple of days before the Reds decide on his next step, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

One of three Cincinnati catchers on the injured list, Farmer looks to be further behind Tucker Barnhart (oblique) in his recovery but ahead of Curt Casali (knee). The concussion has kept Farmer on the shelf for just over a week, but he's believed to have made progress in his recovery in recent days. He'll likely be subjected to a battery of tests during his re-evaluation and could be cleared to begin a rehab assignment as soon as this weekend if the doctor determines the 28-year-old is no longer exhibiting any signs of the concussion.

Arenado is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

While Arenado isn't believed to be dealing with a nagging injury, he's been playing banged up over the past few weeks, which likely explains in part why he's slashing a lackluster .219/.286/.344 thus far in July. Arenado's fortunes didn't stand to improve much while matching up with three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, so manager Bud Black will extend the franchise third baseman his second maintenance day in less than two weeks. Ryan McMahon will fill in for Arenado at the hot corner while Garrett Hampson enters the lineup at second base.

Senzel exited Wednesday's game against the Brewers after hitting a single due to dizziness. "First pitch I swung at, I just got dizzy," Senzel told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.

With Senzel, an "illness" is just as scary as a normal physical injury, because he has missed significant chunks of time at several points in his career due to vertigo. Senzel said he was unsure if this was related to his past vertigo issues, and in this case, a non-denial seems almost as bad as confirmation. He is day-to-day for now, but he could face a lengthier absence than if he were just dealing with a typical illness.

Newman will start at shortstop and bat seventh Thursday against the Cardinals.

While Newman still typically occupies the leadoff spot against left-handed pitching, he appears to have fully surrendered the table-setting gig versus righties to middle-infield partner Adam Frazier. Newman will slot in as the No. 7 hitter for the fourth consecutive day and hasn't made a compelling case lately to unseat Frazier atop the order. Over his last six starts, Newman has gone 4-for-24, resulting in a 15-point drop in his season-long batting average.

McMahon is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

He went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the matinee. Garrett Hampson will start at second base and hit seventh in the nightcap against lefty Patrick Corbin.

Rendon went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in a 3-2 win over the Rockies during the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

His seventh-inning blast proved to be the winning run in the contest. Rendon hadn't gone yard since July 4, but the third baseman has hardly been quiet at the plate, hitting .346 (18-for-52) during his 13-game homer drought. On the season, he's now slashing .316/.400/.610 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI.

Senzel left Wednesday's game against the Brewers with an illness, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Senzel had missed three games last week with a hamstring injury, so his removal Wednesday initially sparked fears that the injury had returned. In that context, an illness is a clear positive for Senzel. The Reds have an off day Thursday, so there's a decent chance Senzel is healthy and ready to play Friday against the Rockies.

Longoria (foot) could be activated on the upcoming road trip that runs from July 26 through Aug. 4, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

He will travel with the team on the three-city trip that begins in San Diego. The plan is for him to ramp up activities starting this weekend, which should give him a chance to be activated on the road trip.

Riley is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Royals.

Since Ender Inciarte was activated from the injured list last week, Riley has sat three of six games. It's a tricky situation for the Braves, because they would like to allow their young slugger to work through some adjustments at the plate (hitting .172 with a 41.3 percent strikeout rate in July), but they are also trying to secure a top seed in the NL playoffs. Inciarte is starting in center field, hitting eighth.