MLB Player News
-
Joseph Ortiz 3B | MIL
Brewers' Joey Ortiz: Goes deep again
Ortiz went 3-for-4 with a three-run homer and a double in Friday's loss to Houston.
Ortiz knocked a double in the third inning before giving Milwaukee a short-lived lead with his three-run shot in the fourth. He was later caught stealing after a single during his otherwise terrific performance. He's gone 8-for-14 (.571) with two homers and three doubles over his last four games, and four of his five long balls this season have come in the last nine games. Ortiz owns an impressive .296/.397/.561 slash line with 14 extra-base hits, a 16:20 BB:K and 15 RBI through 116 plate appearances.
-
Matt Chapman 3B | SF
Giants' Matt Chapman: Logs three hits, steal in win
Chapman went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a hit-by-pitch, an RBI, a stolen base and three runs scored in Friday's 10-5 win over the Rockies.
Chapman has gone 9-for-32 (.281) over his last eight games as he finally seems to be finding a rhythm at the plate. He got the Giants on the board with an RBI double in the first inning and continued to be involved in the team's subsequent rallies. The third baseman is slashing .218/.273/.362 with five home runs, 10 doubles, 20 RBI, 25 runs scored and four steals through 187 plate appearances this season. While his rate stats are well below his usual standards, the recent improvements are a reason for optimism, especially as he continues to hit in the heart of the order for a lineup devastated by injuries.
-
Nolan Arenado 3B | STL
Cardinals' Nolan Arenado: Posts three hits Friday
Arenado went 3-for-5 with one RBI in Friday's 10-6 win over the Red Sox.
Arenado had gone 5-for-38 with no multi-hit efforts and a 1:10 BB:K over his previous nine contests. The third baseman hasn't stumbled as much as some of his teammates, but he's still in the midst of a down year, especially from a power standpoint. He's slashing .268/.323/.375 with three home runs, 22 RBI, 17 runs scored and nine doubles over 43 games on the year. Arenado hasn't hit fewer than 20 homers in a full-length campaign since 2014, and he's never slugged lower than .405 over a full year in his career, but he's got a lot of work to do to get back to those levels in 2024.
-
Max Muncy 3B | LAD
Dodgers' Max Muncy: Placed on IL with oblique strain
The Dodgers placed Muncy on the 10-day injured list Friday due to a Grade 1 right oblique strain.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts indicated that Muncy had sustained the strain during batting practice before Thursday's game, and the veteran third baseman will not swing a bat for a few days, per David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports. Before landing on the IL, Muncy was slashing .223/.323/.475 with nine home runs and 28 RBI over 167 plate appearances.
-
Austin Riley 3B | ATL
Braves' Austin Riley: Out again Friday
Riley (side) is out of the lineup for Friday's game against San Diego, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Riley won't be starting for a fourth consecutive game as he deals with inflammation in his left side. Instead, Zack Short will draw another start at the hot corner and bat ninth. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said that Riley is feeling better but isn't quite ready yet, per David O'Brien of The Athletic. He remains day-to-day.
-
Trey Lipscomb 3B | WAS
Nationals' Trey Lipscomb: Sent to Triple-A
Lipscomb was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on Friday.
Lipscomb will cede his big-league spot to Joey Gallo (shoulder), who was activated from the 10-day IL on Friday. Lipscomb has been the Nationals' everyday third baseman during the last few weeks and owns a .252/.331/.290 slash line with 10 stolen bases on the year. Nick Senzel and Ildemaro Vargas should see plenty of action at third base moving forward.
-
Ke'Bryan Hayes 3B | PIT
Pirates' Ke'Bryan Hayes: Resuming activities Monday
Hayes (back) will resume baseball activities Monday, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The plan is for Hayes to play catch and field grounders Monday before swinging a bat Tuesday. Hayes landed on the injured list last weekend with a back injury which had been nagging at him for a while, but it sounds like he's feeling better after a little rest. He could make it back before the end of the month if all goes well.
-
Ildemaro Vargas 3B | WAS
Nationals' Ildemaro Vargas: Steals third bag of season
Vargas went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's loss to the White Sox.
Batting third against southpaw Garrett Crochet as Nats manager Dave Martinez desperately tried to spark his struggling offense, Vargas didn't make a big impact but was able to steal his third bag of the year, tying his career high. The 32-year-old utility player has been seeing semi-consistent starts in May, batting .294 (5-for-17) in nine games with three doubles, two runs and an RBI. He's already played 10-plus games at both second base and third base in 2024 while also seeing duty in left field (six games) and at shortstop (three games), giving him some fantasy value in deep NL-only formats.