MLB Player News

The Athletics claimed Alexander off waivers Wednesday and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The 28-year-old was reported to have been released by the Royals on Tuesday after being designated for assignment, but the Athletics apparently put in a waiver claim instead. Alexander saw his first big-league action this season with eight games for Kansas City, but he's spent most of the campaign at the Triple-A level, where he has a .306/.354/.566 slash line with 17 homers in 83 contests.

Vargas (eye) is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game in Baltimore, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Vargas had to exit Tuesday's contest after a collision left him with a right eye abrasion. It appears at this point he's avoided a concussion and can be considered day-to-day. Lenyn Sosa is at third base in Wednesday's series finale.

Bregman (elbow) will start at third base and bat cleanup in Wednesday's game versus the Reds, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

A nagging right elbow issue had caused Bregman to miss the previous four games and nine contests in total since mid-August. He's feeling well enough to give it a go Wednesday, and it's a good sign that he's playing third base rather than being used at designated hitter.

Lewis will start at second base and bat second in Wednesday's game versus the Rays.

Lewis played a few innings at second base earlier this week, but this will be his first-ever start at the position at the major-league level. He made one start there at Double-A Pensacola in 2019 and later that year in the Arizona Fall League handled the position on four occasions. Lewis' throwing has been an issue at times from third base, so it's possible second base will be a better fit for him. Whether he will move there on a full-time basis this month isn't clear.

Espinal will start at third base and bat eighth in Wednesday's contest against the Astros.

Espinal has started two straight and five of the last eight games at third base, as it's looking like he has leapfrogged Noelvi Marte on the depth chart at the position. The 29-year-old Espinal is slashing .398/.436/.580 since the All-Star break and should continue to receive regular reps while he's swinging a hot bat.

Marte is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Astros.

Marte has now been absent from the Reds' lineup for two straight games and five of the last eight. Santiago Espinal has been scorching hot since the All-Star break and is garnering another start at third base.

Bohm (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

While the Phillies are still expecting Bohm to avoid a stint on the injured list, he'll end up missing out on a fifth straight start while he continues to deal with swelling on his left hand. Kody Clemens will fill in at third base for Bohm, who can be considered day-to-day heading into Thursday's series opener in Miami.

Barger (knee) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

Barger went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 10-9 loss to the Phillies but left the contest early with left knee discomfort. With the Blue Jays and Phillies wrapping up their series with a day game after a night game, Barger will unsurprisingly find himself on the bench. With a team off day on tap Thursday, he'll have two full days to recover from the knee injury before potentially returning to the lineup for Friday's series opener in Atlanta.

The Royals released Alexander on Tuesday.

Alexander was removed from the 40-man roster and is now out of the organization. The 28-year-old infielder has slashed .306/.354/.566 with 17 home runs this season at the Triple-A level, so he should be able to find a gig elsewhere on a minor-league contract.

Chapman went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Chapman took Ryne Nelson deep in the sixth for his only hit of the night, extending his hitting streak to four games. He now has five RBI over his last four games and is on track for his highest RBI total since he had 91 in 2019. For the year, Chapman is slashing .247/.333/.445 with 22 homers, 69 RBI, 90 runs, 13 steals and a 61:141 BB:K in 579 plate appearances.