MLB Player News

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.

Vientos went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Phillies.

Called back up form Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day, Vientos got the start at third base against lefty Ranger Suarez and made an immediate impact, driving home Francisco Lindor with a first-inning double. Vientos' time in the majors could last a little longer this time after he was up for about a week in late April, but the 24-year-old could still see limited action and is expected to serve mainly as a short-side platoon option at the hot corner behind Brett Baty. Through 31 games at Triple-A this year, Vientos is slashing .284/.376/.500 with six homers and 30 RBI.

Cabrera is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Cabrera has been the Yankees' preferred option at third base all season, but he's started to cede more work of late to Jon Berti, who will occupy the hot corner for the fourth time in six games Thursday. Given that he holds a 129-point advantage in OPS over Berti for the season, Cabrera should still be the favored option more often than not, but both will see their opportunities take a hit once DJ LeMahieu (foot) eventually returns from the injured list to make his 2024 debut.

Miranda is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

Miranda had started at third base in seven of the previous eight contests, but he'll cede the hot corner to Willi Castro in the series finale. Though Miranda has posted an .832 OPS over his last 15 games, his opportunities could soon take a hit with Byron Buxton (knee) having kicked off a rehab assignment and potentially returning from the 10-day injured list as soon as this weekend. Castro has been serving as Buxton's primary replacement in the outfield, but Castro will likely see more time at third base at Miranda's expense once Buxton is activated.

Ortiz went 2-for-2 with a solo homer, two walks and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Pirates.

Ortiz is now 5-for-10 with three extra-base hits and a .615 OBP over his last three games while securing the everyday third-base job in Milwaukee. Overall, the 25-year-old Ortiz is slashing .277/.384/.511 with four homers, 12 RBI, 13 runs scored and a stolen base through 37 games this season.

Espinal went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Epsinal cracked his second home run of the season in the fifth inning and has hit safely in five straight games, going 6-for-15. The infielder is playing more than originally projected, filling in at second base for Matt McLain (shoulder) or third for Noelvi Marte (suspension), but Espinal's .200 average and .536 OPS are not enticing.

Devers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday in a loss to the Rays.

Devers' sixth-inning solo shot brought Boston to within a run, but it ended up being the final tally for either team. The long ball extended the third baseman's on-base streak to nine contests, and he's hitting .270 with two homers, five RBI and five runs over that stretch. On a less positive note, Devers has struck out at least once in 12 straight games, and his 24.1 percent strikeout rate is on pace to be his worst mark since the abbreviated 2020 campaign.

Westburg went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Westburg made manager Brandon Hyde look smart -- this was Westburg's first big-league game at leadoff, and he hit a homer in his first at-bat. The infielder is 11-for-32 (.344) over his last eight games, adding six extra-base hits and seven RBI in that span. For the season, he's slashing .301/.354/.534 with seven homers, 28 RBI, 22 runs scored and five stolen bases through 159 plate appearances. Westburg may get more looks at leadoff versus southpaws, but he should be expected to bat lower in the lineup versus right-handers, as he has yet to above sixth in the order against same-handed pitchers this season.

Madrigal went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's 7-1 win over Atlanta.

All three hits were singles as Madrigal earned his fourth multi-hit effort in 39 contests this season. The infielder is slashing .234/.300/.281 with no home runs, nine RBI, four runs scored and one stolen base over 69 plate appearances. Madrigal had been limited to a bench role for much of the season, but he's receiving more playing time while Dansby Swanson (knee) is on the injured list and Nico Hoerner (hamstring) is out of the lineup.

Jung (wrist) played catch on the field prior to Wednesday's game against the Guardians, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Playing catch amounts to Jung's first known baseball activity since he underwent surgery April 2 to address a fractured right wrist. While being able to throw with his surgically repaired wrist is a step in the right direction, hitting high-velocity pitching will be the real test for Jung. He still looks to be a week or more away from doing that, as Rangers general manager Chris Young previously said that Jung is facing an 8-to-10-week recovery timeline after more damage to his wrist than expected was detected when surgery was performed, per MLB.com. Fantasy managers shouldn't bank on Jung returning from the IL until around early-to-mid June in a best-case scenario.