MLB Player News

Dunn will start at third base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Over his final 13 games of April, Dunn had gone just 3-for-25 with 12 strikeouts and had seemingly removed himself from consideration for the everyday role at third base, which Joey Ortiz had claimed a firm grasp of due to his much stronger start to the season. However, the Brewers aren't yet willing to pull the plug on Dunn, as manager Pat Murphy told Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Dunn would get an extended look this weekend to prove that he's worthy of sticking around with the big club rather than getting optioned to Triple-A Nashville. For his part, Dunn has done well to convince the Brewers he deserves to remain up in the majors, as he's gone 4-for-9 with a triple, a walk, three runs and an RBI over the previous three contests. Murphy said that the starting third base job still belongs to Ortiz, but Dunn will get his fourth straight nod Sunday and might have made a case to see more consistent playing time as a utility option.

Ortiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Ortiz finds himself on the bench for the fourth game in a row, a surprising development considering that he's maintaining an excellent .388 on-base percentage and .827 OPS through 80 plate appearances on the season. According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ortiz's benching isn't disciplinary in nature or due to any dissatisfaction of his performance. Instead, manager Pat Murphy expressed a desire to take a longer look at rookie Oliver Dunn, who hadn't gotten to play much over the past few weeks once Ortiz emerged as the superior option at third base. Dunn will start his fourth straight game Sunday, and Murphy said the Brewers are using the run of extended action to evaluate whether it's worthwhile to keep Dunn in a utility role with the big club or to have him play more frequently in the minors.

Miranda will start at third base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

Carlos Correa's return from the 10-day injured list Monday appeared to have pushed Miranda back into a reserve role, but the 25-year-old has since seen his playing time pick back up after Byron Buxton (knee) landed on the IL on Friday. With Willi Castro shifting to the outfield to cover for Buxton, Miranda has started at the hot corner in all three games this weekend.

Fermin was hit by a pitch in his lone plate appearance and stole a base in Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning loss.

Fermin has received minimal playing time since his April 24 call-up from Triple-A Memphis. He's 1-for-3 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch over five contests, and the steal was his first of the season. Fermin provides cover around the infield, but he's yet to really push Nolan Gorman at second base or Masyn Winn at shortstop for more playing time.

De Los Santos was named the Texas League Player of the Month for April after leading the circuit with 32 hits, seven home runs and 58 total bases for Double-Amarillo, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.

De Los Santos spent the spring with the Guardians, who selected him in the Rule 5 draft, but he did not make Cleveland's roster. The 20-year-old native of the Dominican Republic picked up at Amarillo where he left off in 2023. De Los Santos was added to the development list in 2023 following a rough start, but he crushed Double-A pitching in the second half of the season, posting a .322/.340/.596 slash line after July 14. The power-hitting prospect made strides at the plate while with the Guardians, developing a more "major league approach," according to Amarillo manager Tim Bogar, who feels the experience in a major-league spring training camp was helpful. To become a well-rounded prospect, De Los Santos needs to work on his defense. He's played both third and first base since being signed as a 16-year-old, but the organization plans to limit him to first base only going forward.

Urias went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Astros on Saturday.

Urias gave the Mariners a bit of breathing room with a 420-foot shot to center in the fifth, extending Seattle's lead to 3-0 at the time. The offseason addition has now matched the three-homer total he mustered across 52 games in 2023 while logging time with the Brewers and Red Sox, but he's still carrying a worrisome .154 average and .267 on-base percentage. However, the lopsided slash line also includes a career-best .462 slugging percentage, as all six of Urias' hits this season have gone for extra bases (three doubles, three homers).

Adrianza is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Adrianza had started each of the past three games at third base while going 1-for-11 with a solo home run. Even with Miguel Sano (knee) on the injured list and with Luis Rengifo (illness) out of the lineup for the second game in a row, Adrianza will cede the hot corner to Cole Tucker in the series finale.

Ramos entered Saturday's game against the Cardinals in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement at third base.

Ramos was promoted to the majors in the wake of Danny Mendick (back) being sidelined Saturday. Ramos didn't start but did enter the game as a replacement to make his big-league debut. After the game, manager Pedro Grifol confirmed that Ramos will have the chance to play regularly, per MLB.com.

Muncy went 4-for-5 with three home runs and four RBI in Saturday's 11-2 win over Atlanta.

The three home runs were a single-game career high for Muncy, who had blasted just five long balls through his first 30 contests of the campaign prior to Saturday. Muncy's slugging percentage rose exactly 100 points as a result of the huge game and now sits at .551 for the season, which is on pace for the best mark of his career since his first year with the Dodgers in 2018.

Kessinger (shoulder) has resumed baseball activity, MLB.com reports.

Kessinger was on the field Saturday before Houston's game, marking his first activity since hitting the injured list April 30. Despite the progress, he's not expected back on the field until late May.