The Astros optioned Whitcomb to Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Whitcomb recently had a particularly rough game defensively and is also just 2-for-13 at the dish this month. Zach Dezenzo will move into his roster spot.

Vargas is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Detroit.

Vargas had started each of the last five games and eight of the last nine contests, but he'll begin Friday's series opener on the bench. Bryan Ramos will play third base and bat seventh for the White Sox.

Garcia is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Atlanta.

Garcia had started the last seven games, including each of the past four contests versus lefties, but he'll grab a seat in this one as Atlanta sends southpaw Max Fried to the bump. Garrett Hampson is at third base and batting eighth for the Royals.

Miranda (back) remains out of the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Orioles.

Miranda had to be scratched from Thursday's lineup due to lower-back tightness and evidently still isn't feeling well enough to play. The Twins have Ryan Jeffers at designated hitter and Christian Vazquez at catcher in the series opener.

Marte is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Cubs.

It will be a day off for Marte, who has now started 10 of the last 12 games for the Reds while bouncing between third base and designated hitter. The Reds are going with Santiago Espinal at the hot corner and Ty France at DH in the series opener.

Sosa went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Angels.

Sosa delivered a two-RBI double and came around to score in a seven-run fifth inning for the White Sox. He's started 19 of the team's 22 games in September and delivered a .375 batting average with three home runs, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored. That could be enough to position Sosa for a starting role to begin 2025, though Brooks Baldwin (wrist) could factor in at second base as well.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored in Thursday's 3-2 loss to Oakland.

Smith was back in the lineup after getting a day off against a left-hander Wednesday. He cracked his 29th double and scored as part of the Rangers' two-run third inning. The extra-base knock extended a hit streak to eight games, during which Smith is 10-for-32 (.313) with a home run, four RBI, two steals and six runs. The 26-year-old utility player is putting the finishing touches on what has been the best season of his three years at the major-league level.

Solano is not in Thursday's starting lineup against the Dodgers.

Solano has been the regular starter at first base for the past two weeks, but he'll bow out of the lineup after hitting only .222 across his last 10 starts. Luis Arraez will shift to first base, while David Peralta will enter the lineup and hit eighth.

Miranda was scratched from the lineup ahead of Thursday's game against the Marlins due to lower-back tightness, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

The severity of Miranda's injury remains unknown, but it's apparently enough to cause him to sit down for the third time in Minnesota's last four games. In his absence, Royce Lewis will now serve as the Twins' designated hitter while Willi Castro moves to third base and Austin Martin enters the lineup to play left field.

Arenado is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Colorado.

Arenado will get a day off in his old stomping grounds after going 2-for-9 with one run scored in the first two games of the series. Jose Fermin will handle third base as the Cardinals attempt the sweep.