Marte went 2-for-3 with a double and a solo home run during Friday's 3-2 loss to the Reds.

Marte delivered a great performance from the ninth spot in the batting order, scoring the first Reds run of the game with a homer in the third and setting the table for the team's second run with a double in the seventh before being lifted in the eighth inning. It's been a small sample size so far, but the 23-year-old has impressed at the plate, slashing .295/.344/.545 with five doubles, a triple, five home runs and 21 RBI in 26 games played this season.

McMahon went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run during Friday's 3-2 win over the Reds.

It's been a struggle as of late for McMahon, who had just three hits to his name in July entering play Friday, but he doubled his output for the month with three hits, including a big two-run home run off of Chase Burns. The 30-year-old is slashing .214/.312/.382, on pace to be the lowest numbers since his age-23 season in 2018, and has 13 home runs and 28 RBI in 92 games this season.

Alvarez (oblique) has been activated from the 7-day injured list and is part of Triple-A Gwinett's starting lineup Friday.

Alvarez has been sidelined since June 26 due to a strained oblique, but he's been cleared to return to game action. The 22-year-old is slashing .417/.580/.611 in 50 plate appearances with Gwinnett this season.

Manager Alex Cora said Friday that Mayer will get the majority of the playing time at second base moving forward, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

The 22-year-old's roster spot appeared in question with Alex Bregman (quadriceps) returning from the injured list Friday, but the Red Sox will keep Mayer in the majors and shift him to the middle infield. The rookie has seen most of his playing time thus far at the hot corner, but he has yet to get on track at the plate with a .234/.272/.421 slash line and 29.8 percent strikeout rate through 37 games. Mayer is starting at the keystone and batting seventh Friday versus the Rays.

The Red Sox reinstated Bregman (quadriceps) from the 10-day injured list Friday, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

The veteran third baseman will join the Red Sox to face the Rays this weekend for the final series before the All-Star break. Bregman missed seven weeks due to a quadriceps strain but is back without having gone on a rehab assignment, and he's expected to start two of Boston's final three games of the first half. He's at third base and batting second Friday.

The Cubs may target third base help before the trade deadline, which would bump Shaw from a regular starting role, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Most of Chicago's regulars have hit well this season, but Shaw has been inconsistent. While the rookie has shown flashes of promise after a slow start to the year, he's still slashing just .200/.278/.283 through 230 plate appearances. Over the 23-year-old's last 20 games, that's dipped to .127/.219/.175. With the Cubs sitting in first place in the NL Central and realistically in the mix for a World Series this season, the front office may decide to shore up the hot corner in the short term, with the likes of Eugenio Suarez and Ke'Bryan Hayes as potential targets. A big addition at the hot corner would cut into Shaw's already diminished fantasy appeal this year, though he remains an intriguing long-term prospect.

Rojas isn't part of the starting lineup for the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Guardians.

Rojas will dodge a same-handed matchup against southpaw Logan Allen in Friday's matinee. Instead, Miguel Vargas will slot in at third base while Tim Elko plays first base.

Mayer will remain on the Red Sox roster after the team optioned David Hamilton to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday to clear a spot for Alex Bregman (quadriceps), Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Bregman's return Friday was going to present a roster crunch, but it's Mayer who will stay in the majors. The 22-year-old top prospect will likely occupy the strong side of a platoon at second base with Romy Gonzalez. Mayer had a key run-scoring double Thursday during Boston's three-run seventh inning.

Bregman (quadriceps) is expected to be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Friday's game against the Rays, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

All signs point to Bregman's return Friday, including the team's decision to option David Hamilton to Triple-A Worcester following Thursday's series-opening 4-3 win over Tampa Bay. The team hedged for a few days as to whether Bregman would be activated, but manager Alex Cora said Thursday that the injured infielder would start two of the three remaining games against the Rays. It makes sense that Bregman would play Friday and Sunday with a day off Saturday.

Machado went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and a double in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Machado has three homers over his last seven games. The third baseman is batting a decent .278 (10-for-36) over nine contests in July, a little bit down from his .291 average for the season. He's added strong all-around production with an .838 OPS, 16 homers, 54 RBI, 55 runs scored, eight stolen bases and 22 doubles through 93 games.