MLB Player News

Meneses went 2-for-4 with a walk and a two-run home run in Friday's 6-3 victory over the Reds.

Meneses touched up starter Graham Ashcraft for a game-tying home run in the eighth inning, his ninth homer of the season. He endured a power outage over the final two weeks of July as Meneses continues to be rather streaky. The late bloomer has five hits -- including two homers -- over his last four games, and fantasy managers will have to hope this is the start of a hot stretch.

Ozuna went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-0 win over the Cubs.

He went back-to-back with Sean Murphy in the fourth inning, crushing a Kyle Hendricks sinker out of Wrigley Field entirely. Ozuna has an OPS north of .850 since the start of May, though he gets lost in the shuffle a bit with all the great bats in the Atlanta lineup. His 23 home runs rank fifth on the club.

McCutchen is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Brewers, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After going hitless in his final three July games, McCutchen has collected five hits in his first three games of August. The 36-year-old will get what looks like a routine breather as Bryan Reynolds takes a turn as the designated hitter. Josh Palacios will start in left field and bat leadoff against right-hander Colin Rea.

Morel is out of the lineup Friday against Atlanta.

Morel will get a breather after starting six straight games between DH and left field. The high-energy 24-year-old is slashing .350/.409/.600 with two homers, four doubles, 10 RBI, two stolen bases and nine runs scored over his last 10 games.

Martinez (hamstring) is expected to return to the lineup Saturday versus the Padres, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Martinez has missed the Dodgers' entire three-game set against the Athletics due to left hamstring tightness and will also be held out of the lineup for Friday's series opener in San Diego, but he took batting practice Thursday in Los Angeles and also did some on-field running without issue. When healthy this season, the veteran slugger has delivered an .872 OPS with 25 home runs and 75 RBI in 85 games.

Martinez (hamstring) is out of the lineup again Thursday versus the Athletics.

Martinez has been sidelined since Sunday due to lingering left hamstring tightness, but imaging scans taken this week showed no structural damage, and he is expected to avoid the injured list. Will Smith will take a turn as the Dodgers' designated hitter Thursday as Austin Barnes handles the catching duties.

Arizona optioned Lewis to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

This move frees up a 26-man roster spot for Tommy Pham, who was acquired from the Mets ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline and will officially report to the Diamondbacks ahead of Thursday's series finale in San Francisco. Lewis has batted just .182/.229/.303 in 35 plate appearances this season at the major-league level.

Vogelbach is out of the lineup again Thursday versus the Royals.

Vogelbach sat Wednesday with the Royals throwing a lefty, and he'll remain on the bench Thursday as right-hander Brady Singer readies to toe the slab for Kansas City. Mark Vientos is serving as the Mets' designated hitter and batting sixth.

Soler went 1-for-6 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 9-8 extra-innings win over the Phillies.

With the Marlins down by a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, Soler crushed a 98.8-mph sinker from Gregory Soto to right-center field to tie the game at 5-5, setting the stage for a wild finish. The 31-year-old slugger was ice cold coming out of the All-Star break, batting .136 (6-for-44) in 11 games with a 36.7 percent strikeout rate, but he's now hit safely in five straight and gone yard in two of the last three contests while fanning only four times. On the season, Soler's up to 26 homers and 57 RBI through 104 games with an .825 OPS, which would be his highest mark since 2019 when he launched 48 homers for the Royals.

Morel went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 16-6 win over the Reds.

Morel hit a two-run shot in the third inning, his 17th home run of the season, and added another RBI on his 12th double. Despite the Cubs' acquisition of Jeimer Candelario at the trade deadline, Morel has stuck in the lineup, serving as the designated hitter each of the last two nights. With Candelario slotting in at first base, Cody Bellinger figures to play mostly in center, with Mike Tauchman also in the mix. Morel's playing time should be secure if he keeps delivering at the plate like he's done all season long.