MLB Player News

Joe is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Marlins.

After a stretch of five consecutive starts, Joe has now hit the bench in consecutive games for the Pirates. Joe will likely be in store for a short-side platoon role the rest of the way, barring Pittsburgh losing additional everyday players to injury.

Clemens will start at third base and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Rays.

Clemens will pick up a sixth consecutive start at the hot corner after going 5-for-21 with a home run, two doubles, one walk and five RBI over the previous five contests. While Alec Bohm (hand) and Edmundo Sosa (back) are on the injured list, Clemens looks like he'll have a clear path to a regular role at third base.

Arraez went 3-for-5 with a run in Sunday's loss to the Giants.

Arraez collected three singles for the second straight contest and concluded the three-game set against San Francisco having gone 7-for-14 with an RBI and three runs. He's batted an NL-best .328 since the All-Star break and has struck out just twice over 180 at-bats during that span. Arraez's .315 average on the campaign is fourth-best among qualified major-league hitters and puts him firmly on pace to bat over .300 for the third straight season.

Smith went 3-for-4 with three home runs, a walk and eight RBI in Sunday's win over the Astros.

Smith had seven RBI by the third inning after he took Justin Verlander deep in the second for a three-run blast and then followed it up with a grand slam. He wasn't done there, as he then went deep off Kaleb Ort in the fifth, becoming the first Diamondbacks player with three homers in a game since 2017. Smith had a chance to complete the home run cycle after coming up to the plate in the seventh with a man on but wound up striking out. After Sunday's outburst Smith has tied his home run total from last season in 125 less plate appearances. He's slashing .270/.343/.562 with seven homers, 26 RBI, 18 runs, a steal and an 11:15 BB:K in 102 plate appearances.

Bell will start at first base and bat cleanup in Sunday's game against the Astros.

Bell was on the bench for the first two games of the series, but he'll move back into the starting nine for the finale while Ketel Marte and Christian Walker get the evening off. Though Marte should eventually reclaim a full-time role at second base after being eased back in the lineup at designated hitter in the previous two contests, Arizona likely won't have room in the lineup for Bell against right-handed pitching while Walker and Joc Pederson occupy first base and the DH spot, respectively. Bell should at least replace the lefty-hitting Pederson in the lineup when the Diamondbacks face left-handed pitching.

Walker is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

Walker will hit the bench for the series finale in Houston after going 2-for-10 with two walks and a double while starting the previous three games. Josh Bell will start at first base and bat cleanup in his place.

Wade is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

It's the second straight game on the bench for Wade, who is in the midst of a 3-for-32 slump. Jerar Encarnacion is starting at first base in the series finale at San Diego.

Bauers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Bauers is sitting for the second straight day as Kyle Freeland is the second consecutive lefty to start for Colorado. Gary Sanchez will step in behind the plate while William Contreras rests his legs as the designated hitter.

Busch is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Busch went 1-for-17 while starting the past seven games but will sit Sunday against New York righty Gerrit Cole. Cody Bellinger will shift to first base while Mike Tauchman receives a start in right field.

Arraez went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI in Saturday's loss to San Francisco.

Arraez brought the Padres to within a run with his fifth-inning RBI single, but that was the final tally for the team. The talented DH/infielder extended his hitting streak to seven games with the performance, and he's batting an excellent .414 (12-for-29) with four walks, two steals, five runs and four RBI during that span, though all 12 of his hits have been singles. Remarkably, Arraez has gone 24 games and 108 plate appearances without a strikeout, and his minuscule 4.3 percent strikeout rate on the season leads qualified MLB hitters by a wide margin (Steven Kwan is second-best at 9.2 percent).