MLB Player News

The Pirates designated Wendzel for assignment Sunday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

He'll give up his spot on the 40-man roster to right-hander Noah Murdock, who exercised an upward-mobility clause in his minor-league contract. Wendzel, 29, appeared in two games for the Pirates back in June but has otherwise spent the entire campaign at Triple-A Indianapolis, with whom he's produced a .230/.349/.461 slash line and 10 home runs across 261 plate appearances.

Goldschmidt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.

The Yankees will keep Goldschmidt on the bench for the third time in four games, with all three of those absences coming against right-handed pitchers. The recent returns of Trent Grisham (hamstring) and Ryan McMahon (throat/ear) appear to have pushed Goldschmidt into a part-time role, with the 38-year-old's drop in playing time coming while he's fallen into an 0-for-22 skid at the plate over his last seven games.

Young is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

The Mets will leave the left-handed hitter out of the lineup for the second straight day while Atlanta sends lefty Martin Perez to the bump. Mark Vientos will fill in for Young at first base and bat cleanup.

Murakami (hamstring) ran for the second consecutive day before the White Sox's game against the Guardians on Saturday, MLB.com reports.

Murakami ran the bases and gave a thumbs-up to reporters afterward, suggesting that he's feeling good after landing on the shelf May 30 due to a right hamstring strain. Assuming he recovers well from his running workouts over the weekend, he's expected to report to Triple-A Charlotte and could begin a rehab assignment Tuesday. The door is open for Murakami to potentially return from the 10-day injured list before the White Sox's final series before the All-Star break next weekend against the Athletics.

Vargas started at first base and went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Brewers.

Vargas' eighth-inning double plated what eventually turned out to be the winning run. He made a second straight start at first base and is 4-for-8 with two RBI in those two games. Saturday's start was against a right-hander, which is usually Pavin Smith's job. Even though the early-season shine has come off Vargas' bat -- he had a .102 batting average and .336 OPS over 34 games from May 20 through the end of June -- he could gain more opportunities, as Smith (.152/.260/.212) is having his own struggles at the plate.

Smith was held out of the starting lineup Saturday against Milwaukee right-hander Brandon Woodruff.

Smith is typically a lineup staple against righties, but Ildemaro Vargas got the start at first base Saturday. Smith is a career 1-for-11 against Woodruff, but the decision to sit him may have been more about a current slump. Smith is batting just .152 since coming off the injured list in late May and entered Saturday with two hits over his last 27 at-bats (.074).

Alonso went 3-for-3 with one double, one RBI, one run scored and two walks in Saturday's 8-5 win over the Reds.

Alonso reached base in all five of his plate appearances, capped by an RBI single in the eighth inning and a double in the ninth. It marked the second three-hit effort for the first baseman over his past nine games, a stretch in which he's tallied four extra-base hits and seven RBI. On the season, he's slashing .254/.347/.472 with 19 homers, 60 RBI, 54 runs scored and two steals across 389 plate appearances.

Freeman went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a second RBI and a walk in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Padres.

Freeman homered in the sixth inning and added an RBI single in the eighth. The first baseman has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, going 21-for-48 (.438) with three homers and nine RBI in that span. For the season, he's hitting .297 with an .895 OPS, 15 homers, 49 RBI, 51 runs scored, three stolen bases, 22 doubles and one triple over 87 contests.

Contreras went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in an 8-1 victory versus the Angels on Saturday.

Contreras was handed a seven-game suspension Thursday for his role in a dust-up between Boston and Washington on Tuesday, but the veteran first baseman is able to continue playing during his appeal. That paid off big time for Boston, as Contreras clubbed a three-run homer in the first inning Saturday to give the team a lead they didn't relinquish. Contreras wasn't among the players announced for the AL All-Star team Saturday, but he's certainly put up worthy numbers in the first half. Through 85 games, he's slashing .285/.378/.536 with 19 home runs, 56 RBI, 44 runs and two stolen bases.

Clemens went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Saturday's 11-4 win over the Yankees.

The 30-year-old slugger homered for a third straight game when he took Brendan Beck deep for a two-run shot in the first inning, the first of six long balls by the Twins on the afternoon. Clemens is up to 16 home runs on the season, and five of them have come in his last eight contests -- a stretch in which he's batting .303 (10-for-33) with 10 runs and 12 RBI.