MLB Player News

Arraez will sit Friday against the Diamondbacks, Craig Mish of the Miami Herald reports.

Arraez will get a breather after he continued his torrid start to the season in the Marlins' series against Philadelphia, going 7-for-12 with four extra-base hits, two RBI and three runs scored over the team's three contests. Garrett Hampson will start at second base and bat ninth versus Arizona.

Gormand went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Thursday's 5-0 loss to the Pirates.

The Cardinals couldn't get much going in the contest, but Gorman and Willson Contreras tried to provide a spark with a double-steal in the forth inning. Gorman's more of a slugger -- this was his first attempt on the basepaths this season, and he's matched his total in stolen bases from 89 games last year. The 22-year-old has done well with the bat, slashing .286/.419/.686 with four home runs, 10 RBI and five runs scored over 11 contests.

Stott is batting leadoff and starting at second base Thursday against the Reds.

He batted eighth against Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo on Tuesday but is hitting atop the order Thursday versus the Reds and Nick Lodolo. Stott has quickly taken on a prominent role this year for the defending NL champions while slashing .420/.431/.500 with three stolen bases across his first 12 games. He's hit leadoff in three of the last four, with Trea Turner occupying the No. 2 hole.

Alu (hamstring) joined up Thursday with Triple-A Rochester following a rehab assignment, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Alu began the season on Rochester's injured list, but he is good to go now following a four-game stint with High-A Wilmington. The 26-year-old had a strong showing in the upper minors last summer, batting .299/.365/.506 with 20 home runs, 81 RBI, 15 stolen bases and 81 runs scored in 132 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

NcNeil went 0-for-1 with three walks and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Padres.

Blake Snell and Brent Honeywell issued seven free passes in 6.2 innings between them, and McNeil was more than happy to take advantage. The steal was the first of the season for the 31-year-old, but McNeil hasn't really caught fire at the plate yet, slashing .250/.389/.341 through 13 games with four doubles, three runs and five RBI.

Rojas went 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 7-3 win over Milwaukee.

Rojas continues to rake. This was his fourth three-hit game in nine starts, and he leads the team with 14 hits and a .412 batting average. The key for Rojas, who was benched several times last year for shoddy defense, is maintaining a dependable glove. He's done that thus far, albeit in a small sample size, and is currently tied for the most outs above average among third basemen, per Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic.

Estrada went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run in a loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Estrada's ninth-inning homer had little impact on the game since the Dodgers were up 10-4 at the time, but they count all the same in fantasy. It was the infielder's second long ball of the campaign and marked the third time this year he's reached base three times in a contest. Estrada has been pretty productive so far this season, complementing the pair of long balls with seven runs, five RBI, two thefts and a .341/.386/.537 slash line through 44 plate appearances.

Gorman went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 7-4 win over the Rockies.

For the second game in a row, Gorman delivered a late-inning, go-ahead homer. He took reliever Justin Lawrence deep for a two-run blast in the eighth inning Wednesday. Gorman has hit safely in eight of 10 games, slashing .313/.436/.750 with four long balls, 10 RBI, five runs scored, two doubles and a 7:8 BB:K through 39 plate appearances.

Garcia (hamstring) is hitting sixth and playing second base Wednesday against the Angels.

Garcia returns to the lineup for the first time since leaving Friday's game with tightness in his hamstring. Michael Chavis will retreat to the bench with Garcia back in action.

Villar went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Dodgers.

With one out and one on in the bottom of the eighth, Villar smacked an Evan Phillips offering 403 feet to center field to give the Giants some extra cushion heading into the final inning. The home run ended a relative lull at the dish for Villar, who had reached base at a .409 clip over his prior six games but batted just .188 with one extra-base hit (a double) during that stretch.