MLB Player News

Villar is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

After sitting against lefty Aaron Ashby and the Brewers in the Giants' final game before the All-Star break July 17, the righty-hitting Villar now finds himself on the bench against Dodgers right-hander Mitch White in San Francisco's first contest of the second half. Even though Tommy La Stella (illness) is still stuck on the COVID-19-related injured list and Thairo Estrada is filling in at shortstop while Brandon Crawford (knee) is on the IL, Wilmer Flores may be ahead of Villar for playing time in the middle infield. Flores will pick up his second straight start at the keystone.

Hoerner went 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 3-2 win over the Mets on Sunday.

Hoerner had a good night at the plate, rapping out three singles, including one which cashed in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth with two out. The three-hit performance made up for a defensive gaffe earlier in the game when the second baseman misplayed a rundown situation which allowed Starling Marte to scamper home from third and Francisco Lindor to reach safely at second. Despite only walking 4.1% of the time, Hoerner has shown excellent bat-to-ball skills and his hitting .307 with a .305 xBA.

Estrada went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's 9-5 win over the Brewers.

Estrada heads into the All-Star break warm, going 9-for-29 (.310) in his last eight games. He singled and stole second in the seventh inning Sunday, giving him 13 steals in 15 attempts for the year. The infielder has added a .259/.310/.417 slash line with nine home runs, 36 RBI and 46 runs scored in 303 plate appearances. With Brandon Crawford (knee) likely to need more than a minimum stay on the injured list, Estrada should function as the Giants' primary shortstop in the short term.

Rojas went 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base in a 3-1 victory over San Diego on Sunday.

Batting leadoff, Rojas singled and stole second in the first inning while tacking on walks in the fifth and seventh to reach base three times for the third time this month. Through 16 July games, the 28-year-old is slashing .339/.431/.536 with an impressive eight doubles, nine walks and three thefts. Rojas concludes the first half with a .271/.344/.407 slash line, five home runs, 34 runs, 26 RBI and eight stolen bases in 61 games.

Kim is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks

CJ Abrams will fill in at shortstop for Kim, who gets a breather for the Padres' final game before the All-Star break after recording at least one hit while starting in each of the past five contests. Kim should continue to serve as San Diego's primary option at shortstop until Fernando Tatis (wrist) is deemed ready to return from the 60-day injured list for his 2022 debut.

Villar is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Though the righty-hitting Villar will see his streak of 13 consecutive starts come to an end Sunday even while the Brewers bring a southpaw (Aaron Ashby) to the mound, the rookie infielder should still have a fairly clear path to playing time. Even though Evan Longoria is back from a recent stint on the injured list, Brandon Crawford's (knee) recent move to the IL will likely result in Thairo Estrada stepping in as the Giants' primary shortstop. That paves the way for Villar to pick up more playing time at second base, though Wilmer Flores will man the keystone in the series finale with Milwaukee.

Urias is out of the lineup for a second consecutive contest in Sunday's series finale in San Francisco.

Though manager Craig Counsell hasn't provided an update yet, Urias' absence from the lineup for the second straight day suggests he may be nursing an injury. Jace Peterson will pick up another start at third base in place of Urias, who takes a .223/.314/.384 slash line for the season into the All-Star break.

Stott is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The lefty-hitting Stott will retreat to the bench with southpaw Trevor Rogers taking the hill for Miami. Yairo Munoz will step in at the keystone as a replacement for Stott, who went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run in Saturday's 10-0 victory.

Villar drew a walk in all three of his plate appearances in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Brewers.

Villar's run as the Giants' everyday third baseman looks to be over after Evan Longoria (oblique) returned from the injured list Saturday, but the rookie was able to stick in the starting nine at second base. He continued to turn in productive plate appearances for the Giants, as his on-base percentage now sits at a stellar .420 through his first 13 big-league games on the heels of the three-walk night. Though the presence of Longoria closes off regular work for Villar at one position, expect manager Gabe Kapler to find time to rotate the 25-year-old at third base, second base and designated hitter while he continues to excel at the dish.

Kim went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Kim has hit safely in five straight games since he returned from a thumb injury. In that span, he's gone 7-for-20 (.350) with three doubles, four RBI, two runs scored and a steal. The shortstop owns a .243/.330/.364 slash line with five home runs, five steals, 31 RBI, 35 runs scored, 15 doubles and two triples in 83 contests overall. Kim's starting role at shortstop will likely be safe to begin the second half of the campaign, but he could see reduced playing time once Fernando Tatis (wrist) is ready to make his season debut.