MLB Player News

Jung (shoulder) is taking batting practice and is on track to serve as the designated hitter in minor-league games during the 2022 season, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Jung has been sidelined all season after undergoing shoulder surgery, but he is currently at the team's spring training facility and is expected to participate in sim games shortly. From there, he'll likely go on a rehab assignment and could be activated from the injured list in time to play in a few games with Triple-A Round Rock prior to the end of the campaign.

Bregman went 4-for-8 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored across both games of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees.

Bregman collected a pair of hits in each game and also slugged his 12th home run of the season in the second contest. He's shown an uptick in power for much of July, going yard three times while also racking up four doubles to maintain a .528 slugging percentage across his last 14 games. Overall, Bregman is hitting .245/.359/.420 across 382 plate appearances on the campaign.

Candelario went 3-for-7 with a solo home run and two runs scored across both games of Thursday's doubleheader against the Athletics.

The home run in Game 1 was Candelario's seventh of the year and second this month. The 28-year-old has seen a dip in playing time recently, though he did start both contests Thursday at third base. Candelario will continue to jockey with Willi Castro and Harold Castro for playing time, and the former will need to improve his .198 average and .590 OPS if he wants to hold off his challengers down the stretch.

LeMahieu is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader at Houston.

LeMahieu hit leadoff in Game 1 and went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks, and he'll rest in the nightcap on the first day of the season's second half. Matt Carpenter will start at first base while Aaron Judge rests his legs as the designated hitter.

Bride (shoulder) will report to Single-A Stockton on Friday to begin a rehab assignment, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bride looked as though he might have a chance at returning from the 10-day injured list immediately coming out of the All-Star break, but the Athletics will instead let him get in some game action in the minors before activating him. Expect Bride to stick around in Stockton through the weekend before likely being reinstated ahead of next week's home series versus Houston. Once activated, Bride will vie with Vimael Machin for everyday duties at third base.

Donaldson isn't starting the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Astros.

Donaldson was out of the lineup for four of the five games leading up to the All-Star break and will remain on the bench for Thursday's matinee. DJ LeMahieu is shifting to third base while Anthony Rizzo starts at first.

Bride (shoulder), who went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Salt Lake on Sunday while serving as the designated hitter, is scheduled to work out Thursday for the Athletics before a decision is made on whether to activate him, Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bride also logged seven innings at third base for the Aviators on Saturday without setbacks, so it would appear he has a good chance of being deemed ready for activation. The rookie was slated to return to Oakland early in the week and receive a final evaluation on the fitness of his shoulder by Thursday, when he might be deemed ready for return.

Moncada went 2-for-6 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Twins.

Moncada has had a disastrous first half of the season dominated both by lower-body injuries and poor performance. He's maintained just a .213/.263/.337 line across 190 plate appearances for the season but enters the All-Star break having hit .324 with two homers, six RBI and 10 runs scored across his last nine starts. Assuming Moncada can maintain his health, this stretch has provided some hope his production will take a positive turn across the final months of the season.

The Royals optioned Garcia to Double-A Northwest Arkansas following Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

Kansas City needed to open up space on the 26-man active roster with 10 players set to return from the restricted list in advance of the team's first game out of the All-Star break next weekend, so Garcia was a logical candidate to return to the minors. After his call-up Thursday when a wave of players were deactivated for the series in Toronto due to their vaccination statuses, Garcia appeared in only one of the Royals' four games against the Blue Jays and struck out in his lone plate appearance.

Nevin went 1-for-2 with an RBI in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings win over the Rays.

Nevin hadn't played in a week before getting the start at third base Saturday. With the Orioles' infield in good health, the 25-year-old has mainly seen a reserve role in July. He's gone 4-for-14 (.286) this month and is slashing ,191/.306/.260 with two home runs, 15 RBI and 17 runs scored through 157 plate appearances overall.