MLB Player News

Candelario went 1-for-3 with a walk, a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's victory over Atlanta.

Candelario's two-run homer gave the Nationals a 4-2 lead in the sixth and marked the third baseman's first long ball of June. Coming into the contest, the 29-year-old had just one hit in his last 20 at-bats, so his production Sunday could be a sign he's turning things around. Candelario has played in 61 of the team's first 64 contests, so he figures to get plenty of opportunities to snap out of his recent offensive slump.

Madrigal will start at third base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Giants.

He'll pick up a third consecutive start despite having gotten on base at a .286 clip through his first two contests since being promoted from Triple-A Iowa on Friday. The Cubs have an opening in the lineup at the moment while Seiya Suzuki (undisclosed) tends to a minor injury, but once Suzuki is healthy, Madrigal will have to battle Trey Mancini or Christopher Morel for one spot in Chicago's everyday lineup.

Newman is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Newman is on the bench for the second straight game and may be limited to a part-time role moving forward while rookies Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain have emerged as regulars on the left side of the infield, which has resulted in third baseman Spencer Steer moving to the other side of the diamond of late. Playing time could be even tougher for Newman to attain once Nick Senzel (knee), Joey Votto (shoulder), Jake Fraley (wrist), Wil Myers (shoulder) and Henry Ramos (hip) are all back from the injured list.

Senzel (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Sunday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Senzel will hit leadoff and start at third base in his first game with Louisville, a promising sign for his health after he was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday due to right knee irritation. The Reds may want Senzel to get another game or two under his belt in the minors before bringing him back from the IL at some point during next weekend's series in Houston. Once activated, Senzel should be in store for a near-everyday role, though he could see most of his action in the outfield moving forward following the recent promotion of top prospect Elly De La Cruz to the big leagues.

Castro is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

Castro will take a seat for a third straight game and seems to have moved into the short side of a platoon with Ji Hwan Bae. With Castro on the bench, Bae will start at second base and bat seventh Sunday against Carlos Carrasco and the New York staff.

Sosa is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Sosa had started over Drew Ellis at third base in both of the past two games, but both players will see their roles decline after the Phillies reinstated Alec Bohm (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Sunday. Ellis was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move, while Sosa is expected to serve as a utility infielder moving forward, with Bohm taking back his usual spot at the hot corner in Sunday's series finale with the Dodgers.

Arenado went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Saturday's 8-4 loss to the Reds.

Arenado continued his recent surge at the plate Saturday, collecting two hits for the third consecutive game, including a solo home run off Alexis Diaz in the bottom of the ninth. The third baseman has now homered in back-to-back games and in three of his last four, giving him 13 on the season. He's hitting .367 this month with four long balls, eight RBI and four runs scored for the Cardinals' struggling offense.

Rivera is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Though he has the platoon advantage in his favor with a lefty (Joey Wentz) on the bump for Detroit, Rivera will head to the bench, ending a streak of seven consecutive starts. Rivera posted a .915 OPS and 3:5 BB:K over that seven-game stretch, but he may still struggle to retain near-everyday playing time now that Lourdes Gurriel is back in action after recently overcoming a groin injury.

Machado went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Rockies.

The third baseman returned from a fracture in his left hand June 2 and has looked 100 percent healthy, reeling off four multi-hit performances in his last five games and batting .333 (11-for-33) in eight contests since coming off the IL. Machado's had a disappointing start to the campaign overall -- his current .670 OPS would be a career low -- but he's capable of going on a tear and bringing his numbers up significantly.

Wisdom will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Giants.

Wisdom's game always involves plenty of power alongside huge strikeout concerns, but it's the latter which has been more prevalent recently. He hit .250 with 10 homers through the end of April despite a 33.3 percent strikeout rate, but things have gone significantly downhill since then. In 29 games since the start of May, he's homered four times while hitting .149 with a 43.0 percent strikeout rate. Nick Madrigal will take over at third base Saturday.