MLB Player News

Muncy went 3-for-3 with a three-run home run and a grand slam in Monday's 9-1 victory over the Giants.

Muncy smoked a three-run shot off Logan Webb in the third and a grand slam off Sean Hjelle in the seventh, marking his second and third homers of the season, respectively. Coming into the contest, Muncy had just four hits over his first 33 at-bats, so Monday's prolific outing was certainly a welcome sight for fantasy managers.

Vargas is currently dealing with a stiff shoulder and is scheduled to be checked out by trainers Monday, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

The Nationals are also without Luis Garcia (hamstring), so while Vargas would seem like a natural replacement for the infielder, he's sitting with the shoulder problems while Michael Chavis handles second base. Vargas should be considered day-to-day until the Nationals determine the next step for the 31-year-old veteran.

McMahon is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.

The lefty-hitting McMahon will take a seat with the Cardinals throwing left-hander Steven Matz. Alan Trejo will cover second base in place of McMahon.

Sosa is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Marlins.

Following Darick Hall's (thumb) move to the injured list, Sosa started at third base in both of the past two games while Alec Bohm shifted across the diamond to cover Hall's usual spot at first base. Sosa acquitted himself well over the weekend with three hits -- including a solo home run -- over seven at-bats versus Cincinnati, so despite sitting out Monday, he may have the edge of serving as Hall's regular replacement in the lineup. Kody Clemens will get the starting nod at first base Monday, however, while Bohm settles back in at the hot corner.

Newman is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.

Newman will give way at shortstop to Jose Barrero after manning the position both of the past two days. Both Newman and Barrero are batting under .200 for the season, so manager David Bell could be inclined to give fairly equitable playing time to both infielders in the short term with the hope one eventually heats up at the plate and emerges as an everyday option.

Triple-A Indianapolis placed Triolo (wrist) on its 7-day injured list March 31.

According to Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com, Pirates medical director Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Triolo won't be cleared to resume baseball activities for another 4-to-6 weeks after undergoing surgery recently to address a fractured hamate bone in his left hand. The 25-year-old doesn't look as though he'll be ready to make his 2023 debut until around mid-May.

Castro appears to be first in line to step in as the Pirates' everyday shortstop beginning with Monday's game against the Astros with Oneil Cruz out indefinitely after suffering a fractured left ankle in Sunday's 1-0 win over the White Sox, Justice de los Santos of MLB.com reports.

Castro has started in five of the Pirates' first nine games -- all at second base -- slashing .176/.263/.235 across his first 19 plate appearances. He shifted over to shortstop following Cruz's departure in the sixth inning with an injury that will more than likely sideline him for several weeks, if not months. The Pirates will likely call up one of Tucupita Marcano or Chris Owings from Triple-A Indianapolis to add depth in the middle infield, but Castro, who logged 155 innings at shortstop with the big club in 2022, looks like he'll get the first crack at replacing Cruz. Castro showed some surprising pop and a modicum of speed during his 71 games in the majors last season, but the high strikeout rates that have been a staple of his profile since he reached the upper levels of the minors are likely to make him a batting-average risk while he's playing regularly.

Wisdom went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Rangers.

Wisdom now has three home runs through six games to go with an outstanding 1.226 OPS. The Cubs started Nick Madrigal at third base Saturday, but Wisdom has been able to play in the outfield frequently in the early going, so the playing time has been there even when he's not at the hot corner. He should remain a fantasy factor as long as he's in the lineup most days.

Sosa will start at third base and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Reds.

After going 1-for-3 with an RBI while starting at third base against a left-handed pitcher (Nick Lodolo) in Saturday's 3-2 win, Sosa will get another opportunity to man the hot corner, this time with a righty (Connor Overton) on the mound. With Alec Bohm expected to see more time at first base moving forward while Darick Hall (thumb) is on the injured list and Rhys Hoskins (knee) is out for the season, Sosa may get the chance to play on a near-everyday basis if he continues to perform reasonably well at the plate.

Arenado went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run and three RBI in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Brewers.

His two-run blast in the third inning off Eric Lauer gave the Cards a 4-0 lead, and it was Arenado's his first homer of the year and the 300th of his career. The third baseman joined a very exclusive club in the process, becoming just the eighth player in MLB history with 300 home runs and 10 Gold Gloves -- a group that features Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., Mike Schmidt, Al Kaline, Johnny Bench and Ivan Rodriguez, as well as a likely future Hall of Famer in Andruw Jones. The 31-year-old Arenado is having a strong start to the season, batting .364 (12-for-33) with four runs and eight RBI in eight games.