MLB Player News

Sosa isn't in the Phillies' lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.

Currently 0-for-6 in his last three games, Sosa will sit out for the second time in three days. He'll be replaced at third base by Josh Harrison, who will bat ninth.

Wisdom is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Reds.

Wisdom has one hit in his last 21 at-bats, striking out 14 times with no walks during that span. This will be the third time in the last five games that he's been on the bench in favor of Miles Mastrobuoni, who will get another start at third base.

Riley went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in Thursday's 8-5 win against Philadelphia.

Riley took Phillies starter Aaron Nola deep twice in the contest, crushing a 459-foot, two-run shot in the first inning and a 458-foot solo homer in the fifth. The third baseman has feasted on Nola's pitching when they've matched up, as Riley is batting .426 with five homers in 48 career at-bats against the hurler. On the season, Riley is up to nine long balls, putting him slightly below pace for a third straight 30-homer campaign.

Madrigal was optioned Thursday to Triple-A Iowa, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

This is the corresponding roster move for Kyle Hendricks (shoulder), who is off the IL and making his 2023 debut Thursday night against the Mets. Madrigal wasn't seeing much playing time in recent weeks and heads to the minors having registered an ugly .247/.286/.301 batting line through 34 games (98 plate appearances) this season with the Cubs.

Padres manager Bob Melvin said he doesn't expect Machado (hand) to be ready for activation from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Friday, Byron Kerr of MLB.com reports.

Machado has been doing a range of baseball activities to test the small fracture in his left hand, but there are still some important boxes for him to check -- most notably live batting practice. The star third baseman could perhaps return at some point during the Padres' three-game weekend series against the Yankees, though it's hard to put a guarantee on the timetable. He suffered the injury to his glove hand when he was hit by a pitch May 15 versus the Royals.

Newman went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and three RBI in Wednesday's 10-3 win over the Cardinals.

While starting his second game in a row, Newman once again delivered a two-hit performance to lift his season-long average up to .257. He'll be back on the bench for Thursday's series finale with St. Louis, and despite his hot start to the week, Newman's playing-time outlook only projects to get worse as the season rolls along. The Reds have already summoned one of their top infield prospects in Matt McLain to the big leagues, and Elly De La Cruz and Christian Encarnacion-Strand may not be far away from receiving promotions from Triple-A Louisville.

Arenado is absent from the lineup Thursday against the Reds, 101 ESPN St. Louis reports.

It's a routine day off for the star third baseman, who has gone 0-for-10 since his 12-game hit streak was snapped earlier this week. Brendan Donovan will handle third base while Arenado gets some rest.

Rivera started at third base and went 1-for-4 with a walk, three RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to Philadelphia.

Rivera produced a first-inning run with a groundout then singled home a pair in the Diamondbacks' four-run third inning. He and Evan Longoria, who served as the DH on Wednesday, have been sharing third base duty against lefties while Josh Rojas is the primary starter against righties. That means Rivera's playing time (and Longoria's) is spotty and infrequent.

Machado (hand) played catch and took grounders Wednesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Machado was able to receive the ball without issue despite the small fracture in his left (glove) hand. He's yet to take batting practice, which is going to be the biggest test, but Machado did take swings off a tee Tuesday. The star third baseman is making swift progress and might even be able to pull off a late-weekend return from the injured list. He's first eligible for activation Friday.

Longoria went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Phillies.

Longoria extended Arizona's lead to 5-0 with a two-run, 422-foot shot off Ranger Suarez in the third inning. He now has three home runs in his last seven games, bringing his total to six this season. However, the 37-year-old veteran still offers marginal fantasy utility at this point while filling the short side of a platoon. He's now slashing .221/.269/.477 with 13 runs scored and 10 RBI through 93 plate appearances.