MLB Player News

Astudillo was designated for assignment Friday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Astudillo started four of the last five games and went 3-for-17 with a strikeout. The 30-year-old will lose his spot on the Marlins' 40-man roster after Charles Leblanc was called up to take his place as infield depth.

Escobar isn't starting Friday against the Marlins, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Escobar is getting a day off after going 2-for-8 with a home run, a double, two runs, two RBI and four strikeouts over the last two games. Luis Guillorme will take over at third base and bat eighth.

Arenado (personal) was activated from the restricted list Friday.

Arenado missed the Cardinals' two-game series in Toronto due to his vaccination status, but he'll rejoin the team ahead of Friday's series opener in Washington. Over three games since the All-Star break, he's gone 5-for-14 with three doubles, a run and a strikeout.

Newman went 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base, two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Phillies.

Newman occupied his typical leadoff role and has started 14 of 16 games since returning from the injured list July 8. In that span, he's hit .271 with six RBI and six runs scored while also chipping in two stolen bases. Despite the poor state of the Pirates' offense, Newman has a significant role and could be a decent source of runs, stolen bases and batting average across the final two months of the campaign.

Wisdom went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Giants.

The Cubs didn't record a hit until the seventh inning, and Wisdom followed that up with a two-run homer off Giants starter Alex Wood. Wisdom's hit safely in six of his last eight games, but he's gone 6-for-27 (.222) in that span with no multi-hit efforts. The third baseman is slashing .222/.317/.446 with 18 homers, 49 RBI, 49 runs scored and six stolen bases in 94 contests this year.

Longoria (hamstring) fielded grounders prior to Thursday's game against the Cubs, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Longoria suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain Saturday and is expected to miss the next few weeks. However, it's a positive sign that he was able to do some defensive work prior to the game and could be on track to return in early August.

Reynolds will start at shortstop and bat sixth in Thursday's game against the Marlins.

Reynolds will start for the fourth time in five days, with three of those starts coming at different positions (second base, shortstop and right field). Considering that three of those starts have come against left-handed pitching, Reynolds still looks to be a short-side platoon player for the Reds and may struggle to retain relevance even in NL-only leagues.

Moustakas is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins.

The Reds appear to be moving Moustakas to a strict strong-side platoon player these days, as he'll be on the bench for the third time in four games while Cincinnati has faced left-handed starting pitchers in each of those occasions. Joey Votto will get a day out of the field to handle Moustakas' usual spot in the lineup at designated hitter.

Farmer is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins.

He'll take a seat for the first time since July 10 while Matt Reynolds steps in as his replacement at shortstop. Over the Reds' first six games out of the All-Star break, Farmer went 4-for-21 with three doubles, three walks, five runs and three RBI.

Astudillo will sit Thursday against the Reds, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Astudillo will get a breather after he went 3-for-13 while starting each of the first three games of the series at second base. Luke Williams replace him in the field and bat eighth versus Cincinnati.