MLB Player News

Chicago won't activate Duffy (back) from the 60-day injured list Thursday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Duffy looked on track to return from the IL for Thursday's series finale in St. Louis, and though he hasn't suffered any sort of setback, the Cubs will instead wait at least one more day to reinstate him. Rather than bringing back Duffy, the Cubs called up reliever Trevor Megill from Triple-A Iowa to fill the opening on the active roster created by infielder Sergio Alcantara's demotion. Once activated, Duffy will likely be relegated to a utility role in the infield, though he could settle into a near-everyday role in the event Kris Bryant's hamstring injury forces him to the IL.

Maton (finger) was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

Maton has been dealing with a laceration on his right middle finger for nearly a week, and he hasn't recorded any plate appearances since suffering the injury. It's not yet clear whether he'll be available for the minor-league club right away, but Odubel Herrera (ankle) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move.

Segura went 1-for-5 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Yankees.

Segura led off the game by slugging his fifth home run of the season. It was his second homer in his last eight games, though prior to this stretch he had gone 29 games without a long ball. Even so, he's found other ways to be productive this season, most notably by maintaining a .312/.367/.446 line and also by chipping in six steals across 287 plate appearances.

Muncy (shoulder) is starting at second base and batting second Wednesday versus the Giants, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

The 30-year-old exited Tuesday's contest with a bruised right shoulder, but the injury won't keep him out of the lineup Wednesday. Despite his return, Muncy's availability for the immediate future remains somewhat up in the air, as he could move to the paternity list any day now with his wife due to give birth to the couple's child.

Machado is out of the lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with Atlanta.

After starting at third base and going 1-for-3 with a walk in the Padres' 3-2 win in the opening game of the day, Machado will receive a breather for the nightcap. Ha-Seong Kim checks in for Machado at the hot corner.

Hayes will start his third straight game Wednesday afternoon against the Diamondbacks.

The third baseman, who did not start two of four games in the last series, is slashing .349/.429/.512 with four doubles and a homer in his last 49 plate appearances. He has eight hits (all singles) in his last seven games, lifting his average 30 points -- from .245 to .275 -- since July 4.

Reds manager David Bell said Wednesday that he expects Senzel (knee) to play both center field and shortstop when he likely begins a minor-league rehab assignment next week, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The Reds' decision not to make shortstop a priority this offseason has come back to haunt the team; converted third baseman Eugenio Suarez was a flop at the position defensively before shifting back to the hot corner in early May, and Kyle Farmer (.650 OPS on the season) has been largely unproductive since taking over as the everyday shortstop. Senzel has played only one career game at shortstop during his time in the minors, but his athleticism should at least make him a superior defender at the position compared to Suarez. In addition to making sure Senzel's knee responds well to work in the outfield during his rehab assignment, the Reds will see if he can hold his own at shortstop, the position that would probably represent his clearest path to an everyday role once he's eventually activated. Before the knee injury surfaced, Senzel had been seeing most of his work at second and third base after Tyler Naquin locked down the center-field job following his hot start to the season at the dish.

Davis isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Reds, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Davis drew starts in each of the last four games, but he went just 1-for-10 with a run, two walks and five strikeouts across his last three appearances. Jonathan Villar will take his place at third base and bat sixth.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Tuesday against the Cubs.

Arenado took Trevor Williams yard in the fourth inning to record his 18th home run of the season. It was his second long ball in his last 14 games, during which time he's also logged five RBI and seven runs scored. For the season, Arenado is hitting .258/.310/.490 with 57 RBI and 44 runs scored across 384 plate appearances.

Muncy was removed from Tuesday's game against the Giants with a right shoulder contusion, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Muncy was hit by a pitch and went 1-for-3 with an RBI before being removed from the contest. The 30-year-old should be considered day-to-day with the bruised shoulder, and he's also expected to land on the paternity list within the next few days with his wife set to give birth to the couple's child.