MLB Player News

Senzel will lead off and start at second base Tuesday against the Pirates.

Rather than forcing Senzel to compete with Tyler Naquin for work in center field, manager David Bell has found a way to keep both hot-hitting players in the lineup by deploying Senzel at the keystone. With Senzel having now made five starts at second base this season and three in the past four games, Jonathan India appears to have shifted into a reserve role. Given that India is one of the organization's top prospects, he could soon be sent to Triple-A Louisville in order to pick up everyday at-bats.

Farmer will start at shortstop and bat eighth Tuesday against the Pirates.

Joey Votto's (thumb) recent move to the injured list has indirectly opened up an everyday role at shortstop for Farmer. With Mike Moustakas moving across the diamond to cover first base while Votto is out, Eugenio Suarez has shifted over to third base, allowing Farmer to step in at shortstop. Farmer will be making his fourth straight start at the position Tuesday, but he shouldn't attract much interest outside of NL-only formats. Farmer is hitting .210/.329/.290 on the season and will likely regularly fill a bottom-third spot in the batting order.

Suarez homered on an 0-2 count in the second inning Monday to start the Reds' scoring in their 14-1 win over the Pirates. It was his first hit on an 0-2 count this season, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Suarez went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in the game and is hitting .134/.224/.319 still, so it's hardly as if he's broken out yet. Nonetheless, this was a promising at-bat during an all-around good day for the Reds.

Senzel went 2-for-5 with a double, three RBI and a run scored Monday against the Pirates.

Senzel had plenty to contribute at the dish in the series opener, driving home a pair in the fourth inning on a single to right followed by an RBI double in the eighth. He's in the midst of a modest five-game hitting streak and has put together a .256/.340/.333 slash line with one homer, eight RBI and two stolen bases over 31 games in 2021.

Moustakas will start at first base and bat cleanup Monday against the Pirates.

Manager David Bell appears to have settled on Moustakas as the primary replacement at first base for Joey Votto (thumb). Moustakas will be picking up his third start at the position in as many games, and with Votto likely to remain sidelined for all of May, Moustakas should quickly gain eligibility at first base in most fantasy leagues. Moustakas already carries eligibility at third base (19 starts in 2021) and second base (31 starts in 2020) in the majority of formats.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Rockies.

Arenado launched a 404-foot blast off German Marquez in the second inning to give the Cardinals the only run they'd need. He later reached base on an error and came around to score again in the fourth. The 30-year-old slugger is slashing .281/.340/.511 with 18 extra-base hits through 147 plate appearances.

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

The recent return of Jean Segura from the 10-day injured list has spelled an end to Maton's run as an everyday player. After making 17 consecutive starts out of the middle infield, Maton now finds himself on the bench for the third game in a row. The Phillies are believed to be entertaining with the idea of deploying Maton in center field in an attempt to get more production out of that spot, but it's unclear when manager Joe Girardi might be comfortable with giving the 24-year-old a look at the position.

Vosler was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old will head to the minors with Johnny Cueto (lat) returning from the injured list Sunday. Vosler has appeared in eight games this season and is 2-for-14 with one RBI and three runs.

Hayes (wrist/hand) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Sunday, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Manager Derek Shelton said the 24-year-old didn't suffer a setback, and the third baseman will continue on his current progression. The Pirates haven't provided an official timeline for his return, but Hayes now won't be eligible to be activated until early June. He has been swinging in the batting cage without any soreness and will have nearly a full month to complete his recovery and rehab from the hand and wrist issues.

Vargas is starting at shortstop and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Javier Baez left Saturday's game with back tightness, so the Cubs are giving him Sunday off and starting Vargas at shortstop. The latter has played in six games since getting recalled earlier in the week, and he's gone 1-for-9 so far with a stolen base and two runs scored. Vargas should head back to the bench whenever Baez is able to rejoin the lineup.