MLB Player News

Kieboom was recalled by the Nationals on Saturday and is expected to serve as the team's primary third baseman going forward, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Kieboom was primarily a shortstop in the minors, but he's blocked at that position by Trea Turner for the foreseeable future. He hasn't shown the offensive numbers necessary for the hot corner through his first 107 career big-league plate appearances, hitting just .169/.299/.236. The Nationals currently sit second-to-last in the National League, however, so they have little reason not to give the 23-year-old the opportunity to prove that he's part of the team's future.

Vargas was claimed by the Cubs Saturday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Vargas was designated for assignment by the Twins Wednesday and the Cubs grabbed the infielder, who is slashing .190/.222/.262 this season across 18 games for Minnesota and Arizona. Chicago has both Jason Kipnis and Nico Hoerner at Vargas' natural spot of second base, so the 29-year-old is likely nothing more than infield depth at this point. Chicago released Jharel Cotton in a corresponding move.

McMahon will sit for the third consecutive game Saturday against the Dodgers, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

McMahon can't really complain about his loss of playing time, as he's striking out in a career-worst 35.6 percent of plate appearances this season while posting a .211/.311/.412 slash line. Garrett Hampson starts his third straight game at second base in McMahon's absence.

Machado went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's win over Oakland.

Coming off consecutive NL Player of the Week awards, Machado had been relatively quiet over his previous three contests, going 2-for-12 without an extra-base hit. He got back on track Friday, crushing a 435-foot shot to center field in the seventh inning. The veteran has 12 homers, 33 RBI and a .301/.369/.596 slash line on the season.

Hayes is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.

Hayes made his big-league debut at the start of the month and appears set to feature frequently but not every day, as he'll now sit for the second time in six games. He's looked good at the plate so far, going 5-for-14 with a homer. Erik Gonzalez slides to third base in his absence, with Kevin Newman starting at shortstop.

Hayes went 3-for-5 with a triple and a walk in Friday's doubleheader split against the Reds.

While his average exit velocity of 97.4 mph after eight batted ball events is likely to drop, the third baseman is off to a strong start. Hayes is batting .357 in 15 plate appearances but has struck out six times, something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Riley went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

After going 1-for-3 in the matinee, Riley took Wil Crowe deep in the second inning of a wild 10-9 loss in the nightcap. The 23-year-old slugger extended his hit streak to nine games with the performance, and on the season he's slashing .250/.290/.491 with seven homers and 22 RBI through 33 games.

Suarez went 1-for-2 with a walk and a two-run home run in the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

At this point, it will be tough for Suarez to lift his batting average back up close to his career mark (.262). However, he's looked a lot more like himself lately with a .277/.340/.723 line and six homers in his last 14 games. Overall, he has a .192 average, .741 OPS, nine homers and 22 RBI in 38 games.

Moustakas went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the second game of Friday's doubleheader against the Pirates.

While Moustakas did not start in the matinee, he did have a pinch-hit double off the bench in Game 1, so he was 3-for-4 for the day. The homer was especially good to see, as Moustakas had gone a whopping 21 games without a long ball and hit only two doubles during that stretch. Perhaps he's starting to feel like he has his legs under him again after his season was derailed early on by a quadriceps injury.

Muncy went 1-for-5 with a solo home run during Friday's loss over the Rockies.

Muncy wasted no time evening the score at 1-1 with a solo homer against Antonio Senzatela in the first inning. The long ball marked the 10th of the season for the 30-year-old, who is hitting .209/.337/.446 with 24 runs scored and 21 RBI.