MLB Player News

LeMahieu was scratched from Saturday's game against the Mariners for undisclosed reasons, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

LeMahieu was not battling any injuries recently, but the reason for his absence should become clear soon. Pat Valaika will start at second base in his place.

Muncy went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI in the Dodgers' 3-2 victory over the Angels on Friday.

Muncy kept his ridiculous power binge right on rolling with his latest homer, a first-inning blast off Felix Pena that leaves him with 22 long balls on the season. It seems unlikely that he'll keep his OPS up around its current mark of 1.032 all year, but Muncy has legitimately been functioning as one of the best hitters in baseball through 217 at-bats. There's simply no reason to consider getting off this train until he shows signs of slowing down.

Suarez went 3-for-5 with three doubles and a pair of runs in Cincinnati's 9-1 over St. Louis on Friday.

Suarez's monster campaign continues, with this three-double performance boosting his OPS to a ridiculous .990 through 290 at-bats. The 26-year-old is fully deserving of the All-Star nod he received for his first-half efforts, and he looks poised to continue delivering huge returns throughout the season.

Longoria (hand) is 7-to-10 days from beginning a minor-league rehab stint, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Longoria managed to take some swings in the cage Friday. He continues to eye an early-August, although he'll likely need a fair amount of at-bats in the minor leagues following surgery on his left hand.

Riley (knee) went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout for Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Riley has been on the minor-league disabled list since early June with a right knee sprain, and Thursday was his first game back with the Stripers. The 21-year-old also had a six-game rehab stint with the Rookie-level GCL Braves. Riley has a .283/.347/.425 slash line in 27 games with Gwinnett since being promoted from Double-A in early May, although his 39 strikeouts in 106 at-bats could use some improvement..

Rendon went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored Thursday against the Mets.

Rendon was a one-man wrecking crew Thursday, accounting for all three of the earned runs that Steven Matz allowed by launching home runs in each of his first two at-bats. He now has 15 home runs for the season, nine of which have come since June 21. That stretch has brought his slugging percentage up to .534, equaling the career-best mark he set in 2017.

LeMahieu went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles, a walk and four runs Wednesday in the Rockies' 19-2 win over the Diamondbacks.

After a 2-for-18 slide at the plate for the past four games, LeMahieu busted out in a big way Wednesday along with a number of his teammates. The pair of two-baggers boosted LeMahieu's season count to 21, putting him well in striking range of surpassing the career-high 32 he tallied in 2016. With eight home runs on the campaign as well, LeMahieu is on pace to reach double digits in the category for only the second time in his career.

Muncy went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Padres.

Muncy's solo blast was his 21st, and it broke up San Diego starter Eric Lauer's bid for a complete game shutout with two outs in the ninth inning. The breakout 27-year-old has continued to excel in July, smacking four homers in the month -- all solo shots -- to go along with a .313 average and a .450 OBP over nine games.

Arenado went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two walks in Tuesday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

It was Arenado's 23rd home run -- moving him into a tie with Jesus Aguilar for the NL lead -- and fifth in his last 11 games. The 27-year-old is hitting .333 in July and is well on his way to another terrific season. Approaching the All-Star break, he's driven in 64 runs to go along with a .309/.393/.593 line.

Plouffe's contract was selected by the Phillies on Tuesday.

Plouffe was called upon to provide a veteran bat off the bench and the ability to fill in at multiple positions around the diamond. Neither the bat nor the glove are particularly good, though, as the 32-year-old has posted a .242/.304/.410 in parts of eight big-league seasons and a negative UZR at every position other than first base. Dylan Cozens was optioned in a corresponding move, with Pedro Florimon transferred to the 60-day disabled list to clear room on the 40-man roster.