MLB Player News

The Reds reinstated Moustakas (illness) from the COVID-19 injured list Monday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Moustakas will be ready to go following the All-Star break after missing the Reds' last three games of the first half due to virus-related protocols. The 33-year-old has produced a .210 batting average with five homers, 20 RBI, 24 runs and two stolen bases over 205 at-bats in 63 games this season.

Hayes went 1-for-5 with an RBI on Sunday against the Rockies.

Hayes didn't have a particularly notable game but did extend his hitting streak to eight games. In that span, he's hitting .313 with a stolen base, though he's managed to add only three RBI and four runs scored. Across 360 plate appearances this season, Hayes has maintained a .251/.325/.356 line.

Maton (shoulder) started at shortstop and went 2-for-4 with a double, walk and two runs scored in his rehab game Sunday for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

After starting his rehab assignment with Single-A Clearwater on July 7 and appearing in four games for the affiliate, Maton moved to the Triple-A club early last week. Over his five contests with Lehigh Valley thus far, Maton has gone 8-for-21 with three doubles, four walks and a stolen base. From a performance standpoint, Maton looks as though he'll be ready to return from the 10-day injured list when the Phillies return after the All-Star break, but the big club may not have room for him on the active roster.

Bride (shoulder), who went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Salt Lake on Sunday while serving as the designated hitter, is scheduled to work out Thursday for the Athletics before a decision is made on whether to activate him, Matt Kawahara of The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bride also logged seven innings at third base for the Aviators on Saturday without setbacks, so it would appear he has a good chance of being deemed ready for activation. The rookie was slated to return to Oakland early in the week and receive a final evaluation on the fitness of his shoulder by Thursday, when he might be deemed ready for return.

Moncada went 2-for-6 with a two-run home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Twins.

Moncada has had a disastrous first half of the season dominated both by lower-body injuries and poor performance. He's maintained just a .213/.263/.337 line across 190 plate appearances for the season but enters the All-Star break having hit .324 with two homers, six RBI and 10 runs scored across his last nine starts. Assuming Moncada can maintain his health, this stretch has provided some hope his production will take a positive turn across the final months of the season.

Newman went 3-for-6 with a double, two runs and two RBI in an 8-3 win against the Rockies on Sunday.

Newman scored after reaching on an error in the first inning, singled in the second, doubled and scored in the sixth and brought home two runs with a single in the ninth. The three-hit performance is the middle infielder's second of the month as he's batting .300 through 40 July at-bats, though he has just one walk and three extra-base hits -- all of them doubles -- in 10 games.

The Royals optioned Garcia to Double-A Northwest Arkansas following Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

Kansas City needed to open up space on the 26-man active roster with 10 players set to return from the restricted list in advance of the team's first game out of the All-Star break next weekend, so Garcia was a logical candidate to return to the minors. After his call-up Thursday when a wave of players were deactivated for the series in Toronto due to their vaccination statuses, Garcia appeared in only one of the Royals' four games against the Blue Jays and struck out in his lone plate appearance.

Nevin went 1-for-2 with an RBI in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings win over the Rays.

Nevin hadn't played in a week before getting the start at third base Saturday. With the Orioles' infield in good health, the 25-year-old has mainly seen a reserve role in July. He's gone 4-for-14 (.286) this month and is slashing ,191/.306/.260 with two home runs, 15 RBI and 17 runs scored through 157 plate appearances overall.

Rosario has hit .357/.442/.760 -- good for a 1.201 OPS -- with 11 home runs, five steals and a 20:24 BB:K across his last 33 games for Triple-A El Paso.

Thanks to a frigid start to the season (.632 OPS in his first 51 games), Rosario's 2022 batting line still sits at a fair .275/.366/.492, but it's clear that a light has come on for him over the past month-plus. He's seemingly on the doorstep of the majors, but it's hard to see where the Padres have room to play him. Rosario has played second, third and shortstop in the minors this year, but he's best suited for third, as he's been far too error prone up the middle to play there consistently in the big leagues. In addition, he's blocked at third by Manny Machado, so there's a chance that Rosario could be used as trade bait at this year's deadline.

Arenado (back) will serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 4 batter in Sunday's game against the Reds, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

After he was held out of the lineup for Saturday's 11-3 win with lower-back tightness, Arenado ended up pulling out the upcoming All-Star Game, with Atlanta's Austin Riley called upon to replace him on the National League roster. Though Arenado showed enough improvement to re-enter the lineup in a non-defensive role for the Cardinals' final game of the second half, he'll still sit out the Midsummer Classic. The back injury has lingered for more than a month, but Arenado expects that the time off during the break will allow him to be healthy and productive throughout the second half, according to Denton.