MLB Player News

Astudillo will be sent down to Triple-A Rochester ahead of Saturday's game against the Tigers, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The move won't be made official until Saturday morning, but the Twins are expected to promote a pitcher in Astudillo's place, per Hayes. Astudillo has put together a .259/.282/.370 slash line with two home runs and 11 RBI over 32 games this season in the big leagues.

McMahon is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets, Jenny Cavnar of AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain reports.

McMahon will take a seat for the second straight game, though this time with a right-hander on the mound in Marcus Stroman. The 24-year-old appeared to be on the heavy side of a platoon at second base but could be falling into a lower-volume role after going 6-for-32 across his last eight starts. Brendan Rodgers will grab another start at second base Friday.

Vargas is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays.

Vargas finds himself on the bench for the second straight game after starting six of the previous seven games at second base. The 27-year-old has a .977 OPS over his last 11 games. Ketel Marte is starting at the keystone Friday while Jarrod Dyson takes over in center field.

Bichette joined the Nationals on a minor-league contract Friday.

Bichette hasn't appeared in affiliated baseball since 2017, failing to get past the Double-A level after hitting .242/.322/.349 in parts of four seasons for Trenton in the Yankees' organization. He's since spent time in two separate independent leagues, spending 2018 with the St. Paul Saints of the American Association and the first part of 2019 with the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League. The 26-year-old hit .333/.373/.459 during his time in indy ball.

Bregman went 3-for-6 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's 8-7 extra-innings win over Seattle.

Bregman launched his 18th homer, tying him for second place in the AL, in the fifth inning. He's shouldered a heavy load since the Astros' other top stars (Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer) landed on the injured list. Since May 25, Bregman has hit safely in 11 of 12 games, posting a slash line of .354/.429/.625 with seven extra-base hits, nine RBI, seven walks and 11 runs scored.

LeMahieu went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a run and two RBI in the Yankees' 6-2 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday.

It was the second straight three-hit game for LeMahieu, who is now working on a 10-game hitting streak. He continues to thrive in his first season with the Yankees, as this performance raises his slash line up to .323/.371/.480 through 223 at-bats. He's also driven in 40 runs, an impressive total considering he's done most of his work this season from the leadoff spot.

Moustakas went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Thursday's victory over the Marlins.

Moustakas went deep in the first inning to give Milwaukee a 3-0 lead, and he left the yard again the third inning on a solo shot to center. The 30-year-old has clubbed six home runs and driven in eight over his last 10 contests, and he now sits with 18 homers along with 39 RBI on the season over 56 contests.

Ramirez went 2-for-4 with three RBI and a stolen base Wednesday in the Indians' 9-7 win over the Twins.

Ramirez's pair of base knocks ended a three-game hitless streak that spanned 11 at-bats. Even after the multi-hit effort, Ramirez is barely above the Mendoza Line for the season (.207 average), though a 15-for-17 success rate on stolen-base attempts has spared him from being a total disaster for those who invested in him.

McMahon is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

He'll retreat to the bench with lefty Jose Quintana on the bump for Chicago, paving the way for platoon mate Brendan Rodgers to pick up a start at second base. McMahon's hold on the primary job at the keystone could be slipping; he's gone 6-for-32 (.188 average) over his past eight starts.

Newman will start at second base and bat leadoff Thursday against the Braves.

Newman has slotted in atop the lineup for eight of the Pirates' past nine games, unseating Adam Frazier as the team's table setter. The 25-year-old has only turned in a .256 on-base percentage during that span, however, so he may need to pick up the pace offensively to ensure he sticks in the leadoff role for the remainder of the season.