MLB Player News

Baty could shift to left field on occasion as the Mets try to find ways to get Mark Vientos into the lineup, Will Sammon and Tim Britton of The Athletic report.

Vientos' hot bat at Triple-A prompted a promotion, but after homering in his big-league debut Wednesday, the 23-year-old was on the bench Thursday. He's blocked defensively at the infield corners and Pete Alonso isn't budging off first base, which leaves Vientos batting for at-bats at DH unless Baty can be moved elsewhere. Baty has seen sporadic action in left over the last few years in the minors, and given that he's a better athlete than Vientos, he appears more capable of handling the shift. There's also the question of whether the 23-year-old Baty has even earned an everyday spot yet -- through 26 games in the majors this season, Baty is slashing just .241/.323/.386 with three homers.

Candelario went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double and two total RBI in Thursday's loss to Miami.

Candelario produced two of Washington's three runs in the contest, swatting a 443-foot solo homer to center field in the fourth inning and doubling home a run in the eighth. The third baseman has been on a tear at the plate of late, notching four straight multi-hit performances. Over that stretch, he's slashing .667/.688/1.200 with five extra-base hits, three RBI and four runs.

Muncy went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Thursday's loss against the Cardinals.

Muncy pulled the Dodgers within one run with his solo shot in the seventh. It was his 15th of the season, as he trails Pete Alonso by one for the MLB lead in homers. Muncy took a step back in 2022 with his worst OPS in a Dodger uniform at .713, but he's bounced back with a phenomenal .943 OPS to start 2023.

Arenado went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI scored in Thursday's 16-8 victory over the Dodgers.

Arenado extended his hitting streak to nine games with a fourth-inning homer to push the Cardinals' lead to 9-2. The third baseman has raised his average from .232 to .263 during this stretch. Arenado has nine homers though 43 games, with six coming during the hit streak, putting him on pace for another 30-homer season. However, he has only four doubles after posting 42 in 2022.

Donaldson (hamstring) said Thursday he recently sliced his thumb, which has delayed him from beginning a rehab assignment, Max Goodman of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Donaldson said Thursday that he was "putting something together" with his daughter when he suffered the cut. It's not a huge setback -- his hamstring is almost fully healed -- but he might not get into minor-league rehab games until sometime next week. The veteran third baseman has been on the shelf since early April.

Kieboom (lat) returned to the Triple-A Syracuse lineup Tuesday and has gone 1-for-7 with a double, three walks and a run while playing in both of the team's last two games.

Kieboom missed just under a week after experiencing soreness in his right lat following a May 10 contest. The 25-year-old had previously missed the first month of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and then tending to a shoulder impingement, but he appears fortunate to have avoided any sort of major setback.

Moncada is not in the White Sox' lineup for Thursday's game versus the Guardians.

It looks to be a routine day off for Moncada. The hot-hitting Jake Burger will handle third base against Logan Allen and the Guardians.

Urshela is absent from the Angels' lineup for Thursday's game in Baltimore.

Luis Rengifo will handle third base and Brandon Drury will be at first while Urshela gets some rest. He had started the previous 11 contests.

Walls went 1-for-5 with a run and two stolen bases Wednesday in an extra-inning loss to the Mets.

Walls was punched out four times in the contest, but he still helped his fantasy managers with a pair of thefts. One of those came after he began the 10th inning as the automatic runner, leading to a run that temporarily gave Tampa Bay the lead. Walls has nine steals through 33 games this season, which already puts him one short of his total over 142 contests last year.

Garcia went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Padres.

Garcia has bounced back from an 0-for-11 skid by racking up five hits over his last two contests, including a pair of doubles. He had a hot first week in the majors to begin May, but he's cooled off a bit since, though it's yet to cause a significant decrease in playing time. The infielder has a .264/.293/.358 slash line with no home runs, eight RBI, four runs scored, five doubles and two stolen bases through 58 plate appearances.