MLB Player News

Espinal started in left field and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a double, two RBI and a run scored in Friday's 6-1 win over Washington.

Espinal started the last two games in left field and should help fill the void left by Austin Hays' hamstring injury, which landed him on the 10-day injured list. Espinal is expected to start in left against left-handers while Hays is unavailable, and Gavin Lux should start there against righties. Espinal will also move around as needed in the infield. He's batting .324/.385/.394 over 24 games (78 plate appearances) this season.

Stephenson started at designated hitter and went 2-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 6-1 win over the Nationals.

Stephenson was activated off the 10-day injured list and made his season debut after rehabbing an oblique injury. He caught several innings while on a rehab assignment, and having him DH was likely a way to slowly integrate Stephenson back into action. He was often used as a DH in past seasons to get his bat in the lineup as much as possible.

Kelly went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 10-0 win over the Brewers.

Kelly extended his hitting streak to four games, during which time he's gone 7-for-17 with a home run and four RBI. Overall, the veteran catcher has a scintillating .364 batting average and 1.318 OPS over 18 games. The strong play has allowed Kelly to move slightly ahead of Miguel Amaya when it comes to Chicago's pecking order behind the plate.

Hoerner went 2-for-5 with an RBI in Friday's 10-0 win over the Brewers.

While other Chicago players have had splashier stat lines during the team's 20-13 start to the season, Hoerner has been a steady performer with a .289 batting average and six stolen bases across 29 games. The infielder has two multi-hit efforts over his last three contests and at least one hit in four of his last five appearances.

Kelly was removed from Friday's start after five innings due to cramping in his right hamstring, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. He allowed one run on four hits and struck out two before being removed.

Kelly began to feel the cramping while warming up for the sixth inning and was removed after just 60 pitches. The cramping issue has dogged the 36-year old right-hander the last few seasons. "I wish I had a good answer for you guys," Kelly said. "We've tried all kinds of things. We've done all kinds of labs, all kinds of hydration stuff. If I had a good answer for you guys, I'd stop cramping." As of now, Kelly is expected to make his next scheduled start in five days.

Thomas started in center field against a left-hander and went 1-for-3 in Friday's 3-2 loss to Philadelphia.

It was a rare start against a lefty for Thomas, who entered the game with just nine at-bats against them in 2025. He was eventually pinch hit for in the ninth inning. Previously, Jorge Barrosa would man center field against lefties, but he was optioned to the minors in conjunction with Ketel Marte coming off the injured list. Thomas is off a good start, and manager Torey Lovullo may want to give him regular opportunities to bat against southpaws. If the manager wants to resume sitting Thomas against lefties, then he could use Garrett Hampson or Tim Tawa as a fill-in.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Friday that the decision to keep Tawa on the major-league roster following the activation of Ketel Marte from the 10-day injured list was a "no-brainer," Alex Weiner of ArizonaSports.com reports.

Tawa was the primary fill-in at second base while Marte was on the IL, but the rookie opened Friday's 3-2 loss to the Phillies on the bench, as expected. Tawa eventually pinch hit for Alek Thomas in the ninth inning. Marte, who is coming back from a hamstring injury, isn't yet ready to play second base on an everyday basis, so Tawa will fill in on the days when Marte serves as the designated hitter or gets held out for rest. Tawa, who has batted .190/.304/.483 with five home runs and two steals over his first 19 big-league games, could also be an option at third base and in center field.

Marte went 1-for-4 in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Phillies.

Marte was activated off the 10-day injured earlier in the day and was in the lineup at second base and leading off against a left-hander. The initial plan for Marte, who is coming off a hamstring injury, is to see time in the field and at designated hitter, but at either spot he should bat first or second in the order.

Phillips picked up the save in Friday's 2-1 win over Atlanta after working around one walk in a scoreless ninth inning. He struck out two.

In a somewhat interesting development, left-handed closer Tanner Scott was called upon to retire the bottom part of Atlanta's lineup, which included two right-handed batters, in the eighth inning for a hold. Phillips then replaced him in the ninth after a rain delay with the daunting task of putting out Austin Riley, Marcell Ozuna and Matt Olson, with Olson drawing a walk to get the possible tying run aboard before Phillips got Sean Murphy to ground out. It was the first save opportunity of the season for Phillips, who is now up to 4.2 scoreless innings with a 6:2 K:BB in six appearances this year.

Olson went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Dodgers.

It was Olson's first RBI since April 23, and he extended his on-base streak to 19 games Friday. During this streak, the star first baseman is batting a healthy .265 (18-for-68) with four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and 15 runs scored. Olson's pedestrian .418 slugging percentage in 2025 figures to see some positive regression at some point, as he entered the day with a top-notch 57.1 percent hard-hit rate on the season.