MLB Player News

Alvarez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Alvarez went 1-for-7 with a walk, a run and two strikeouts in the first two games of the series and will take a seat Sunday. Luis Torrens will step in behind the plate to catch for Paul Blackburn in the series finale.

McNeil is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

McNeil started the previous 10 games and had an .839 OPS during that span, but he'll receive a day off for Sunday's series finale. Jose Iglesias will step in at the keystone and bat seventh against Miami righty Valente Bellozo.

Ozuna went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer, a walk and three runs scored in Saturday's win over the Angels.

Ozuna crushed a hanging slider from Griffin Canning 437 feet over the wall in center field in his first at-bat to score Michael Harris and Austin Riley, giving the veteran slugger his 36th long ball of the campaign and his fifth this month. Ozuna added two leadoff singles in the contest, marking his second consecutive three-hit performance and his sixth multi-hit effort in his last 10 games overall. Over that latter stretch, he's batting .428 (18-for-42) with four homers, seven RBI and nine runs scored.

Pederson is absent from Sunday's lineup against Tampa Bay.

Despite right-hander Drew Rasmussen taking the mound for the Rays in Sunday's series finale, the lefty-hitting Pederson will begin the contest in the dugout. Since the All-Star break, Pederson is slashing .345/.478/.745 with 13 runs scored, six home runs and 16 RBI across 71 plate appearances. Randal Grichuk will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth.

Marte is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Tampa Bay.

After sitting out for three games due a low-grade ankle sprain, Marte returned to the lineup Saturday and went 1-for-3 with a walk. He'll sit for the series finale as he gets eased back into things, with Kevin Newman starting at second base and batting ninth.

Yepez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Philadelphia, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.

Yepez is mired in a 2-for-22 slump over the past six games and will head to the bench Sunday after making 37 straight starts. Travis Blankenhorn will bat eighth as the designated hitter in the series finale versus the Phillies.

Machado went 4-for-4 with a walk, a double and a run in Saturday's 8-3 win against Colorado.

Machado had gone 1-for-14 over his previous four games before posting the big effort Saturday. It was the third time this season that the veteran third baseman has recorded four hits in a game. Since July 17, Machado is slashing .343/.377/.643 with five homers, six doubles, 17 RBI, 13 runs and a stolen base over 17 contests.

Martinez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Martinez has a .208/.333/.354 slash line through 14 games in August and will sit Sunday after starting the previous nine contests. Jesse Winker will serve as the designated hitter while Starling Marte (knee) is in right field in his return from the injured list.

Brasier pitched 1.1 perfect innings out of the bullpen in Saturday's loss to the Cardinals.

Brasier took over for starter Bobby Miller with a runner on third base and two outs in the fifth inning and retired Nolan Arenado to end the threat. Brasier then returned to the mound in the sixth and needed just five pitches to set the side down in order. This was the righty reliever's first major-league game action since April 27. He appears to be past the calf injury that necessitated a stay on the 60-day IL.

Wicks (oblique) struck out three and allowed four earned runs on five hits and two walks in his second rehab start Thursday with Triple-A Iowa. "He's got a minimum of two [rehab starts] left before he's kind of ready to pitch for us regardless," Cubs manager Craig Counsell told MLB.com on Friday, when asked about a timeline for Wicks to return from the 60-day injured list. "So, he's got time left. I think at the start of it, health is most important. And as we get closer to making a decision, then results start to get factored in more, absolutely."

Wicks has been on the IL since mid-June with a Grade 2 right oblique strain, but he's been able to steadily ramp up his workload over his first two rehab starts, tossing 43 pitches Aug. 10 and 59 pitches Thursday. The results haven't been impressive, however, as Wicks has covered just 3.2 innings between those outings while giving up 10 earned runs on nine hits -- including four home runs -- and four walks. Counsell expressed confidence that Wicks will be able to knock off the rust in his subsequent rehab outings, and the fact that the skipper notes that the lefty will make at least two more starts in the minors suggests that Wicks probably won't be activated until the final weekend of August, at the earliest. Kyle Hendricks should continue to hold down a spot at the back end of the Chicago rotation while Wicks is on the farm.