MLB Player News

Tauchman is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest in Cincinnati.

Tauchman has now been out of the lineup each of the last four times the Cubs have faced a lefty dating back to May 22, and he also was on the bench once versus a righty over that span. Christopher Morel is getting a start at designated hitter while Patrick Wisdom plays third base.

Hoerner is not in Friday's lineup in Cincinnati after being hit on the hand by a pitch during Thursday's win over the White Sox, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Hoerner was struck by a pitch in the fourth inning Thursday but finished the game. He underwent a precautionary X-ray afterward, which evidently came back clean. However, he could be dealing with some residual soreness. David Bote will handle second base Friday.

Gray (elbow) will throw 50-55 pitches during a rehab start with Single-A Fredericksburg on Sunday, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Gray got up to 76 pitches during a live BP session Tuesday but will have a smaller workload in his first rehab appearance. If all goes well Sunday, the right-hander will head to Double-A Harrisburg for another rehab start. Gray will likely need at least one more outing after the start at Double-A , making late June a feasible timeline for his return.

Wicks (forearm) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list Friday, Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Wicks will be back with the Cubs for the first time since late April after sustaining a forearm strain in his throwing arm. He's completed 3.1 innings in each of his last two rehab starts and was stretched out to 65 pitches in his latest appearance. While Wicks previously served as the Cubs' fifth starter, rookie Ben Brown has impressed as part of the rotation and could push Wicks to the bullpen. Before going down, Wicks had a 4.70 ERA across 23.0 innings.

The Cubs optioned Hodge to Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Ryan Herrera of CHGO Sports reports.

Hodge flashed both his wipeout stuff (seven strikeouts) and control problems (four walks) during his first five major-league innings. He'll get another chance eventually, but for now he'll attempt more fine-tuning at Iowa.

Benson is not in the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Cubs.

The left-handed hitting Benson will take a seat as the Cubs send southpaw Justin Steele to the hill. Blake Dunn, TJ Friedl and Stuart Fairchild will handle outfield duties for the Reds on Friday.

Rosario is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus Atlanta.

It's the third time in four games that Rosario has been out of the lineup. Two of those have been against lefties -- including Friday -- but Rosario also sat out Thursday's contest versus a right-hander. Jesse Winker and Lane Thomas will handle corner outfield duties for the Nationals on Friday.

Gallo is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.

Gallo started against a lefty earlier this week, but he will begin Friday's game on the bench as Atlanta turns to southpaw Chris Sale as its starting pitcher. Joey Meneses will start at first base for the Nationals.

Martinez is batting ninth and playing right field Friday against the Nationals.

Martinez will make his first start since being called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on May 27. Jarred Kelenic (wrist) is dealing with a minor injury and Ronald Acuna (knee) is out for the season, so Friday's start might not be a one-off for Martinez.

Junis (shoulder/head) struck out three over two perfect innings in his rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Nashville.

According to MLB.com, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said that Junis reported no issues with his shoulder coming out of the rehab appearance, his first at any level since he was placed on the injured list April 6. The Brewers haven't yet decided on a role for Junis once he's ready to come off the 60-day IL, but with injuries beginning to pile up in the rotation, the right-hander could slot into a starting role once he gets fully stretched out in the minors. After throwing 21 pitches Tuesday, Junis is expected to increase his workload when he makes his second appearance for Nashville on Saturday.