MLB Player News

The Diamondbacks will recall Locklear from Triple-A Reno prior to Friday's game versus the Cardinals, Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic reports.

He will absorb the roster spot vacated by Tommy Troy (shoulder), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday. Locklear missed the first month-plus of the season while continuing his recovery from left shoulder and left elbow surgeries, but he's been swinging a red-hot bat at Reno in July, going 19-for-43 (.442) with five homers in 11 games. He could see regular playing time between first base and/or designated hitter.

Harper went 1-for-5 with a run scored in Sunday's win over the Tigers.

Harper is entering the All-Star break in quite a rough slump. Over his last 14 games, the star first baseman has gone just 8-for-51 (.157) with one home run, three doubles, seven RBI and four runs scored. Fantasy managers will be hoping Harper, who's slashing what's still a potent .260/.365/.497 with 20 homers, 57 RBI and five stolen bases over 408 plate appearances, rediscovers his power stroke following Monday's Home Run Derby.

Busch went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Reds.

Busch laced his 16th and 17th doubles of the season to help lead Chicago to victory, and he hit them both against southpaw Andrew Abbott to boot. The first baseman goes into the break with five hits across his last two games, but it's mostly been an underwhelming first half following his breakout 2025. Busch has a .763 OPS, 11 home runs and 49 RBI across 95 contests so far this year. In 2025, he finished with an .866 OPS, 34 homers and 90 RBI in 155 regular-season games.

Ortiz was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.

Ortiz was called up to the big-league roster and made his major-league debut Sunday, going 1-for-2 with a double before he was replaced by pinch-hitter Curtis Mead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ortiz will now head back to Rochester and will await his next chance with the Nationals.

France will start at first base and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

France will receive a third consecutive start and appears to have leapfrogged Miguel Andujar for the final opening in the Padres' regular lineup versus right-handed pitching. Since the beginning of July, France is hitting .250 with three extra-base hits, three RBI and two runs over eight games.

Young is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

The Mets will keep Young on the bench for a second straight day against another lefty starter in Payton Tolle. Eric Wagaman will serve as the first baseman once again and bat cleanup.

The Nationals recalled Ortiz from Triple-A Rochester on Sunday. He'll start at designated hitter and bat third in the series finale against the Yankees.

Heading into spring training, Ortiz looked like he had a chance to break camp with the big club, but he ended up spending the first three-plus months of the season at Rochester. The 24-year-old will now see his first action with the Nationals in the final game before the All-Star break, earning his chance after slashing .239/.336/.496 with 17 home runs across 304 plate appearances at Triple-A. Ortiz could end up settling into the strong side of a platoon at DH if the Nationals are willing to move Jacob Young into a fourth outfielder role and commit to Dylan Crews as their primary option in center field.

France went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a second RBI and two total runs scored in Saturday's 8-7 win over the Blue Jays.

France hit a sacrifice fly during the first inning and added his solo shot to put the Padres ahead for good in the sixth. This was his sixth multi-hit effort over his last 13 games, a span in which he has gone 15-for-44 (.341) with six extra-base hits. For the season, the first baseman is batting .265 with an .811 OPS, 11 homers, 32 RBI, 23 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples and one stolen base over 69 games.

Vargas isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

Vargas will sit down for the beginning of Saturday's game after going 1-for-5 with three strikeouts in the series opener. His absence will open up first base for Tim Tawa.

The Pirates activated Gonzalez to the major-league roster Saturday.

Gonzalez had been at Triple-A when the White Sox traded him to Pittsburgh on Friday, but he'll officially return to the majors to begin his tenure with the Pirates. He won't be in the lineup for the final game of Saturday's doubleheader, though Injuries to Spencer Horwitz (hamstring) and Konnor Griffin (finger) could open up opportunities for Gonzalez to get starting reps with Pittsburgh.