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Oswaldo Cabrera SS | CIN
Yankees' Oswaldo Cabrera: Heading to bench Thursday
Cabrera is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.
Cabrera has been the Yankees' preferred option at third base all season, but he's started to cede more work of late to Jon Berti, who will occupy the hot corner for the fourth time in six games Thursday. Given that he holds a 129-point advantage in OPS over Berti for the season, Cabrera should still be the favored option more often than not, but both will see their opportunities take a hit once DJ LeMahieu (foot) eventually returns from the injured list to make his 2024 debut.
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Jose Miranda 3B | MIN
Twins' Jose Miranda: Takes seat Thursday
Miranda is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.
Miranda had started at third base in seven of the previous eight contests, but he'll cede the hot corner to Willi Castro in the series finale. Though Miranda has posted an .832 OPS over his last 15 games, his opportunities could soon take a hit with Byron Buxton (knee) having kicked off a rehab assignment and potentially returning from the 10-day injured list as soon as this weekend. Castro has been serving as Buxton's primary replacement in the outfield, but Castro will likely see more time at third base at Miranda's expense once Buxton is activated.
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Joseph Ortiz SS | MIL
Brewers' Joey Ortiz: Homers Wednesday
Ortiz went 2-for-2 with a solo homer, two walks and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Pirates.
Ortiz is now 5-for-10 with three extra-base hits and a .615 OBP over his last three games while securing the everyday third-base job in Milwaukee. Overall, the 25-year-old Ortiz is slashing .277/.384/.511 with four homers, 12 RBI, 13 runs scored and a stolen base through 37 games this season.
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Santiago Espinal 3B | TEX
Reds' Santiago Espinal: Pops homer in loss
Espinal went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Epsinal cracked his second home run of the season in the fifth inning and has hit safely in five straight games, going 6-for-15. The infielder is playing more than originally projected, filling in at second base for Matt McLain (shoulder) or third for Noelvi Marte (suspension), but Espinal's .200 average and .536 OPS are not enticing.
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Rafael Devers 1B | SF
Red Sox's Rafael Devers: Clubs homer in loss
Devers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday in a loss to the Rays.
Devers' sixth-inning solo shot brought Boston to within a run, but it ended up being the final tally for either team. The long ball extended the third baseman's on-base streak to nine contests, and he's hitting .270 with two homers, five RBI and five runs over that stretch. On a less positive note, Devers has struck out at least once in 12 straight games, and his 24.1 percent strikeout rate is on pace to be his worst mark since the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
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Jordan Westburg 2B | BAL
Orioles' Jordan Westburg: Blasts leadoff homer
Westburg went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.
Westburg made manager Brandon Hyde look smart -- this was Westburg's first big-league game at leadoff, and he hit a homer in his first at-bat. The infielder is 11-for-32 (.344) over his last eight games, adding six extra-base hits and seven RBI in that span. For the season, he's slashing .301/.354/.534 with seven homers, 28 RBI, 22 runs scored and five stolen bases through 159 plate appearances. Westburg may get more looks at leadoff versus southpaws, but he should be expected to bat lower in the lineup versus right-handers, as he has yet to above sixth in the order against same-handed pitchers this season.
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Nick Madrigal 2B | TB
Cubs' Nick Madrigal: Three-hit effort in win
Madrigal went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's 7-1 win over Atlanta.
All three hits were singles as Madrigal earned his fourth multi-hit effort in 39 contests this season. The infielder is slashing .234/.300/.281 with no home runs, nine RBI, four runs scored and one stolen base over 69 plate appearances. Madrigal had been limited to a bench role for much of the season, but he's receiving more playing time while Dansby Swanson (knee) is on the injured list and Nico Hoerner (hamstring) is out of the lineup.
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Josh Jung 3B | TEX
Rangers' Josh Jung: Plays catch Wednesday
Jung (wrist) played catch on the field prior to Wednesday's game against the Guardians, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.
Playing catch amounts to Jung's first known baseball activity since he underwent surgery April 2 to address a fractured right wrist. While being able to throw with his surgically repaired wrist is a step in the right direction, hitting high-velocity pitching will be the real test for Jung. He still looks to be a week or more away from doing that, as Rangers general manager Chris Young previously said that Jung is facing an 8-to-10-week recovery timeline after more damage to his wrist than expected was detected when surgery was performed, per MLB.com. Fantasy managers shouldn't bank on Jung returning from the IL until around early-to-mid June in a best-case scenario.
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Austin Riley 3B | ATL
Braves' Austin Riley: Sitting in third straight game
Riley (side) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
He'll miss out on a third straight start while he manages left side inflammation, but with the benefit of some added rest in the form of a team off day Thursday, Riley could be healthy enough to rejoin the starting nine for Friday's series opener versus the Padres. Zack Short will make another start at third base in Riley's place Wednesday.
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Junior Caminero 3B | TB
Rays' Junior Caminero: Draws start at second base in minors
Caminero made his first start of the season at second base with Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and went 3-for-6 with a home run, two RBI and an additional run.
The start at second base came on the same day Brandon Lowe visited a specialist due to continued concerns with his right oblique. Lowe ultimately received good news, and the expectation is that he will be able to resume his rehab assignment with Durham soon. However, it's notable that the Rays seem to be prepping Caminero as a contingency plan at second base, a position he hadn't started a game at since 2022. Caminero is slashing a robust .316/.385/.582 with seven long balls on the season. Prior to Tuesday, he had been exclusively playing third base for Durham.