Porter will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Guardians.

Porter will receive his second straight turn behind the dish and could operate as the Royals' primary backstop for at least the next week after Kansas City placed Salvador Perez (concussion) on the 7-day injured list and transferred Freddy Fermin (finger) to the 60-day IL on Monday. Since getting called up from Triple-A Omaha on Sept. 11, Porter has started his big-league career on a high note, going 4-for-10 with a home run and a double.

Dalbec started at first base and went 1-for-3 in Sunday's 3-2 loss to Toronto.

Dalbec was summoned from Triple-A Worcester after Boston placed Triston Casas (shoulder) on the injured list. Dalbec mashed for the WooSox, slugging .557 with 33 home runs and 80 RBI over 114 games. Hitting Triple-A pitching, however, has never been the issue. The 28-year-old maintains a .232/.298/.452 slash line over 915 plate appearances in the majors. While Dalbec could get regular work in the final weeks of the season, he does not have a path to a regular gig in 2024.

Gray went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Orioles.

Making the start at shortstop following his call-up Saturday, Gray picked up his first big-league hit in the fifth inning before launching his first home run off Jorge Lopez in the eighth, putting Tampa Bay ahead 2-1. The 27-year-old Gray displayed some impressive power in Triple-A this year, hitting 28 homers in 127 games. His stint in the majors may be brief, however, as Taylor Walls (personal) is due to return from the paternity list Tuesday.

Kirilloff is not in the lineup Sunday versus the White Sox.

Kirilloff, who returned Sept. 9 from a shoulder injury, will get a breather Sunday. Since the 25-year-old's return, he is 7-for-25. Kyle Farmer will take his place in the lineup.

Pratto is absent from the lineup Sunday against Houston.

Matt Duffy will start at first base and bat fifth versus the Astros and left-hander Framber Valdez. The left-handed-hitting Pratto went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI sac fly and a run scored in the Royals' 10-8 win Saturday.

Mountcastle (shoulder) remains out of the lineup Sunday versus the Rays.

Mountcastle has missed the Orioles' entire four-game series against Tampa Bay after tweaking his left shoulder Wednesday versus the Cardinals. The good news is that imaging scans taken Thursday showed no structural damage, and he is not currently an IL candidate. The 26-year-old has been swinging on the side as he fights through a bit of lingering discomfort and could return to action at some point during the O's upcoming three-game set at Houston, which begins Monday.

Calhoun is absent from the lineup Sunday versus the Rangers.

Jose Ramirez will take a turn in the DH role for the Guardians as Steven Kwan, Ramon Laureano and Will Brennan start across the outfield. Calhoun went 2-for-8 with a two-run homer across the first two games of the three-game weekend series.

France went 2-for-4 in an extra-innings loss to the Dodgers on Saturday, pushing his average over the last five games to .353 (6-for-17).

All six of France's hits during that span have been singles, but he reached safely in all five contests to push his season on-base percentage to an impressive .340. However, the veteran infielder's current surge still leaves his season average at a middling .252 -- way off the .285 figure he's averaged over the last three seasons -- with the downturn at least partly attributable to a small bump in strikeout rate to 18.1 percent from tallies of 16.3 percent and 15.4 percent in the prior pair of campaigns.

Guerrero went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Red Sox. He also walked three times in the contest.

Guerrero walked in each of his first two trips to the plate before crushing a leadoff homer to open the bottom of the seventh to bring the Blue Jays back within one run of Boston. It marked the first baseman's third consecutive game with a home run and his second game in a row with two hits. He's now hit safely in four straight, driving in six runs over that stretch to go along with four runs scored.

Porter went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 10-8 win over the Astros.

Porter began the game on the bench but entered as a result of an injury to Salvador Perez. The veteran catcher left the game in the fifth inning after a Jose Altuve foul tip ricocheted off Perez's facemask, and Porter took over behind the plate one batter later. The 28-year-old took advantage of the opportunity when he ripped a slider from Joel Kuhnel deep to left field for his first career homer in his second MLB game. Perez is thought to have avoided a concussion, but if he misses further action, Porter is the only other healthy backstop on the Royals' roster with MJ Melendez having made a full-time transition to the outfield earlier in the season.