MLB Player News

Tellez isn't in the Pirates' lineup for Saturday's game against the Guardians.

With southpaw Matthew Boyd slated to throw the first pitch for Cleveland, the lefty-hitting Tellez will step out of Saturday's starting nine. Connor Joe will start at first base and bat sixth.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Cardinals that Rizzo (forearm) will "likely" be activated Sunday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rizzo has been out since mid-June with a fractured right forearm, but he is now on the verge of activation after a handful of rehab games in the minors. While Rizzo's performance has declined dramatically in recent years, he figures to slot back in as the team's primary first baseman, especially with fill-in Ben Rice struggling mightily of late. Rizzo sits with a .223/.289/.341 slash line and eight homers through 291 plate appearances this season.

Naylor (ankle) will serve as the designated hitter and bat cleanup against the Pirates on Saturday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

A bruised left ankle forced Naylor from Friday's game, but apparently he'll be able to tough it out with the help of the DH tag. He was in the midst of a brutally cold stretch in mid-to-late August, but Naylor has turned it on recently with six hits in his last two games.

Diaz (knee) isn't in the Rays' lineup for Saturday's game against the Padres, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

After exiting Friday's game in the fourth inning due to left knee patellar tendinitis, Diaz will take an extra day off to recover. The 33-year-old first baseman said Saturday that his knee still hurts a bit, though his treatment has helped his condition, and he expects to be back in the lineup within the next several days, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. In the meantime, Brandon Lowe will cover first base in Diaz's place while Christopher Morel fields second and Jonathan Aranda serves as the DH.

Yepez isn't in the Nationals' lineup Saturday versus the Cubs.

Yepez was held hitless in three at-bats during Friday's contest, and he'll now receive a day off against Javier Assad and the Cubs. Andres Chaparro will serve as Washington's DH instead, allowing Joey Gallo to pick up a start at first base.

Soderstrom (wrist) continues in his hitting progression and could next hit foam balls off a pitching machine in coming days, Stephen Hawkins of the Associated Press reports.

The first baseman is making progress without any reported setbacks, keeping him on track for a return at some point before the end of the regular season. Soderstrom could begin hitting off the machine before the weekend is out, and if that step in the recovery process goes off without issue, a progression to swinging at baseballs may be next.

Rice isn't in the Yankees' lineup Saturday against the Cardinals.

Rice went 0-for-3 in Friday's series opener after missing four consecutive games, and he'll take a seat again Saturday even though the right-handed Kyle Gibson will start on the hill for St. Louis. Oswaldo Cabrera will fill in as New York's first baseman and bat ninth.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 9-2 loss to the Athletics.

Lowe tied the game at 1-1 with his solo blast in the second inning. The home run snapped a couple of droughts; it was his first home run in 17 games and first RBI in 15 contests. Lowe owns a .207/.284/.304 line during August.

Bell went 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 10-9 loss to the Dodgers.

Since receiving a day off Aug. 19, Bell has gone 12-for-33 (.364) over his last nine contests. He's picked up three RBI and scored six runs in that span, but all 12 of those hits have been singles -- the first baseman doesn't have an extra-base hit since a double Aug. 13. For the year, Bell is slashing .246/.314/.408 with 18 home runs, 61 RBI, 55 runs scored and 22 doubles over 129 contests between Arizona and Miami.

Freeman went 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's 10-9 win over the Diamondbacks.

Freeman is contending with a hairline fracture in his right middle finger, which was the reason he sat out the Dodgers' previous three games. His two-run homer in the first inning was his first long ball since Aug. 9, with the finger injury a contributor to that power drought. Friday's win put the Dodgers five games ahead of Arizona in the NL West, and the team could take a cautious approach with Freeman if it locks up a division crown early in September. The first baseman has a .283/.380/.478 slash line with 18 homers, 76 RBI, 71 runs scored, 31 doubles, two triples and six stolen bases over 123 games this season.