MLB Player News

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Monday that Gallo (hamstring) has started a light running program, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Gallo suffered a significant hamstring strain June 11 and has been on the 10-day injured list ever since. The running program is the first substantial step in his recovery and he'll likely have to ramp up his workload over a series of days prior to being considered for a rehab assignment.

Bell is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.

Bell will hit the bench for the first time all season, ending a streak of 77 consecutive starts. He'll be getting a breather after he concluded the Marlins' weekend series versus the Mariners with a pair of hitless performances that brought his season-long average down to .246. Jake Burger steps in at first base in place of Bell.

Black is not in the lineup for Monday's tilt versus the Rangers.

Black was in the lineup for each of the last four games against right-handers following his recall from Triple-A Nashville, but he'll begin this one on the bench as the Rangers send righty Michael Lorenzen to the bump. Rhys Hoskins is at first base and Christian Yelich will occupy the designated hitter spot.

Casas received an MRI on Monday to check the healing of his injured ribs, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The results aren't expected to be known until Tuesday, but Casas noted that he's feeling good and should have a "quick turnaround" before he resumes swinging a bat, per Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald. Casas has been doing some baseball activities but hasn't progressed as quickly as hoped. He's continuing to aim for a return from the 60-day injured list early next week, but even if the MRI yields favorable results, Casas could still face an uphill battle to make it back by his target date.

Goldschmidt is absent from the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.

Goldschmidt will take a seat for the first time since May 9 and just the third time all season. Alec Burleson will start at first base Monday while Goldschmidt receives some rest.

Joe is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Reds.

Joe is on the bench for the Pirates' third straight matchup with a right-handed starting pitcher (Carson Spiers) and looks to have faded into a short-side platoon role. Edward Olivares looks to have overtaken Joe as the Pirates' preferred option in right field versus righties.

Mountcastle is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians.

Mountcastle appears to be getting a routine breather for the series opener versus the Guardians after he had started in each of Baltimore's last nine games while slashing .282/.310/.385 with seven RBI and six runs. With Mountcastle taking a seat, Ryan O'Hearn will pick up a start at first base.

The Mariners optioned Locklear to Triple-A Tacoma on Monday.

Locklear will cede his spot on the 26-man active roster to second baseman Jorge Polanco (hamstring), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. The demotion doesn't come as a major surprise, as Locklear logged just three plate appearances while starting in only one of the Mariners' last six games following Ty France's return from the IL last Tuesday.

Rice went 2-for-3 in Sunday's loss to Atlanta.

Rice was one of two Yankees with multiple hits in the contest, and it was the first multi-hit effort of his career. The 25-year-old started at first base for the fifth time in six contests since being called up, and three of those games have been against left-handed starters, against whom he's gone just 1-for-9. Rice has otherwise held his own overall in going 5-for-17 with a 3:3 BB:K, but he'll likely begin yielding some starts against southpaws to J.D. Davis, whom the Yankees acquired Sunday.

Toglia went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Nationals.

Toglia got the Rockies on the board first, launching a solo homer off Jake Irvin in the second inning. However, Colorado would go scoreless the rest of the way, and a pair of ninth-inning runs by the Nationals resulted in a Rockies loss. Toglia has been a mainstay in the Colorado lineup since being called up June 6 and has three home runs in his last nine games.