MLB Player News

Casas is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt in Houston, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Casas is not dealing with any known injury, but it's odd to see him not starting versus a right-hander, especially after he just missed two games over the weekend with a tooth infection. Justin Turner is at first base Thursday, with Masataka Yoshida in the designated hitter spot.

Abreu is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Red Sox, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Abreu started Wednesday in his first game back off the injured list, but he'll yield to Jon Singleton on Thursday. The veteran first baseman had missed a couple weeks of action with a nagging back issue.

Steer went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in the first game of the Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of the Angels. He added a hit, two walks and an RBI in the nightcap.

Steer has hit safely in four consecutive games and has at least one RBI in three straight. He's driven in 12 runs during August, placing him atop the club with 70 RBI for the season. Steer, who has bounced around the order all season, has primarily batted cleanup this month.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Yankees on Wednesday.

Washington managed only three hits against a trio of New York pitchers, and Smith's ninth-inning solo shot accounted for the team's only run of the game. The long ball was the first for Smith since the All-Star break, though he's posted a .279 batting average over 111 at-bats during that span. Despite that decent mark, Smith doesn't produce enough to be a reliable fantasy asset -- he has just six homers, 34 RBI and one stolen base over 123 contests on the campaign.

Flores went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional RBI and a walk in Wednesday's 8-6 extra-inning win over the Phillies.

Flores opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo shot and added an RBI single in the third. He's hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 10-for-30 (.333) with three homers and seven RBI in that span. The infielder is up to 18 long balls, 46 RBI, 43 runs scored and a .304/.365/.545 slash line through 95 contests this season. He remains an option primarily at designated hitter and the corner infield spots.

Votto isn't in the Reds' lineup for the second half of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Angels, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Left-hander Reid Detmers will take the mound for Los Angeles, so Votto will retreat to the bench for the start of Wednesday's nightcap. Christian Encarnacion-Strand will start at first base, and Spencer Steer will serve as the Reds' DH.

Raley is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The lefty-hitting Raley will retreat to the bench while the Rockies bring southpaw Austin Gomber to the hill Wednesday. The Rays will roll out a starting outfield of Randy Arozarena, Jose Siri and Josh Lowe from left to right while Harold Ramirez serves as the team's designated hitter.

Schanuel is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Reds.

Schanuel will take a seat for the first time since his promotion from Double-A Rocket City on Friday. He started at first base and served as the Angels' leadoff man in each of the past four games, going 4-for-15 with four base hits, two walks and four runs. The lefty-hitting Schanuel's absence from the lineup for the first game of the day comes with southpaw Andrew Abbott on the hill for Cincinnati, but so long as he can retain a regular spot atop the order versus righties, the 21-year-old rookie could be an excellent source of runs while batting in front of Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.

Houston activated Abreu (back) from the 10-day injured list Wednesday. He'll start at first base and bat sixth in the Astros' game against the Red Sox.

Abreu will return to action after missing about two weeks due to lower-back inflammation. He was in a 3-for-35 rut at the dish prior to the IL stint and has struggled to a .234/.291/.343 batting line in 464 total plate appearances overall this season.

Calhoun is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Calhoun will hit the bench Wednesday while Guardians manager Terry Francona stocks up on right-handed bats to counter Dodgers southpaw Clayton Kershaw. Gabriel Arias will step in at first base in place of Calhoun, who has slugged home runs in both of his last two starts.