MLB Player News

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Reds.

Smith has been surprisingly productive this season with an .852 OPS through 27 games, but he'll take a seat for Sunday's contest. Davis Wendzel will step in at the hot corner and bat seventh.

Garcia went 2-for-5 with two RBI, a stolen base and one run scored in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Tigers.

Garcia struggled in the middle of April, but he's now logged four multi-hit efforts over his last five games. He's added three steals and five RBI in that span while continuing to sit atop the Royals' order. The third baseman is slashing .222/.277/.380 with four home runs, seven steals, 20 RBI and 13 runs scored over 27 contests this season.

Dalbec went 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 17-0 win over the Cubs.

Dalbec's bat, like many others in the lineup, came alive in the blowout win. His season-opening struggles are epic -- zero hits in his first 19 at-bats and one in the first 32 -- but the corner infielder now has a four-game hit streak (5-for-15). However, it may be too late save his job as the team's primary fill-in at first base while Triston Casas (ribs, 60-day IL) is sidelined. The Red Sox acquired Garrett Cooper from the Cubs on Saturday, and he is expected to get the bulk of the starts at first base until Casas is ready to return. Cooper is expected to be activated in time for Tuesday's series opener against the Giants.

Toro is out of the lineup for Sunday's game in Baltimore.

Toro will have a streak of four straight starts come to an end as Ryan Noda returns to the lineup at first base and Max Schuemann gets the nod at the keystone. Over the previous four contests, Toro went 2-for-13 with a double and an RBI.

Westburg is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Westburg started the past 16 games and posted a 1.057 OPS during that stretch, but he'll receive a breather Sunday while in the midst of a 4-for-20 slump. Jorge Mateo will step in at the keystone and bat ninth.

Wendzel entered Saturday's 8-4 loss to the Reds late and went 1-for-1 with a two-run home run in his lone plate appearance.

The game was out of hand by the time Wendzel replaced second baseman Marcus Semien in the top of the ninth inning. He delivered a two-run shot as part of a four-run inning that made the game closer than it appeared. Wendzel has made four starts since his contract was selected earlier this month, with the most recent start coming April 19.

Ramirez went 1-for-4 with one RBI, a walk, a stolen base and one run scored in Saturday's 4-2 extra-innings win over Atlanta.

Ramirez didn't run much early in the campaign, but he's gotten back to it with all four of his steals this year coming over the last eight games. He's gone 9-for-32 (.281) in that span while adding nine RBI and four extra-base hits. Overall, the star third baseman is doing fine with a .259/.276/.455 slash line, five home runs, 24 RBI and 19 runs scored over 116 plate appearances.

Davis (thigh/groin) joined Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday to partake in baseball activities and is expected to serve as the designated hitter for the Aviators on Sunday, MLB.com reports.

Davis has been sidelined since sustaining his injury April 14, but he'd been ramping up physical activity in recent days. Manager Mark Kotsay said Saturday the plan is for Davis to rejoin the Athletics on Monday, at which point it will be determined whether he'll need to play in more rehab games or if he's ready to be activated from the injured list.

Sano said after Saturday's 16-5 loss to the Twins that he's day-to-day after an MRI revealed inflammation in his left knee, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Sano looks to have avoided a major setback with his surgically repaired left knee. He exited games Wednesday and Friday due to soreness, and Angels manager Ron Washington told Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register that the left knee had contributed to Sano's recent struggles at the plate. While Sano says he's day-to-day, it wouldn't be surprising if he remained out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale with Minnesota, and a stint on the injured list can't be completely ruled out.

Farmer went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's victory over the Angels.

Farmer finally showed signs of breaking out of a terrible slump as he was hitting .100 (5-for-50) with a .390 OPS in his first 21 games. Farmer is splitting playing time at third base with Jose Miranda, with Royce Lewis (quad) and Carlos Correa (oblique) injured. Farmer will likely move to more of a bench role when Correa returns in the next few days with Willi Castro likely to get the most playing time at third base.