MLB Player News

The Royals optioned Garcia to Double-A Northwest Arkansas following Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

Kansas City needed to open up space on the 26-man active roster with 10 players set to return from the restricted list in advance of the team's first game out of the All-Star break next weekend, so Garcia was a logical candidate to return to the minors. After his call-up Thursday when a wave of players were deactivated for the series in Toronto due to their vaccination statuses, Garcia appeared in only one of the Royals' four games against the Blue Jays and struck out in his lone plate appearance.

Nevin went 1-for-2 with an RBI in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings win over the Rays.

Nevin hadn't played in a week before getting the start at third base Saturday. With the Orioles' infield in good health, the 25-year-old has mainly seen a reserve role in July. He's gone 4-for-14 (.286) this month and is slashing ,191/.306/.260 with two home runs, 15 RBI and 17 runs scored through 157 plate appearances overall.

Rosario has hit .357/.442/.760 -- good for a 1.201 OPS -- with 11 home runs, five steals and a 20:24 BB:K across his last 33 games for Triple-A El Paso.

Thanks to a frigid start to the season (.632 OPS in his first 51 games), Rosario's 2022 batting line still sits at a fair .275/.366/.492, but it's clear that a light has come on for him over the past month-plus. He's seemingly on the doorstep of the majors, but it's hard to see where the Padres have room to play him. Rosario has played second, third and shortstop in the minors this year, but he's best suited for third, as he's been far too error prone up the middle to play there consistently in the big leagues. In addition, he's blocked at third by Manny Machado, so there's a chance that Rosario could be used as trade bait at this year's deadline.

Arenado (back) will serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 4 batter in Sunday's game against the Reds, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

After he was held out of the lineup for Saturday's 11-3 win with lower-back tightness, Arenado ended up pulling out the upcoming All-Star Game, with Atlanta's Austin Riley called upon to replace him on the National League roster. Though Arenado showed enough improvement to re-enter the lineup in a non-defensive role for the Cardinals' final game of the second half, he'll still sit out the Midsummer Classic. The back injury has lingered for more than a month, but Arenado expects that the time off during the break will allow him to be healthy and productive throughout the second half, according to Denton.

Miranda will start at third base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the White Sox, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Miranda will crack the lineup for the fourth time in five games, this time filling in for a resting Gio Urshela at the hot corner. The designated-hitter spot may represent Miranda's clearest path to a full-time gig at the moment, as Gary Sanchez is expected to move off the non-defensive role to take over as the Twins' No. 1 catcher with Ryan Jeffers (thumb) having been placed on the injured list earlier this weekend. The Twins should get Miguel Sano (knee) back from the 60-day IL following the All-Star break, however, with he and Miranda likely to vie for one spot in the team's everyday lineup.

Devers went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 14-1 loss to the Yankees.

Devers gave Boston a 1-0 lead two batters into the game, but that was the extent of the Red Sox's opposition. Xander Bogaerts followed with a single, then the lineup didn't get another hit until Kevin Plawecki's double in the ninth inning. Devers, an All-Star starter at third base, has launched a home run in three straight games and leads the team with 22.

Candelario is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Guardians.

Candelario will be on the bench for the third game in a row as the Tigers play their final contest before the All-Star break. Willi Castro, who appears to have overtaken Candelario on the depth chart at third base, will start at the hot corner and bat eighth in the series finale.

Donaldson will sit Sunday against the Red Sox.

Donaldson will get a breather after he went 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in his first game back Saturday following a minor hand injury. DJ LeMahieu will start at third base while Matt Carpenter enters the lineup at designated hitter and bats fifth in the series finale.

Urshela is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the White Sox.

Urshela will take a seat after he went 1-for-3 with a double and walk in Saturday's victory. Jose Miranda will draw the start at third base and bat seventh in the series finale.

Rivera is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Rivera looked as though he would have a clear path to starting in all four of the Royals' games in Toronto after 10 players were placed on the restricted list prior to Thursday's series opener, but the 26-year-old will end up sitting for the second day in a row. Michael Massey will pick up another start in place of Rivera, who will head into the All-Star break with a .231/.282/.407 slash line if he doesn't get used off the bench Sunday.