MLB Player News

Miller (back) is nearing a return to swinging a bat, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Miller has been "doing everything except for swinging," according to Phillies manager Rob Thomson, including fielding ground balls. The team is hoping to get the 21-year-old back swinging a bat this week as he continues to work his way back from lower-back soreness, which has plagued him since February.

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

It's the first game off of the season for Perdomo, who has a .229/.325/.314 slash line though 21 contests. The veteran shortstop went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's victory, though overall it was an up-and-down performance as he was thrown out on the bases twice and also had a key defensive miscue. Manager Torey Lovullo said that Perdomo's absence from the lineup Sunday isn't a punishment but simply an opportunity to get him a much-needed day off, per Alex D'Agostino of SI.com. Perdomo could still make an appearance off the bench.

Tovar is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Tovar will hit the bench for only the second time in the Rockies' first 22 games. Willi Castro (hand) will return to the starting nine following a three-game absence, filling in for Tovar at shortstop.

Castro (hand) will start at shortstop and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Castro will re-enter the starting nine for the first time since Wednesday, after a right hand contusion had limited him to a bench role over the Rockies' previous three contests. The Rockies have deployed Castro primarily at second base this season, but he'll cover shortstop Sunday while Ezequiel Tovar receives the afternoon off.

Saggese is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

Saggese is on the bench for the fourth game in a row and appears to have lost his grip on a regular spot in the lineup while mustering a weak .533 OPS across 47 plate appearances. Nathan Church has leapfrogged him on the depth chart after going 5-for-11 with a double, a walk, two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI over the last three contests.

The Astros placed Loperfido on the 10-day injured list Sunday due to a right quadriceps strain.

The 26-year-old sustained the quad injury during Friday's 9-4 loss to the Cardinals. Loperfido will be eligible to be reinstated April 28, and Astros general manager Dana Brown said during a radio appearance Sunday that he's optimistic that the 26-year-old outfielder will be ready to return at that time, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. In the meantime, the Astros will likely lean on Brice Matthews, Dustin Harris and Shay Whitcomb to pick up reps in left field in Loperfido's absence.

Perdomo went 3-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's 6-2 win over Toronto.

It was an uneven performance from Perdomo. He extended a hit streak to four games (8-for-16) but was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, was nearly picked off first base, and had a defensive miscue that led to the Blue Jays tying the game in the sixth inning. Aside from the negative plays, it's encouraging to see Perdomo's bat finding life after a slow start to the season. His batting average climbed to .229, its highest point since the beginning of the month.

Velazquez signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks on Friday.

Velazquez hasn't appeared in a professional game since the regular season began, but he'll get a chance with the Diamondbacks. He should serve as organizational infield depth at Triple-A Reno.

Allen was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cardinals due to back spasms, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The severity of Allen's injury isn't clear, but he can be viewed as day-to-day until the Astros offer another update. Allen has logged just 22 plate appearances all season for Houston, though he had seen action in each of the previous three contests in the wake of Jeremy Pena's (hamstring) recent move to the injured list.

Schmitt went 2-for-6 with an RBI double in Saturday's 7-6 extra-innings win over the Nationals.

Schmitt is 4-for-11 with a double, homer, two RBI and two runs scored in the first two games of the series versus Washington. After batting .158 through April 1, Schmitt has gone on a tear at the plate over his last 10 games. He's 16-for-41 (.390) in that span, including five multi-hit performances. On the season, Schmitt is slashing .317/.369/.517 with six doubles, two home runs, seven RBI, seven runs scored, one stolen base and a 2:16 BB:K across 65 trips to the plate.