MLB Player News

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

Tovar will be handed the afternoon off, ending a streak of six starts during which he went 5-for-22 (.227) with three runs and an RBI. With Tovar on the bench, Willi Castro will shift over to shortstop, opening up the keystone for Edouard Julien.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that he expects Griffin (forearm) to play in minor-league rehab games by the end of the week, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Griffin has been rehabbing in Florida since landing on the shelf May 31 due to a right forearm strain, but he's expected to head north to Pittsburgh for an evaluation early this week before linking up with a minor-league affiliate. Throwing at full strength and velocity seems to be the biggest concern for Griffin as he works his way back from the injury, and the rookie phenom appears to be making progress on that front. Per MLB.com, Pirates manager Don Kelly said Saturday that Griffin has extended his throwing distance to 150 feet and was clocked at 89 mph while throwing from third base to first.

De La Cruz (hamstring) is expected to be reinstated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's game against the Brewers, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

After playing on three consecutive days for Triple-A Louisville during his rehab assignment over the weekend, De La Cruz will be given a chance to rest Monday as the Reds open their three-game set with the Brewers, but he looks like he'll be available for the final two contests of the series. De La Cruz's return will bump Matt McLain back over to second base, where he'll have to compete for playing time with Spencer Steer and rookie Edwin Arroyo.

Mateo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

Mateo will head back to the bench after he had started at shortstop in three straight games, going 1-for-7 with a run scored. Though Atlanta will replace Mateo in the lineup with Ha-Seong Kim on Sunday, both players could find playing time at shortstop more difficult to come by when the team faces right-handed pitching. Mauricio Dubon may be the top choice to cover shortstop on those occasions, which will allow Mike Yastrzemski and Eli White to serve as Atlanta's primary options at the corner outfield spots while Ronald Acuna (hamstring) remains on the shelf.

Ortiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

Ortiz had started at third base in each of the last three games while the Brewers went up against lefties, but he'll hit the bench Sunday while right-hander Bryce Elder toes the rubber for Atlanta. The 27-year-old looks as though he'll have to settle for the short side of a platoon with David Hamilton following the recent promotion of shortstop Cooper Pratt from Triple-A Nashville.

Turner went 2-for-5 with one RBI and three runs scored in Saturday's 15-3 win over the Mets.

Turner set the tone for a rout by the Phillies, scoring three runs in a game for the first time this season. The shortstop may be turning a corner after going 5-for-10 over his past two full games, excluding Thursday's contest in which he left after getting hit by a pitch in his only plate appearance. On the year, he's slashing .226/.278/.336 with seven homers, 22 RBI, 46 runs scored and 15 steals across 324 plate appearances.

Lopez went 1-for-5 with two runs scored and a stolen base in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Giants.

Lopez got things going early, stealing second base after reaching on an error in the first inning and scoring the game's first run. According to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, he then became the first player this season to reach 100 hits with a single in the fourth. The 27-year-old has hit safely in 14 of 17 June contests, batting .338 with seven extra-base hits, seven RBI, 15 runs scored and five stolen bases during that stretch. On the year, he leads the majors with a .332 average to go along with five homers, 32 RBI, 47 runs scored and 15 steals across 324 plate appearances.

Turner (calf) will start at shortstop and bat leadoff Saturday against the Mets.

Turner made an early exit from Thursday's game after taking a pitch off his calf, but he's now ready to return to the starting nine following the team off day Friday. The 32-year-old currently owns a career-low .610 OPS on the year and has been even worse since the start of June, slashing just .224/.286/.276 with two RBI, nine runs scored and four steals across his last 15 games.

Abrams went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Rays.

The star shortstop took Griffin Jax deep in the second inning to give the Nationals an early lead that didn't last long in an eventual 5-2 loss. It was Abrams' 15th homer of the season and third over 15 games in June, but he's struggling to make a consistent impact this month, slashing .246/.270/.410 with three steals, eight RBI and 12 runs.

De La Cruz (hamstring) went 2-for-2 with a walk and a home run for Triple-A Louisville on Friday.

De La Cruz kicked off a rehab assignment Friday, and as planned, played five innings at shortstop. The next step, according to Brent Maguire of MLB.com, is a full game Saturday as the designated hitter followed by nine innings at shortstop Sunday. De La Cruz could rejoin the Reds at some point next week.