MLB Player News

Taveras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Taveras extended his hitting streak to seven games in Saturday's 4-2 loss, going 1-for-3 with a solo home run -- his first of the season -- and a walk. Though he'll exit the lineup Sunday while the Guardians send lefty Joey Cantillo to the hill, the switch-hitting Taveras appears to have solidified himself as a regular in the lineup against right-handed pitching.

Beavers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Beavers will hit the bench for the third time in Baltimore's past five contests, with all three of those absences coming versus left-handed starting pitchers. The 24-year-old has gone 3-for-24 with seven walks and nine strikeouts in his past nine contests and has a .610 OPS on the season, so he may need to get on track soon in order to maintain regular playing time.

O'Hearn is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.

The left-handed-hitting O'Hearn hasn't been a strict platoon player for the Pirates this season, but after he played eight of 13 innings in Saturday's 8-7 loss, he'll get a breather for Sunday's matinee game while southpaw Shane McClanahan toes the rubber for the Rays. Jake Mangum will pick up a start in the outfield in O'Hearn's stead.

Cowser is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Baltimore didn't face a left-handed starter in its first 17 games of the season but is now doing so for the third time in the past five contests. Cowser has found himself on the bench for all three of those contests, indicating that he's found himself on the strong side of a platoon.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Fortes will be on the bench for the second straight day while Hunter Feduccia receives another turn behind the plate. Despite his consecutive absences, Fortes still appears to be the Rays' preferred option at catcher, as he holds a 268-point edge in OPS over Feduccia on the season.

Fraley is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Even with the Rays facing right-hander Mitch Keller in the series finale, Fraley will cede his spot in right field to Jonny DeLuca. Fraley has recorded hits in five of his last six starts but is still holding down a pedestrian .227/.292/.364 slash line over 48 plate appearances.

Basallo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Basallo started eight of the previous nine games but will hit the bench Sunday while in the midst of a 4-for-38 slump (.105 average). Sam Huff will take over behind the plate and bat eighth for the series finale at Cleveland.

The Pirates optioned Sanders to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The right-hander was called up from Triple-A on Friday and made his season debut Saturday against the Rays, but he'll head back to the minors after surrendering to four runs over two-thirds of an inning. Wilber Dotel will take Sanders' place in Pittsburgh's bullpen.

The Pirates recalled Dotel from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The 23-year-old has surrendered 10 earned runs with a 13:7 K:BB over 14.1 innings to begin the season with Indianapolis, but he'll get his first opportunity in the major leagues anyway. Dotel was working out of the rotation at Triple-A but will shift to the bullpen to provide some depth for the Pirates after Saturday's 13-inning loss to the Rays.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said prior to Sunday's game that Perez could see more starts at designated hitter over the next few days as the veteran backstop has been dealing with a sore hip, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.

Perez will indeed be in the lineup at DH on Sunday, one day after he received his first day off of the season in what Quatraro termed a "mental breather." Though Perez disagreed on social media Saturday that he needed a break, his numbers back up the skipper. Over 81 plate appearances, the 36-year-old has a .517 OPS, which would be the lowest mark of his career by 175 points.