MLB Player News

Lukes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.

Lukes will hit the bench after starting in right field in each of the Blue Jays' last four games while going 0-for-12, dropping his season average to .065 over 31 at-bats. Though he has a pathway to regular playing time in the outfield against right-handed pitching while Addison Barger (ankle) and George Springer (toe) are on the shelf, Lukes' rough start to the campaign could be beginning to cost him opportunities.

Keith is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Detroit didn't face a left-handed starting pitcher through its first 16 games of the season, but the Tigers have now taken on a pair of southpaws (Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic) in their three-game series with the Royals. Keith has found himself on the bench for both contests and looks like he could be in line for a strong-side platoon role while the Tigers have all their key bats available, save for Parker Meadows (arm). Jahmai Jones will enter the starting nine as a replacement for Keith, serving as the Tigers' designated hitter and No. 3 batter.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Detroit didn't face a left-handed starting pitcher through its first 16 games of the season, but the Tigers have now taken on a pair of southpaws (Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic) in their three-game series with the Royals. Carpenter has found himself on the bench for both contests and looks like he could be in line for a strong-side platoon role while the Tigers have all their key bats available, save for Parker Meadows (arm). Wenceel Perez will join the starting nine in place of Carpenter, manning right field and batting eighth.

D'Arnaud will start at catcher and bat seventh in Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Top backstop Logan O'Hoppe will get a breather for the day game after playing nine innings behind the plate in a 5-4 loss Wednesday night, paving the way for d'Arnaud to receive a turn behind the plate. D'Arnaud will be making just his fourth start of the season after going 1-for-10 with a double and a run scored through his first three games.

Moncada is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The switch-hitting Moncada has fared much better against right-handed pitching (.774 OPS) than left-handed pitching (.699 OPS) for his career, so he'll take a seat against Yankees southpaw Max Fried in a day game after a night game. Oswald Peraza will replace Moncada at third base and will bat cleanup.

O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

After going 1-for-4 with a solo home run -- his first of the season -- while catching nine innings behind the plate in a 5-4 loss Wednesday night, O'Hoppe will get a breather for Thursday's matinee game. Travis d'Arnaud will handle catching duties for the Halos in the series finale.

Seager is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

Seager will receive his first day off of the season after he started each of the Rangers' first 18 contests. Ezequiel Duran will fill in at shortstop for Seager, who is batting just .152 through 13 games in April but has contributed three home runs, eight RBI, seven runs and one stolen base.

Barger (ankles) resumed baseball activity at the Blue Jays' complex in Florida this week and is expected to begin swinging the bat Friday or Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Barger has played catch the last two days, and returning to hitting and running are the next steps in his recovery from sprained left and right ankles. Barger is expected to resume running Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and will go from there. While eligible to come off the injured list Friday, that doesn't appear to be a realistic target for Barger. Perhaps he'll be back with the Blue Jays for the start of their next homestand against the Guardians on Friday, April 24.

Springer (toe) resumed hitting off a tee Wednesday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

"Looked pretty normal, which is good," manager John Schneider said Thursday. "He's feeling better." Springer will likely not need a rehab assignment, and the toe he fractured will just be "annoying" for a couple weeks, according to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays are aiming for Springer to return for their next homestand, which begins Friday, April 24 against the Guardians.

Manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Rodon (elbow/hamstring) will likely begin a rehab assignment following Saturday's live batting practice session, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rodon is joining Double-A Somerset to face hitters Saturday. He could stay there and begin his rehab assignment afterward as long as everything goes well with Rodon's BP this weekend. Boone added that Rodon will likely need at least three rehab starts before returning to the majors for his 2026 season debut. An early- to mid-May return could be in the works for the left-hander. With both Rodon and Gerrit Cole (elbow) nearing returns, the Yankees could soon be getting a massive boost to their rotation.