MLB Player News

Clase (knee) will start in center field and bat ninth in Thursday's game versus the Diamondbacks.

Clase didn't play Wednesday after departing Tuesday's contest when he was hit by a pitch on the right knee. After the day off, Clase has apparently made enough progress in his recovery from the bruised knee to give it a go Thursday. Clase will likely serve as the Blue Jays' primary option in center field until Daulton Varsho (hamstring) is ready to come off the injured list.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that Weaver (hamstring) could be activated from the 15-day injured list prior to Friday's game versus the Orioles, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Weaver bounced back well from a live batting practice session Tuesday and appears in line to return to action this weekend after missing less than three weeks with a strained left hamstring. The right-hander was originally projected to miss 4-to-6 weeks due to the injury, so he's seemingly recovered more quickly than anticipated. Weaver had been serving as the Yankees' closer when he got hurt, but he could return in a setup role with Devin Williams pitching well of late in the ninth inning.

Horn (elbow) struck out a batter and worked around two walks in a scoreless inning of relief Wednesday for Triple-A Toledo after being reinstated from the 7-day injured list.

Horn missed just under a month of action for the Triple-A club while he recovered from left elbow inflammation. The 27-year-old southpaw holds a spot on the Tigers' 40-man roster and previously made one relief appearance for the big club in April, but he'll likely stick around in Toledo for the foreseeable future.

Houck (elbow) allowed one run on two hits and one walk over one-plus innings for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.

Houck worked around a couple of singles for a scoreless first inning and was removed after walking the first batter faced in the second. He threw 32 pitches (18 strikes), and the short pitch count appears to have been by design. Houck told Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com that he was pain-free. He said his next rehab start will come Tuesday for the WooSox and that he'll then make a third the following Sunday.

Abreu (oblique) started in right field and went 0-for-2 with a walk for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.

This was the second rehab game for Abreu, who had served as the designated hitter a day earlier. He played six innings in the field before being lifted. An earlier report indicated the rehab assignment would be a brief one, suggesting Abreu could be back with the team in time for Friday's series opener against San Francisco.

Jung returned to the starting lineup and went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Royals.

Jung was held out of the starting lineup for the last two games and had the team's off day in between. He was hitting .167 over a 17-game stretch before manager Bruce Bochy gave him an extended break. The manager handled another slumping player, Adolis Garcia, similarly, and it's worked out for him.

Dominguez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.

The switch-hitting Dominguez has been far more effective against righties (126 wRC+ in 156 plate appearances) than lefties (54 wRC+ in 76 plate appearances), so his absence from the lineup Thursday while the Angels send lefty Tyler Anderson to the hill comes as little surprise. Despite his success against right-handed pitching, Dominguez may find himself more of a part-time starter in those matchups, with the recent return of Giancarlo Stanton from the injured list closing off a potential avenue to playing time at designated hitter.

Rice is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels.

Though he'll take a seat with southpaw Tyler Anderson on the bump for the Angels, the left-handed-hitting Rice should still remain at least a semi-regular presence in the lineup against right-handed pitchers, even with the recent return of Giancarlo Stanton from the 60-day injured list closing off a potential path to playing time. Rice had been serving exclusively as a designated hitter or first baseman before making his first MLB start as a catcher in Wednesday's 3-2 loss. He went 0-for-1 with a walk Wednesday before being removed from the contest in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Garcia batted fifth and went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to Kansas City.

Garcia has been slowly inching his way back up the order after falling to eighth -- he hit out of the fifth spot for a second straight game Wednesday. After getting a mental break over the transition from May to June, he's deserved a promotion. Garcia is batting .327/.358/.490 over the 13 games since returning from the break. Six of his last 11 hits have gone for extra bases, and Garcia's driven in eight runs over the last nine contests.

Rengifo is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Rengifo will get a breather for the matinee contest after he started in each of the Halos' last eight contests. After picking up a start in the infield in Wednesday's 3-2 win while Christian Moore was on the bench, Kevin Newman will be awarded a second straight start with Rengifo getting Thursday off.