MLB Player News

Castro (knee) is out of the lineup for Game 1 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mets.

Castro was held out of the lineup Friday after exiting Thursday's contest due to knee soreness, and he won't rejoin the starting nine for Sunday's matinee. It remains to be seen if he'll be available off the bench or for Game 2.

Crawford is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The rookie outfielder has started eight of 12 games against left-handed starting pitchers this season, but he'll take a seat versus Chris Sale. Crawford is mired in a 4-for-34 slump and has struggled overall versus southpaws with just one hit in 17 plate appearances, so it may not be long before he transitions to a straight platoon role. Dylan Moore is covering center field Sunday.

Yastrzemski is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

The veteran outfielder will typically sit versus left-handed starting pitchers, but his absence Sunday is his first of the year against a righty (Aaron Nola). Yastrzemski has yet to get on track at the plate this season with a .188/.266/.247 slash line in 94 plate appearances, and his 26.6 percent strikeout rate would be the worst of his eight-year MLB career.

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

It's the second straight contest on the bench for Smith, who saw a nine-game hit streak end Saturday when he struck out as a pinch hitter. The 30-year-old batted .364 (12-for-33) with two doubles, two homers and nine RBI during that stretch. Each of his past two absences have come versus right-handed starting pitchers as Atlanta prioritizes keeping Michael Harris' bat in the lineup at DH while he deals with a minor quad strain. The pending return of Sean Murphy (hip) from the IL presents a bigger obstacle to Smith's playing time in the long run.

The Nationals placed Beeter on the 15-day injured list Sunday, retroactive to April 23, due to right forearm soreness.

It's unclear when exactly the right-hander suffered the injury, but he hasn't seen the field since firing a scoreless frame against Atlanta last Tuesday. Beeter and Gus Varland lead the Nationals with two saves each, so Varland is likely to be the primary option at closer while Beeter is sidelined.

Alvarez is out of the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Rockies.

Alvarez was never likely to be behind the plate for both games of Sunday's twin bill, and he'll sit for the matinee after a run of four straight starts. Luis Torrens is doing the catching for Nolan McLean in the opener.

The Reds optioned Higgins to Triple-A Louisville on Sunday.

The 32-year-old has been up in the big leagues the past few weeks, but he'll return to Triple-A with Jose Trevino (back) coming off the IL on Sunday. Higgins played six games and went 2-for-10 with one walk and one RBI.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Tigers.

Stephenson started the first two games of the series against Detroit and will receive Sunday off after going 1-for-6 with two walks, a double, an RBI and four strikeouts. Jose Trevino (back) will start behind the plate in his return from the injured list.

Jimenez (hand) started at designated hitter and went 0-for-2 with a walk in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Giants.

Jimenez was lifted from Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Cardinals shortly after being hit on the left hand by a pitch in the second inning, but X-rays came back negative. The 25-year-old felt well enough to enter the lineup Saturday against southpaw Robbie Ray. Jimenez is likely to see limited action while the Marlins' infield is mostly healthy.

Ballesteros went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 12-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Ballesteros continued his strong start to the season, as he's now batting .397 with a 1.136 OPS and four home runs through 24 games. The 22-year-old has emerged as Chicago's top DH option due to his strong offensive production, though the team is still rotating other players into that spot, particularly when facing left-handed starters.