MLB Player News

Carpenter will serve as the Cardinals' designated hitter and No. 8 batter in Monday's game against the Padres.

Carpenter has been the main beneficiary thus far of the Cardinals' decision to demote the struggling Nolan Gorman to Triple-A Memphis last Wednesday. With Gorman out of the mix, Brendan Donovan and Alec Burleson have been seeing most of their starts lately at second base and in left field, respectively, leaving the DH spot available for Carpenter. Though he'll be getting his fifth start in the Cardinals' last six matchups with right-handed pitchers, Carpenter has yet to do much with the opportunity. He's gone 0-for-11 with three walks over his last five contests.

Johnson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cardinals.

Johnson started in right field in both of the Padres' final two games of the weekend series against the Mets with New York sending a pair of southpaws to the mound, but he'll be back on the bench Monday with right-hander Kyle Gibson on the hill for St. Louis. He remains confined to the short side of a strict platoon in right field with the lefty-hitting David Peralta while Fernando Tatis (adductor) remains on the injured list.

Garcia is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.

The lefty-hitting Garcia will hit the bench in the series opener with the Yankees sending southpaw Nestor Cortes to the mound. Idlemaro Vargas will check in for Garcia in the Washington infield, occupying second base and batting eighth.

McKinney is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Cubs.

For the second straight day, the lefty-hitting McKinney will find himself on the bench while the Pirates oppose a right-handed starter (Jameson Taillon). McKinney's brief run in a strong-side platoon role looks to have come to an end, as the Pirates are expected to deploy Bryan Reynolds and Bryan De La Cruz as their main starters in the corner outfield while Oneil Cruz sees more starts at designated hitter in the short term.

The Phillies recalled Mercado from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Monday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

He'll take over the roster spot vacated by Jose Alvarado, who has been placed on the restricted list as he deals with a personal matter. Mercado was moved to the bullpen at Lehigh Valley after being demoted around the All-Star break and has collected a 2.92 ERA and 12:8 K:BB over 12.1 frames covering his last 10 appearances.

Doyle was scratched from Monday's lineup against Miami due to right leg soreness.

Doyle was initially slated to lead off Monday, but he will instead hit the bench whie he manages the leg injury. Sam Hilliard will take Doyle's spot in center field and bat seventh, while Jake Cave moves to the top of the Rockies' batting order.

Rojas is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros.

In the wake of Austin Hays' return from the 10-day injured list Friday, Rojas appears to have moved back into a fourth-outfielder role. Rojas will hit the bench for the third time in four games Monday, and the majority of his starts will likely come against left-handed pitching moving forward.

The Phillies placed Alvarez on the restricted list Monday as he deals with a personal matter, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

It's not clear at this point how long Alvarado will be away from the club. The lefty reliever has had an up-and-down season and has mostly struggled since the All-Star break, posting a 5.40 ERA and 12:9 K:BB over 13.1 innings. Michael Mercado was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Alvarado's spot on the active roster and in the bullpen.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that Matz (back) will have his pitch count scaled back to 65 in Tuesday's rehab start with Triple-A Memphis, Lynn Worthy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

That's after he threw 85 pitches in his last outing with Memphis. The idea behind reducing Matz's workload is to keep him flexible for a variety of roles when he rejoins the Cardinals, as it sounds like he could be used as a starter or a reliever or both. Tuesday's rehab appearance is expected to be the final one before Matz is activated from the 60-day injured list. He's been out since late April due to a herniated disc in his back.

Laureano will start in left field and bat sixth in Monday's game against the Twins.

Atlanta will include Laureano in its lineup for the 17th time in 18 games, with his continued usage coming while he's slashed .357/.410/.643 with five home runs and one stolen base over the prior 16 contests. Despite the ample playing time of late in addition to his strong production at the plate, Laureano may not be locked into a regular spot in the Atlanta outfield. He's benefited from Jorge Soler missing seven consecutive starts earlier this month due to a hamstring injury he's since recovered from, but Atlanta will have a spot available for Laureano on Monday while Michael Harris sits with a sore hand. Assuming Harris' injury doesn't force him to the injured list, Laureano could soon move back into a fourth-outfielder role, as Harris, Soler and Jarred Kelenic project as the team's primary outfield trio versus right-handed pitching when all are healthy. Laureano should at least spell the lefty-hitting Kelenic when Atlanta faces lefties.