MLB Player News

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

On the bench for the fourth time in six games, Fortes' standing atop the depth chart at catcher could be on shaky ground. Fortes looked to have gained some job security after the Marlins pushed Christian Bethancourt off their 40-man roster earlier this month, but Ali Sanchez has impressed with a .353 on-base percentage since getting called up from Triple-A Jacksonville on June 21. Sanchez will get another turn behind the plate Sunday at Fortes' expense.

The Mets optioned Young to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday.

The left-hander was recalled by the Mets last weekend and made four appearances during the brief stint in the majors, allowing six runs on six hits with a 4:2 K:BB over 3.1 innings. Young has a 5.11 ERA across 13 outings with the big club this year.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Bednar is making progress in his recovery from a left oblique strain, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Though Cherington struck an optimistic tone about Bednar's health, the two-time All-Star doesn't appear to have a concrete timeline to return from the 15-day injured list. Bednar is first eligible for activation next weekend, but because he has yet to resume throwing since landing on the shelf, he doesn't appear to be on track for a return in the minimum amount of time.

Hayes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

Jared Triolo will step in at third base while Hayes takes a seat for the series finale in Atlanta. Hayes had started in each of Pittsburgh's last three games, going 4-for-12 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, an RBI and a run.

Banda issued one walk and struck out two batters over one scoreless frame in Saturday's extra-innings victory against San Francisco.

Banda entered in the seventh frame and preserved a 6-6 tie with his scoreless inning. The lefty reliever has been excellent since joining Los Angeles in mid-May, posting a 0.98 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 17:9 K:BB over 18.1 innings of mostly low-leverage work. Those numbers are a stark contrast to the 5.69 ERA and 1.64 WHIP he caried over 118.2 frames across his first seven major-league campaigns.

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

After starting behind the plate in five of the past six games, Grandal will get a breather in the series finale in Atlanta. The Pirates brought back Joey Bart (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Sunday and will put him to work right away, as he'll fill in at catcher while Grandal rests.

The Pirates optioned Delay to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

Delay will head back to the minors as the Pirates clear room on the 26-man active roster for fellow catcher Joey Bart (thumb), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list. During his two-week stay with the Pirates, Delay went 3-for-12 with three doubles, two walks, five RBI and one run.

The Pirates reinstated Bart (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Sunday. He'll start at catcher and bat seventh in the Pirates' series finale in Atlanta.

Top backstop Yasmani Grandal will take a seat Sunday while the Pirates clear the way for Bart to play in his first game for the big club since May 26. Bart missed more than a month while recovering from a left thumb sprain but proved his health during a recent six-game rehab assignment at Triple-A Indianapolis, going 6-for-17 with a double and three walks.

Johnson will start in right field and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

Following his call-up from Triple-A El Paso on Monday, Johnson has now started in six consecutive games, with three apiece coming against left- and right-handed pitching. He's gone just 2-for-16 at the plate in the first five games, but he's drawn three walks while coming around to score twice. Johnson looks like he'll be the preferred option in right field over David Peralta while Fernando Tatis (quadricep) is on the injured list.

Arraez went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk and two runs in Saturday's 11-1 win over the Red Sox.

Arraez notched his fourth multi-hit game over his past nine contests and his first three-hit performance of June. The infielder ranks third in the majors with a .315 average on the campaign, and he's at .325 since joining the Padres in a trade with Miami in early May. Arraez's minuscule 5.7 percent strikeout rate leads all qualified MLB hitters, though his 4.1 percent walk rate is on pace for the lowest mark of his career, and he has just two homers along with three thefts on the season.