MLB Player News

Church (undisclosed) was scratched from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

There's no word yet on the reasoning behind Church being pulled from the lineup, but the Cardinals should provide clarity soon. Jose Fermin will handle left field and bat seventh for St. Louis.

Atlanta optioned Mederos to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Mederos covered two scoreless frames in Wednesday's win over the Marlins, but he's being sent out in favor of a fresh bullpen arm. Carlos Carrasco is absorbing Mederos' spot on the active roster.

Atlanta selected Carrasco's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Carrasco is back to provide length in the Atlanta bullpen. The 39-year-old has made two appearances with the big club this season, tossing 2.1 scoreless frames.

Minter (hip/lat) pitched Tuesday and Wednesday for Triple-A Syracuse, and he's expected to make one more rehab appearance this weekend before being activated from the 60-day injured list early next week, Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic report.

The veteran southpaw hasn't pitched in the majors in over a calendar year after undergoing surgery to repair a lat muscle in May 2025 and then dealing with a hip issue in early May of this season, but Minter is poised to make his 2026 debut for the Mets. Over 6.2 innings for Syracuse, he's delivered a 2.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 3:1 K:BB, and he should quickly regain a high-leverage role in front of closer Devin Williams.

Agnos will serve as the Rockies' opening pitcher for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Tomoyuki Sugano had been on track to start Thursday, but he'll instead be pushed back to Friday while the Rockies opt for a bullpen game in the series opener. The upcoming start will be the first of Agnos' professional career, as he's worked exclusively as a reliever and in the minors and in 43 appearances with the Rockies over the past two seasons. Agnos should be capable of providing more length than the typical opener, however, as he's already covered four-plus innings on three different occasions this season.

The Nationals activated Beeter (forearm) from the 15-day injured list Thursday.

Beeter has been shelved since late April with right forearm discomfort, but he's been cleared to return to action after making three rehab appearances. It's possible the Nationals will ease Beeter back into high-leverage outings, but he should be back in the closer mix sooner rather than later.

Gonzales is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest in St. Louis.

It looks to be a routine day off for Gonzales, who has reached base four times in the first two games of the series. Jared Triolo will cover third base for the Pirates in Thursday's rubber match.

Riley went 1-for-3 with a walk and a three-run home run in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.

The third baseman took Janson Junk deep in the second inning to put Atlanta in the lead for good. The homer was Riley's eighth of the season and his fifth in May over 18 games, a month in which he's slashing .254/.301/.507 with 14 RBI, but a worrisome 3:23 BB:K. After a couple injury-marred campaigns, Riley has stayed healthy so far in 2026, but he has yet to put together an extended hot streak that would put him on track to reach the 30-HR, 90-RBI marks for the first time since 2023.

Garcia is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in St. Louis.

Garcia started the first two games for the Pirates upon his promotion, going 3-for-9 with a 0:3 BB:K, but he'll grab a seat in Thursday's series finale. Jake Mangum will handle right field for Pittsburgh.

Urias (elbow) will begin taking dry swings this week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Urias' recovery from tennis elbow is coming along slowly but surely. He will continue building up his hitting progression and is expected to be sidelined several more weeks. Urias put up a .595 OPS with a pair of home runs in his first 25 games for the Cardinals before getting hurt.