MLB Player News

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

Fortes still looks to be part of a platoon at catcher with the left-handed-hitting Hunter Feduccia. After making four straight starts -- all against left-handed pitching -- to begin the week, Fortes has hit the bench for the last two games in favor of Feduccia while the Rays have opposed right-handed starters.

Vilade is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Vilade recently wrapped up a stretch of five consecutive starts -- four against lefties, one against a righty -- during which he went 5-for-15 with two walks, a double, a stolen base, a run and an RBI, but he'll be on the bench for a second straight game. Both of those absences have come versus right-handed pitching, so the Rays still seem to be viewing Vilade as primarily a short-side platoon player.

Feduccia will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Angels.

Feduccia will stick behind the plate for a second straight game following a recent four-game stretch in which Nick Fortes received the starting nod at catcher in each of those contests. All four of Fortes' starts came while the Rays faced left-handed pitching, so Feduccia still looks to be occupying the strong side of a platoon.

Williamson will start at shortstop and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Angels.

Williamson will draw his fifth start in six games, this time filling in for a resting Taylor Walls at shortstop. Each of Williamson's previous four starts came against left-handed pitching, and he still appears to be occupying the short side of a platoon with Richie Palacios at second base.

Walls is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

The Rays will give Walls a rest after he started at shortstop each of the past three days while going a collective 4-for-8 with two walks, two stolen bases, one run and one RBI. Ben Williamson will cover shortstop in Walls' stead in the series finale.

Naylor was removed from Sunday's game against the Nationals due to an apparent right shin injury, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

The 28-year-old fouled a pitch off himself during the top of the sixth inning and stayed in to finish his at-bat, but he was replaced by Patrick Wisdom at first base for the bottom of the frame. Naylor went 1-for-3 with a double prior to leaving the contest and should be considered day-to-day heading into Tuesday's series opener versus the Orioles.

Hoerner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

The Cubs will go with Pedro Ramirez at second base in the series finale while the slumping Hoerner receives his first day off since May 25. While starting each of the Cubs' last 17 games, Hoerner slashed just .200/.250/.229 with zero home runs, two stolen bases, three RBI and three runs.

Manager Walt Weiss said Sunday that there's "nothing definitive" on Strider's inflamed right elbow, adding that the 27-year-old is scheduled to be evaluated by Dr. Keith Meister at some point this week, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Strider has familiarity with Dr. Meister, who performed his UCL brace procedure in 2024, per Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal. With that in mind, Strider's upcoming appointment is noteworthy, even though Atlanta has yet to provide any specifics beyond the initial diagnosis. The right-hander landed on the injured list Saturday after exiting his start Friday against the Mets, and his outlook will remain up in the air as he continues to be evaluated.

Bolte is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.

The Athletics will hand Bolte a day off in the series finale after the rookie went 6-for-19 with a home run, a stolen base, two walks and two additional runs while starting in each of the team's last five games. Lawrence Butler will step in for Bolte in center field and will bat leadoff.

Julien is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

The left-handed-hitting Julien will retreat to the bench with southpaw Jeffrey Springs toeing the rubber for the Athletics. Julien has been included in the lineup for every matchup with a right-handed starter so far in June and is slashing .333/.419/.407 so far this month, but it's unclear if he'll be able to hold down a strong-side platoon role after Colorado reinstated Tyler Freeman (concussion) from the 7-day injured list Sunday.