MLB Player News

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Detroit didn't face a left-handed starting pitcher through its first 16 games of the season, but the Tigers have now taken on a pair of southpaws (Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic) in their three-game series with the Royals. Carpenter has found himself on the bench for both contests and looks like he could be in line for a strong-side platoon role while the Tigers have all their key bats available, save for Parker Meadows (arm). Wenceel Perez will join the starting nine in place of Carpenter, manning right field and batting eighth.

D'Arnaud will start at catcher and bat seventh in Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Top backstop Logan O'Hoppe will get a breather for the day game after playing nine innings behind the plate in a 5-4 loss Wednesday night, paving the way for d'Arnaud to receive a turn behind the plate. D'Arnaud will be making just his fourth start of the season after going 1-for-10 with a double and a run scored through his first three games.

Moncada is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The switch-hitting Moncada has fared much better against right-handed pitching (.774 OPS) than left-handed pitching (.699 OPS) for his career, so he'll take a seat against Yankees southpaw Max Fried in a day game after a night game. Oswald Peraza will replace Moncada at third base and will bat cleanup.

O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

After going 1-for-4 with a solo home run -- his first of the season -- while catching nine innings behind the plate in a 5-4 loss Wednesday night, O'Hoppe will get a breather for Thursday's matinee game. Travis d'Arnaud will handle catching duties for the Halos in the series finale.

Seager is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

Seager will receive his first day off of the season after he started each of the Rangers' first 18 contests. Ezequiel Duran will fill in at shortstop for Seager, who is batting just .152 through 13 games in April but has contributed three home runs, eight RBI, seven runs and one stolen base.

Williams coughed up four runs on three hits and a walk in one-third of an inning during Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.

With the Mets mired in a long losing streak, manager Carlos Mendoza tried to get his closer some work in a non-save situation, but it backfired when Williams served up a grand slam to Dalton Rushing in the eighth inning. They were the first runs the right-hander had allowed this season, spiking his ERA from 0.00 to 6.75, but Williams sports an 8:3 K:BB through 5.1 innings and he's converted both his save chances.

Melendez went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.

Getting the start at DH and batting eighth in his season debut, Melendez banged out two-baggers against Shohei Ohtani in the third and fifth innings, with the second bringing home the Mets' first run of the night. Melendez could see consistent at-bats against right-handed pitching in the short term while Juan Soto (calf) and others are on the shelf, especially if he keeps supplying a slumbering offense with a spark, but the former Royal's career .216/.297/.389 slash line in the majors doesn't offer much optimism that he'll carve out a long-term spot on the roster.

Barger (ankles) resumed baseball activity at the Blue Jays' complex in Florida this week and is expected to begin swinging the bat Friday or Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Barger has played catch the last two days, and returning to hitting and running are the next steps in his recovery from sprained left and right ankles. Barger is expected to resume running Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and will go from there. While eligible to come off the injured list Friday, that doesn't appear to be a realistic target for Barger. Perhaps he'll be back with the Blue Jays for the start of their next homestand against the Guardians on Friday, April 24.

Rengifo will make his first professional start at first base in Thursday's game versus the Blue Jays.

Injuries have forced the Brewers to scramble a bit, and they will give Rengifo a shot at first base. Rengifo is off to an uninspiring .128/.180/.213 start at the plate this season and has been playing second fiddle to David Hamilton at third base.

Springer (toe) resumed hitting off a tee Wednesday, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports.

"Looked pretty normal, which is good," manager John Schneider said Thursday. "He's feeling better." Springer will likely not need a rehab assignment, and the toe he fractured will just be "annoying" for a couple weeks, according to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. The Blue Jays are aiming for Springer to return for their next homestand, which begins Friday, April 24 against the Guardians.