MLB Player News

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

Jansen will receive a breather for Thursday's matinee game after he started behind the dish both of the previous two nights. Kyle Higashioka will step in at catcher and form a battery with starting pitcher Jack Leiter in the series finale.

The Cardinals outrighted Shuster to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Having been outrighted previously, Shuster has the ability to decline the assignment and become a free agent. For now, it appears he will stick around in the organization as swingman depth.

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

Carter has now been left out of the starting lineup five times through the Rangers' first 19 games, with each absence coinciding with Texas facing a left-handed starter. Though Carter's overall volume of playing time will remain suppressed if the Rangers continue to treat him as a strict platoon player, the 23-year-old has more than held his own versus righties thus far, producing a .238/.385/.452 slash line (145 wRC+) over 52 plate appearances against them.

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

Pederson will take a seat for the second time in the series and has now hit the bench for all five of the Rangers' matchups with left-handed starting pitchers this season. Platoon mate Andrew McCutchen will replace Pederson in the lineup at designated hitter and will bat sixth.

Silseth has "probably put himself in the best position for the opportunity" if Angels manager Kurt Suzuki removes Jordan Romano from the closer role, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Romano has blown back-to-back save opportunities and Suzuki was noncommittal Thursday when asked about his closer situation. Silseth has registered three holds this season, collecting a 2.84 ERA and 8:6 K:BB over 6.1 innings along the way. Drew Pomeranz paces the team with five holds and is also an option to replace Romano if a change is made, though he might pitch the ninth inning only if the opposition has lefties due up. A former starter, Silseth did a bit of closing last season at Triple-A Salt Lake, and he's posted a 3.03 ERA and 31:24 K:BB over 32.2 innings across 27 career relief appearances at the major-league level.

Acuna is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Despite having the platoon advantage in his favor with southpaw Steven Matz on the mound for the Rays, Acuna will head to the bench for the series finale while Derek Hill picks up a start in center field. Since delivering his first multi-hit game of the season April 5, Acuna has gone 2-for-27 over his last eight contests, bringing his season average down to .170.

Peters is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

The left-handed-hitting Peters is on the bench for the third time in four games, with each of his absences coming against southpaws. The White Sox could continue to deploy him as a platoon player in the outfield until Austin Hays (hamstring) returns from the injured list, at which point Peters could see his opportunities to start against right-handed pitching dry up.

Arias is hitting .542 with two home runs, one steal, a 12.9 percent walk rate and a 6.5 percent strikeout rate in 31 plate appearances for Double-A Portland.

His first homer of the season April 14 was a majestic shot to center-right field -- an impressive feat for a righty-hitting 20-year-old who is the third-youngest hitter at Double-A, behind Jesus Made and Leo De Vries. His second homer of the season April 15 was hammered to the pull side and he also stole his first base in that game. Arias' hit tool has long been one of the more advanced in the minors, and he seems to be heading for a power breakout in the upper levels.

Angels manager Kurt Suzuki was noncommittal Thursday when asked whether Romano was still his closer, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports.

Romano suffered his second straight blown save Wednesday against the Yankees and has allowed five runs while recording a total of just one out in his last two appearances. The righty hadn't allowed a hit or a run in his six outings prior to that, going 4-for-4 in save chances over that stretch. Suzuki said that Romano is "still going to be in those high-leverage spots," but he stopped short of backing the 32-year-old as his closer. If Suzuki does go in a different direction, Drew Pomeranz or Chase Silseth are options. The Angels also have former closer Ben Joyce (shoulder) and Kirby Yates (knee) nearing a rehab assignments.

Fraley is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the White Sox.

Though right-hander Jordan Leasure is opening the game for Chicago, the left-handed Anthony Kay is scheduled to cover the bulk of the innings out of the bullpen, which has likely influenced the Rays' decision to hold the left-handed-hitting Fraley out of the lineup. Jonny DeLuca will pick up a start in right field in place of Fraley.