MLB Player News

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that Church was scratched from Thursday's lineup versus the Pirates because he's "just a little beat up," Brenden Schaeffer of MLB.com reports.

Church was removed from a game earlier this month after being hit on the left leg by a pitcher, though it's unclear whether this is related to that. Marmol indicated he would prefer to stay away from using Church off the bench Thursday, but the outfielder should be ready to play this weekend in Cincinnati. Jose Fermin is drawing a start in left field Thursday in Church's place.

Melton (elbow) could be activated from the 60-day injured list to pitch Sunday in Baltimore, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Melton has looked terrific on his rehab assignment, collecting a 1.54 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 16:2 K:BB in 11.2 innings covering four starts, three with Single-A Lakeland and one with Triple-A Toledo. He reached 63 pitches in his last outing Tuesday and sat in the mid- to upper-90s with his fastball. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that Melton will travel with the team to Baltimore, but the skipper stressed that "no decision has been made yet" regarding when Melton will make his season debut. Melton does looks poised to make his next appearance in the majors, but it's still unclear whether that outing will come Sunday or early next week. If Melton doesn't start Sunday's game, Keider Montero would be in line to take the ball on regular rest. Melton has been out all season with a right elbow strain.

Barlow (1-0) earned the win in Wednesday's 6-5 victory over the Angels. He allowed no hits or walks with a hit-by-pitch while striking out one over a scoreless inning.

Barlow was called upon in the ninth inning to keep the contest tied and send it to extra innings, a task he accomplished after working around a leadoff hit-by-pitch to Vaughn Grissom. Courtesy of an RBI single from Tyler Soderstrom and a scoreless 10th frame from Hogan Harris, Barlow was credited with his first win of the campaign. He hasn't factored much into the save equation after blowing his lone opportunity March 28, but the right-hander has still pitched to a 3.09 ERA and 0.86 WHIP across 23.1 innings. Walks have been an issue for the veteran over the past couple of seasons and flared up early in the current campaign, though he has posted a 9:1 K:BB across nine innings in May.

Soderstrom went 2-for-5 with three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Angels.

Soderstrom was a key contributor in the Athletics' win, opening the scoring with a two-run single in the first inning before delivering what proved to be the game-winning hit with another RBI single in the 10th frame. Wednesday snapped an 11-game stretch without an RBI for the left fielder, who had gone just 4-for-41 (.098) during that span. After a breakout 2025 campaign in which he posted an .820 OPS across 158 games, Soderstrom hasn't yet clicked to the same degree in 2026, slashing .194/.276/.371 with five homers, 14 doubles, a triple, 23 RBI, 22 runs and a stolen base through 46 appearances.

Diaz went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 4-3 loss against the Red Sox.

Diaz put his club ahead with a two-run, 102.5 mph rocket over the left-center field wall in the fifth inning, though the bullpen would relinquish the lead as the Royals were unable to avoid being swept. As the third catcher on the roster behind Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen, playing opportunities for Diaz have been sporadic and limited. The veteran has gone 5-for-22 (.227) with four extra-base hits (two homers), five RBI and three runs scored across 10 appearances.

Skubal (elbow) threw a successful 35-pitch bullpen session Thursday, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

It's at least the third time he's thrown from the mound since he had surgery just over two weeks ago to remove a loose body from his elbow. Skubal upped the intensity of his throwing Thursday and was able to reach the velocity goal he set prior to the session. The two-time Cy Young winner continues to make rapid progress and should be cleared to face hitters soon.

Jones (elbow) will head to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday to make the fifth start of his rehab assignment, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

After making his last two appearances with Double-A Altoona, Jones will move back to Indianapolis this weekend for what the Pirates are hoping is the final rehab outing he'll require before coming off the 60-day injured list. The 24-year-old threw 67 pitches over 4.1 innings during his most recent outing for Altoona on Sunday and should continue building up his workload during his upcoming start with Indianapolis. Assuming the Pirates are comfortable with how Jones' surgically repaired elbow responds following Saturday's start, he could be cleared to make his 2026 debut with the big club as soon as May 28 versus the Cubs or May 29 versus the Twins, both of which would come in Pittsburgh.

Young went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's win over the Mets.

The center fielder got plunked in the ribs Monday in the first game of the series and was held out of the starting lineup the next day, but Young returned to action Wednesday and got his revenge by taking Craig Kimbrel deep in the eighth inning. Young has gone yard in each of his last three full games, and while he's slashing just .220/.292/.441 through 18 contests in May, he has launched four of his six homers on the year in that span. His previous career high was three home runs, set over 150 games in 2024.

Marte went 41-for-103 (.398) with six home runs, 22 RBI, eight steals and an 8:16 BB:K over his last 25 games with Triple-A Louisville.

Marte has been with Louisville since being optioned by the Reds in mid-April, and he has produced both at the plate and on the basepaths in a big way. It's unclear how much more the Reds want to see before bringing him back to the big club, but he is doing what he can to force the issue.

Williams went 27-for-83 (.325) with four home runs, 17 RBI, six steals and a 15:19 BB:K over his last 23 games with Triple-A Nashville.

Williams hit just .186 over his first 22 games with Nashville, but he has gotten going in a big way since. Williams is solidifying his status as one of the top prospects in a loaded Milwaukee system, and he may not have much left to prove at the Triple-A level.