MLB Player News

Castro (hand) will start at shortstop and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Castro will re-enter the starting nine for the first time since Wednesday, after a right hand contusion had limited him to a bench role over the Rockies' previous three contests. The Rockies have deployed Castro primarily at second base this season, but he'll cover shortstop Sunday while Ezequiel Tovar receives the afternoon off.

Melendez will start at designated hitter and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Melendez will pick up his fourth straight start after going 4-for-10 with two doubles, two walks, one run and one RBI since receiving a call-up from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday. With Jorge Polanco (wrist) landing on the injured list, Melendez should have a fairly clear path to regular playing time against right-handed pitching, at least until Juan Soto (calf) is back.

Alvarez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cubs.

Luis Torrens will receive a turn behind the plate while Alvarez rests after going hitless in four at-bats Saturday night. Alvarez has been largely exempt from the Mets' recent struggles, going 7-for-28 with more walks (five) than strikeouts (four) during the team's 10-game losing streak.

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

Hernandez will head to the bench after a run of five straight starts, during which he went 3-for-17 with a double, a homer and eight strikeouts. Alex Call will receive the start in left field and bat sixth versus Colorado righty Michael Lorenzen.

Varsho (knee) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

It's the second straight day on the bench for Varsho after he exited Friday's contest in Arizona due to left knee discomfort. The outfielder should be considered day-to-day as Myles Straw picks up a second consecutive start in center field Sunday.

Church will start in left field and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Astros.

Church made just one start last week, but he appears to have taken back control of a regular spot in the outfield when St. Louis faces right-handed pitching. He'll pick up his fourth straight start after going 5-for-11 with a double, a walk, two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI over the previous three games.

Saggese is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

Saggese is on the bench for the fourth game in a row and appears to have lost his grip on a regular spot in the lineup while mustering a weak .533 OPS across 47 plate appearances. Nathan Church has leapfrogged him on the depth chart after going 5-for-11 with a double, a walk, two stolen bases, two runs and an RBI over the last three contests.

Wallner is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

Wallner will take a seat for the second straight day, this time against a right-handed starter (Brady Singer) after he had been out of the lineup for Saturday's 5-4 loss while southpaw Andrew Abbott opened the game for the Reds. James Outman will fill in as the Twins' starting right fielder in place of Wallner, who still appears to be locked into a full-time role despite slashing a meager .181/.272/.333 with three home runs and six RBI over 81 plate appearances to begin the season.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

Jeffers appears to be receiving a routine breather for Sunday's matinee contest after starting in each of the Twins' previous three games. Victor Caratini is slated to handle catching duties for Minnesota in the series finale with the Reds.

Urena will start Sunday's game against the Padres, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The right-hander was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday and will fill the Halos' open rotation spot, pushing back Reid Detmers to pitch Monday versus the Blue Jays. Urena made two relief appearances for Anaheim in the opening days of the season and gave up six runs (none earned) on five hits and three walks across 1.2 innings. He covered five frames during his last start for Salt Lake and should be able to handle a typical starting workload.