MLB Player News

The Royals optioned Avila to Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday.

He's being sent down in order to clear a spot on the active roster for the return of Cole Ragans (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list. Avila has allowed just one run with an 11:4 K:BB over 9.1 frames with the big club, but having minor-league options remaining worked against him.

The Royals activated Ragans (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Wednesday.

After being sidelined for more than three months with a left rotator cuff strain, Ragans will make his return to the Royals rotation Wednesday against the Mariners at Kauffman Stadium. Ragans made two rehab starts with Triple-A Omaha prior to being activated, allowing just one run with a 14:2 K:BB over 6.2 innings. The left-hander threw 56 pitches in his most recent rehab outing this past Friday, so his workload will be relatively limited versus the Mariners.

Baez (head) started at shortstop and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Guardians in 10 innings.

Baez rejoined the starting nine Tuesday for the first time since exiting last Friday's 8-2 loss to the Marlins after fouling a ball off his head. The 32-year-old passed all concussion testing following his departure and seemingly avoided any serious injury, as he was used off the bench a day later. Since making his third All-Star appearance in mid-July, Baez is slashing just .210/.219/.298 and appears to have settled back into a part-time role at both shortstop and in center field.

Ohtani has had discussions with the Dodgers about playing the outfield so that he could be used as a reliever, Michael J. Duarte of NBC LA reports.

If Ohtani were to start at designated hitter and then pitch in relief, once he was taken out of the game as a reliever, he would also have to be removed as a DH. Having Ohtani play some in the outfield would be a way for the Dodgers to get around that. It's not clear what the likelihood of Ohtani playing the outfield is, nor is it known whether the team would consider doing it down the stretch of the regular season or only for the playoffs. Ohtani has never started a game in the outfield in the majors, though he did appear in seven contests in the outfield with the Angels in 2021.

Karros is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Kyle Farmer will get the nod at third base Wednesday while Karros retreats to the bench for the second time in three games. Karros has received the majority of the starts at the hot corner in September but is slashing just .214/.267/.238 in 12 games so far this month.

Ritter is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

After missing five straight games due to an unspecified issue, Ritter had returned to the lineup to start in both of the Rockies' past two contests. He went hitless with two strikeouts in five at-bats between those games and will now retreat to the bench Wednesday. Orlando Arcia will get the nod at second base in Ritter's stead.

Moniak is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Moniak went 7-for-13 with three home runs, two stolen bases and eight RBI while starting in each of the last three games, but the lefty-hitting outfielder will exit the lineup while the Marlins send southpaw Ryan Weathers to the hill Wednesday. Colorado will roll out a starting outfield of Jordan Beck, Brenton Doyle and Tyler Freeman from left to right.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Gorman could "potentially" see some start at first base following the season-ending injury to Willson Contreras (shoulder), Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Alec Burleson will be the team's primary first baseman down the stretch, but Gorman might also see some action there on days when Burleson plays the outfield. Gorman's playing-time outlook took a hit with the returns of Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado from the injured list, but Gorman now has another avenue to playing time, albeit a narrow one.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Wednesday that Walker will get "a little bit more of a run" in right field following the season-ending injury to Willson Contreras (shoulder), Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Alec Burleson will take over for Contreras as the team's primary first baseman, allowing Lars Nootbaar to play left field and Walker to handle right field most days. Walker started in right field Wednesday, marking just his second start over the last six games versus righties. He's slashing only .133/.212/.167 in September and .215/.272/.303 for the season.

The Nationals recalled Lao from Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

Lao was claimed off waivers by the Nationals earlier this month and is now poised to make his team debut. The right-handed reliever has permitted four runs (three earned) over 3.1 frames covering two appearances at the big-league level.