MLB Player News

Cousins (elbow) faced live hitters Saturday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Cousins is in the final stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent last June. The veteran reliever was signed by the Dodgers in late March. Cousins' ability to face live hitters is a sign of progress, but he'll presumably need to log multiple rehab appearances before he's ready to make his Dodgers debut. It's not out of the question that he could be activated before the end of the regular season.

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

The left-handed-hitting Rumfield will head to the bench for the series finale while the Guardians send southpaw Foster Griffin to the bump. Connor Norby will draw the start at first base in place of Rumfield, who is hitting .262 in August but has provided few counting numbers (zero home runs, zero steals, six RBI, eight runs) through 18 games on the month.

The Rockies recalled Ritter from Triple-A Albuquerque, and he's starting at second base and batting eighth Sunday against the Guardians.

The 25-year-old cracked Colorado's Opening Day roster but went 1-for-7 in just six games before being demoted to Triple-A. Ritter has enjoyed a productive season at Albuquerque with four homers, eight steals and a .325/.424/.459 slash line in 52 games. He's taking the roster spot of Kyle Karros, who was placed on the injured list with a concussion.

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

Halpin will hit the bench after starting the last four games while going 2-for-15 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run. Despite the recent spike in playing time, Halpin still appears to be viewed as a part-time option in the outfield while all of Chase DeLauter, Steven Kwan and Jo Adell are available.

Pages had a compression screw inserted into his fractured left hand Sunday in an attempt to expedite healing, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Pages suffered the fracture when he was hit by a pitch in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning win over the Pirates. The All-Star outfielder is facing an expected recovery timeline of 4-to-5 weeks, which means he won't return to action until about a week left in the regular season in a best-case scenario. Until Pages is able to return, Alek Thomas is expected to occupy the strong side of a platoon in center field, and Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez will be the main candidates to make starts at the position when the Dodgers face lefties.

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

Bailey will be rested after starting the previous three contests. Austin Hedges will handle catching duties for the series finale in Colorado.

Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Cruz started the past four games after being reinstated from the injured list and will receive a break after going 4-for-13 with three walks, a triple, two homers, one steal, seven RBI and three runs scored. Billy Cook is picking up a start in center field in the series finale in Los Angeles.

Freeman will start at third base and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Angels.

Freeman will draw a fourth straight start after going 2-for-6 with a walk over the previous three contests. Three of those starts have come against left-handed pitching, so Freeman doesn't appear to have solidified himself as a near-everyday player for the Rangers and may be benefiting from a favorable runout of pitching matchups.

The Mariners placed Donovan on the 7-day injured list Sunday due to a concussion, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

It's another unfortunate injury for the 29-year-old, who was struck in the head by a baseball in the batting cage prior to Saturday's contest. Donovan will be sidelined for at least the next week as he goes through the concussion protocols. Patrick Wisdom is filling the open roster spot, but it's Weston Wilson starting at third base Sunday against the Cubs.

Lopez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Lopez will hit the bench for a fourth straight game, with three of those absences coming against left-handed pitching. Justin Foscue will draw the start at the keystone Sunday, but Lopez still appears to be the favored option at the position versus righties.