MLB Player News

Church is not in the lineup for Sunday's matchup against the Diamondbacks.

After going a combined 0-for-8 with a strikeout in his first two games back since the midseason break, Church will get a breather for the series finale. Jose Fermin will start in center field and bat seventh.

Ruiz is not in the lineup for Sunday's matchup against the Athletics.

After going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored Saturday, Ruiz will take at least the beginning of Sunday off for the series finale. Harry Ford will take over the catching duties and bat sixth for Washington.

Detroit transferred Vest (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.

Vest was initially placed on the IL on July 1 due to posterior right elbow inflammation, but follow-up tests later revealed a stress fracture. The injury will result in an extended absence for Vest, who won't be eligible for activation until Aug. 27. Through 27 appearances on the season, the 31-year-old reliever has turned in a 6.08 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 27:10 K:BB in 26.2 innings.

Scherzer (back/thumb) threw a bullpen session Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The 41-year-old had his rehab assignment paused last week in order to get three cortisone injections in his right thumb, but he wasn't shut down from throwing for long. Scherzer originally landed on the IL in mid-June due to back spasms, but he's now received cortisone injections for both his side and thumb while on the shelf. The Blue Jays hoped that the right-hander's quick return to throwing will allow him to resume the rehab assignment in the near future.

Basallo exited Sunday's game against Houston early with right shoulder discomfort, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports.

After just one at-bat in the top of the second inning, Basallo was pulled from the game due to discomfort in his right shoulder. Sam Huff has replaced Basallo behind the plate.

Sears is scheduled to start Monday's game against Atlanta, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

The left-hander will stick in San Diego's rotation coming out of the All-Star break even though German Marquez and Randy Vasquez have both been reinstated from the injured list. Sears has made four starts for San Diego this season and has a 5.03 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 17:8 K:BB across 19.2 innings.

Baltimore transferred Helsley (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Sunday.

Though he was cleared of any structural damage to his UCL following a recent MRI, Helsley is tending to inflammation around the ligament and will require an extended period of rest and recovery. The Orioles are optimistic that the 31-year-old will be activated from the IL before the end of the season, but a clearer target date for his return won't be known until he starts throwing again. At the very least, Helsley's move to the 60-day IL ensures he won't be available for the Orioles until Aug. 29. While Helsley is on the shelf, Tyler Wells and Andrew Kittredge look to be the top options for saves out of the Baltimore bullpen.

Baltimore optioned Sanders to Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday.

After being acquired from the Pirates on Monday, Sanders was initially optioned to Norfolk before joining the Orioles ahead of their weekend series in Houston. He was used in relief in both of the first two games of the series, striking out two over 1.2 perfect innings while notching his first MLB win Friday and his first MLB save Saturday. The Orioles opted to replace Sanders on the 26-man active roster with catcher Sam Huff, who was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Seager (back) is scheduled to hit soft toss in the batting cage Sunday in addition to fielding groundballs, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Seager continues to do light baseball activities as he works his way back from lower-back inflammation, which sent him to the injured list at the start of July after spending time on the IL with the same injury earlier in the campaign. The veteran shortstop is without an official timeline for his return but doesn't seem likely to be back in the immediate future. According to Landry, the Rangers expect Seager to be back "eventually" this season.

McKinstry is out of the lineup for the series finale against the Angels on Sunday, Chris McKosky of The Detroit News reports.

McKinstry will take a rare day off, marking his first rest day since June 17. Hao-Yu Lee will play second base and bat seventh for the Tigers.