MLB Player News

The Cubs are hopeful that Hoerner (hamstring) will be ready to begin a minor-league rehab assignment in 7-to-10 days, Tony Andracki of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Hoerner has been able to complete full pregame workouts in recent days, leaving the Cubs optimistic about where he stands in his recovery from a strained left hamstring. He'll continue to build up during the current week before the Cubs map out a schedule of minor-league games for him to play. The 24-year-old would appear to have an outside chance of making it back from the 10-day injured list before the end of the month, but an early July return appears more realistic.

Hernandez went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run, a double and a walk in Sunday's loss against the Royals.

Hernandez socked his sixth homer of the season off Mike Minor in the second inning, and he was Boston's biggest source of offense in a game during which the team just couldn't take advantage of their opportunities. The former Dodgers utility man is hitting only .233 on the season but might be on the rise after hitting safely in four of his last five games.

Arroyo (lower leg) underwent X-rays on his right leg that revealed no structural damage Sunday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Arroyo suffered a bone bruise on his right shin when he collided with teammate Enrique Hernandez in the fifth inning Sunday, and he needed to be helped off the field. While the 26-year-old is sore, manager Alex Cora sounded optimistic about the infielder after the game, so he should be considered day-to-day for now.

Arroyo was removed from Sunday's game at Kansas City with a bone bruise on his right shin, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 26-year-old suffered the injury during the fifth inning when he collided with teammate Enrique Hernandez, and Arroyo required assistance leaving the field. It wouldn't be a major surprise if Arroyo requires a trip to the injured list, though the severity of the injury officially remains unclear. He went 1-for-3 before going down with the injury Sunday.

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

Rojas will take a seat after he went 6-for-23 with two doubles, two walks, a stolen base and four runs while starting the past six games. Josh VanMeter will fill in for Rojas at second base and as the Diamondbacks' leadoff man.

Urias will start at third base and bat seventh Sunday against the Rockies.

Urias led off and scored three runs in Saturday's 6-5 win, but he'll move down in the batting order with Kolten Wong back in the lineup after a one-game respite. Now that Wong has overcome the oblique injury that sidelined him for two weeks, Urias will likely find himself in the bottom third of the batting order on a more frequent basis.

Espinal will start at third base and bat eighth Sunday against the Orioles.

Espinal will stick in the starting nine for a fourth straight game after he reached base four times (two base hits, two walks) across his four plate appearances in Saturday's 10-7 win over the Orioles. His run as the Blue Jays' everyday third baseman will likely come to an end soon since Teoscar Hernandez returned from the paternity list Sunday. Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel and Randal Grichuk will likely form Toronto's everyday outfield for now, leaving Cavan Biggio to pick up more work at the hot corner at Espinal's expense.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Yankees.

Though his on-base average sits at an ugly .276 for the season, Andrus has enjoyed a nice surge at the plate in June after struggling mightily during the first two months of the season. Through 16 games on the month, Andrus is slashing .298/.365/.439 with nine runs, seven RBI and two stolen bases. Despite the improved production, Andrus hasn't been rewarded with a move up the batting order. He'll start at shortstop and bat eighth in Sunday's series finale.

Kemp is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

After starting each of the past four games, the lefty-hitting Kemp will take a seat with southpaw Jordan Montgomery on the hill. The Athletics haven't fully committed to giving Kemp a regular role, but his 1.062 OPS thus far in June should continue to afford him plenty of playing time in the short term. Seth Brown, who has posted a .462 OPS since the beginning of the month, appears to be the most likely candidate to lose reps to Kemp against right-handed pitching.

The Nationals optioned Garcia to Triple-A Rochester on Sunday.

Garcia looked like he could be moving into a large-side platoon role last week when Starlin Castro landed on the restricted list, but Castro was away from the team for only two days. With Washington back at full strength in the infield, playing time wasn't going to be available for Garcia, who will head back to the minors in order to play on an everyday basis.