MLB Player News

Urias is not in the starting lineup for the team's series finale Sunday against the Cubs.

Urias was held out of two games earlier in the week with calf tightness, though returned to the lineup for the first two contests of the team's weekend series. There's no indication his current absence is due to injury. David Robertson will take over at shortstop and hit eighth.

McNeil is not in Sunday's lineup against the Nationals.

McNeil is absent from the team's lineup for the second time in the last four games, this time with lefty Patrick Corbin on the mound. Jonathan Villar will take over at second base and hit seventh.

Arroyo batted leadoff and went 0-for-4 in Saturday's 8-2 loss to the Mariners.

Arroyo was in the leadoff spot for the third time this season. Typically, Enrique Hernandez tops Boston's batting order, but he was given the day off Saturday. Arroyo, who has worked his way from backup utility infielder into a semi-regular role at second base, is hitless in his last eight at-bats.

Haggerty went 3-for-5 with a homer, a steal, a pair of RBI and a pair of runs scored Saturday against Boston.

Haggerty scored on Kyle Seager's two-run triple in the second inning. He later extended the Mariners' lead to five with a solo shot off Josh Taylor in the eighth inning, his second homer of the year. He now sits second on the team with three steals.

Hoerner went 1-for-2 with two walks, a double and two RBI in Saturday's loss to the Brewers.

Hoerner is off to a strong start at the MLB level, going 4-for-6 in two starts following his Thursday call-up. The 23-year-old started at shortstop Saturday with Javier Baez getting a day off, but he could get regular playing time at second base moving forward over David Bote and Eric Sogard, so long as he stays productive at the plate.

Short was optioned to the Tigers' alternate training site following Saturday's loss to the Royals, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Short was called up by the Tigers on Wednesday and went 1-for-5 with two walks and three strikeouts while appearing in three games. However, he'll now be removed from the major-league roster to make room for Miguel Cabrera (biceps), who will be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Sunday's game against Kansas City.

Mayfield was designated for assignment by the Angels on Saturday.

Mayfield was optioned to the Angels' alternate training site April 14, and he'll now be removed from the 40-man roster. The 30-year-old went hitless in three at-bats with the major-league club earlier in the season.

Altuve confirmed Saturday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, but he now feels good, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Altuve was one of five players the Astros placed on the COVID-19 injured list last week, but the second baseman was the only one to test positive for the virus. The 30-year-old was cleared to work out with his teammates Friday since he has now cleared the league's health and safety protocols. Altuve said Saturday that he isn't sure when he'll be cleared to return to game action, but he thinks that it will be "pretty soon," Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Hernandez isn't starting Saturday's game against the Mariners, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Hernandez had recorded hits in four of the last five games and went 5-for-24 with four extra-base hits, four runs and two RBI during that time. Christian Arroyo will take over at second base and lead off Saturday.

Castro is starting at second base and batting seventh in Saturday's game against the Royals.

Castro gets the nod at second with the slumping Niko Goodrum heading to the bench. Castro is batting .294 in limited action this year, but he also batted .347 last year and .291 back in 2019, so the 27-year-old has shown that he's capable of collecting plenty of hits at the MLB level.