MLB Player News

Espinal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, but X-rays on his bruised right wrist returned negative, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

Espinal was fortunate to avoid any structural damage to his wrist after being hit by a pitch in Saturday's 3-2 loss, but he may be down for a day or two while he waits for the bruising to subside. The Blue Jays still have Cavan Biggio on hand as a utility infielder if Espinal isn't available off the bench.

Donovan is out of the lineup of Sunday's game against the Mariners.

The 26-year-old rejoined the lineup Friday after sitting out a couple days due to an infected abrasion in his lower left leg, but he's out of the starting nine Sunday for the second straight day. It's unclear if the injury is still bothersome for Donovan, or if manager Oliver Marmol is simply prioritizing other matchups this weekend.

Rengifo will start at second base and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Royals.

Rengifo will pick up his fourth consecutive start, with two coming at the keystone and two coming in the outfield. Though he's reached base five times in 11 plate appearances over the previous three games, Rengifo is still sitting on a .616 OPS for the season. He'll likely need to string together several more solid offensive performances before moving out of his current utility role and staking his claim to an everyday gig.

The Cardinals designated Motter for assignment Sunday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Motter saw action in seven games with the Cardinals and slashed .222/.300/.333 over his 20 plate appearances. He'll cede his spot on the roster to Paul DeJong (back), who was reinstated from the 10-day injured list and is expected to fill the same utility infield role that Motter previously occupied.

Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Altuve (thumb) is ahead of schedule and will undergo X-rays in the next two weeks to gauge how he's healing, Jim Bowden of The Athletic reports.

Brown noted that the second baseman has shown "great movement and flexibility in the thumb" during his rehab. Altuve broke his thumb after being hit by a pitch in the World Baseball Classic, and while Houston didn't place him on the 60-day injured list, he's not expected to return to the lineup until the latter part of May. A more specific timeline should be available after Altuve undergoes imaging on the thumb in around two weeks.

Drury is out of the lineup for Sunday's contest against the Royals, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Drury will sit out the series finale against Kansas City, with Luis Rengifo getting the start at second base and hitting fifth against Jordan Lyles and the Royals.

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

The lefty-hitting Lopez has now sat three times in four games, with all of his absences coming against left-handed starting pitchers. The Royals will turn to Michael Massey at second base and Matt Duffy at third base to complement the team's everyday starters, Bobby Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino, in the infield.

Gimenez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Gimenez is mired in a 2-for-19 slump and will take a seat Sunday after he started Cleveland's first 21 games of the campaign. Gabriel Arias will step in at the keystone and bat eighth in the series finale versus Miami.

Arraez is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians.

Arraez went 4-for-8 over the doubleheader against the Guardians on Saturday and will take a seat with a .444 average over his first 72 at-bats with the Marlins. Jon Berti is leading off and playing second base in Arraez's absence.

Arroyo is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

Arroyo returned to action off the bench while going 1-for-2 with a run scored during Saturday's loss to the Brewers, but he will take a seat for the series finale against Milwaukee on Sunday. Enrique Hernandez gets the start at second base while Yu Chang will play shortstop against Corbin Burnes and the Brew Crew.