MLB Player News

Bethancourt (illness) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday and went 3-for-13 with a double and a stolen base across his first three games with the affiliate.

Bethancourt was placed on the 10-day IL on April 15 after coming down with a viral illness, but his ability to return to game action a few days later suggests that he's tracking toward a minimum-length stay on the shelf. Once Bethancourt is activated, he'll likely be part of a timeshare with Nick Fortes behind the plate.

Ruiz (illness) indicated Sunday that he is almost fully recovered from the bout of the flu that landed him on the 10-day injured list, but he's expected to go on a short rehab stint before being activated, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The 25-year-old catcher has lost nearly 20 pounds while battling the bug, but he's begun taking part in some baseball activities and lifting weights again. He also tried to spin the weight loss as a positive. "But I feel good. I feel lighter," Ruiz said. "So I've got to take the positives. I feel like I can run better, move better. And I gain weight fast, too. I'm going to eat a couple burgers." Ruiz will likely be assigned to Double-A Harrisburg to get back into game shape, and while he's eligible to come off the IL as soon as Tuesday, a return this weekend for a series in Miami seems more plausible.

Nido went 1-for-3 with a strikeout in Sunday's loss to the Dodgers.

Making his first start of the season for the Mets and batting ninth, Nido threw out Will Smith attempting to swipe second base to end the third inning -- a noteworthy event only because Francisco Alvarez (thumb) and Omar Narvaez had gone a combined 0-for-28 to begin the season in throwing out base stealers. With Alvarez sidelined and Narvaez batting just .200 (5-for-25), Nido's defense could earn him more than just a short-side platoon role while he's in the majors.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mariners.

Diaz delivered Colorado's only offense with a two-RBI double in the opening frame. That continued a hot start to the campaign, as he has at least one hit in 11 of his last 13 games while also racking up nine RBI and five runs scored in that span.

Moreno went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Giants.

Moreno made his big splash in the top of the sixth inning, driving in two runs with a one-out single, giving Arizona a 3-2 lead. He later added another base knock in the top of the ninth, coming around to score on a double from Kevin Newman. Moreno is has now produced back-to-back two-hit performances, raising his batting average to .263 with 11 RBI and eight runs scored over 57 at-bats in 19 games this season.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

After he totaled four homers and eight RBI in the first two games of the series, d'Arnaud will head to the bench for Sunday's finale. Chadwick Tromp will step in behind the plate to catch for Darious Vines.

Alvarez will get surgery Tuesday for the torn UCL in his left thumb and expects to miss 6-to-8 weeks, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Alvarez sustained the thumb injury during Friday's game against the Dodgers after stumbling on his turn toward second base. He started the season slashing .236/.288/.364 with one home run and eight RBI over 59 plate appearances. Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido will handle the catching duties while Alvarez is sidelined.

Stephenson went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Angels.

Patrick Sandoval loaded the bases in the first inning and Stephenson cashed in with his first career grand slam. As Mark Sheldon of MLB.com notes, Stephenson has been one of the best hitters in baseball at making hard contact so far this year, ranking at the very top of the league in barrel percentage entering play Saturday. The results weren't there early on this season, but Stephenson now has three home runs in his last seven games.

Contreras went 3-for-6 with two runs and an RBI in Saturday's 12-5 win at St. Louis.

The 26-year-old drove in both of Milwaukee's runs during Friday's 2-1 victory, and he led the offense with three hits Saturday. It's already the 10th multi-hit game of the season for Contreras, who ranks first in the National League with a .372 average and is also third in RBI (20) and fifth in runs scored (18).

Bailey went 4-for-4 with two doubles and a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

It's the second time in Bailey's relatively brief big-league career that he's tallied three extra-base hits in one game, as he had two doubles and a triple in a contest last June in Colorado. The four hits also tied a career high, as he did it once before last May in Milwaukee. Bailey's home run Saturday was a 407-foot shot which found McCovey Cove beyond the right-field stands.