MLB Player News

Ward is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game in Boston.

Ward has been dreadful since being acquired by the Mariners at the trade deadline, slashing .121/.227/.152 across 19 contests. As a result, he might find himself on the short side of a platoon moving forward. Lazaro Montes has been called up and is slotted in at designated hitter for Seattle on Tuesday.

Pederson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics.

The left-handed-hitting Pederson will retreat to the bench while the Athletics send southpaw Gage Jump to the hill for the series opener. Elias Diaz will replace Pederson as the Rangers' designated hitter.

The Red Sox recalled Gasper from Triple-A Worcester on Monday, and he'll start at first base and bat second in the team's series opener versus the Mariners.

Boston optioned Gasper to Triple-A on Sunday, but he'll wind up rejoining the big club just one day later after Willson Contreras (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list in a corresponding move. The Red Sox will plug Gasper in right away at Contreras' spot in the field, though Nick Sogard could also be in the mix for starts at first base while Contreras is on the shelf. Gasper has acquitted himself well at the plate over his various stints in the big leagues this season, slashing a collective .278/.374/.466 with five home runs, 19 RBI and 17 runs across 45 games.

Bell went 2-for-4 with two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in Sunday's 5-1 win over the White Sox.

Bell delivered RBI singles in each of his first two plate appearances and added his second stolen base of the season after going seven consecutive seasons without recording a single steal. The veteran has been locked in throughout August, batting .311 with 20 RBI across 24 games. Bell has also cut down significantly on his strikeouts during the hot stretch, posting an 11.7 percent strikeout rate compared to his 20.3 percent mark for the season.

Rice is out of the lineup for the Yankees' series finale against Boston.

Despite recording multi-hit performances in three of his last four games, Rice will sit out Sunday's pivotal matchup with the Red Sox. Paul Goldschmidt will lead off and play first base, while Luis Garcia will slot in as the DH and cleanup for New York.

Boston optioned Gasper to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

With both Trevor Story (abdomen) and Roman Anthony (finger) returning from the injured list, Gasper will wind up losing his spot on the 26-man active roster. The demotion comes even though Gasper had been running hot at the plate since being recalled from Triple-A on Aug. 16; over the last two weeks, he slashed .423/.595/1.115 with five home runs, three doubles, nine walks, 12 RBI and six runs in 11 games.

Rice went 2-for-9 with a run and three RBI over both games of Saturday's doubleheader split with Boston.

Rice went a quiet 0-for-4 in Game 1, but he bounced back with a 2-for-5 performance in the nightcap. His RBI single in the third inning of that game produced New York's first run of the twin bill, and Rice added a two-run single to cap the scoring in the eighth. The All-Star slugger struggled through most of August but has been heating up of late, batting .357 (10-for-28) with a home run, two doubles, six runs and six RBI over his past seven games.

Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a solo homer and a sacrifice fly in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Mets.

Alvarez produced both of the Astros' runs, opening the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before adding a solo shot in the eighth. The long ball was just his second in 25 August games, though he still owns a .919 OPS during that stretch. The 29-year-old nears the final month of the regular season eyeing the American League Triple Crown, leading in batting average (.320), homers (37) and RBI (93) to go along with 90 runs scored and a stolen base across 588 plate appearances.

Benintendi went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Twins.

The veteran outfielder was responsible for almost all of the Chicago offense in the contest. Benintendi recorded the team's only three hits and both its RBI, and Sam Antonacci -- who drew a walk to lead off the game and then came home on a single -- was the only other White Sox player to cross the plate. Benintendi's got a long history of doing damage at Target Field, and in 46 career games at the Twins' home park he's produced a .351/.407/.632 slash line with 14 homers.

Gasper isn't in the lineup for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Yankees, Tommy Cassell of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.

Gasper has appeared in 10 straight games since coming up from the minors Aug. 16, but he'll move to the bench to begin the first half of Saturday's events. Jahmai Jones will serve as Boston's designated hitter and bat leadoff.