MLB Player News

Yelich is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the White Sox.

Yelich will get the afternoon off after starting every game since April 15. William Contreras will occupy the designated-hitter spot Thursday, while Eric Haase will do the catching and bat ninth.

Gasper is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians.

Gasper will hit the bench after he had served as the Twins' designated hitter in three of the past four games while going 2-for-11 with an RBI and a run. The switch-hitting 29-year-old could see an uptick in opportunities while the Twins are without Royce Lewis (hamstring), Matt Wallner (hamstring) and Willi Castro (oblique), though manager Rocco Baldelli may prefer to rotate a number of players at the DH spot rather than settling on Gasper as the team's primary option.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Wednesday that he plans to use Rice at first base "a little bit here" and is "going to try" to work him in at catcher during blowout games, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Boone has begun to think about how he will deploy Rice -- who has a .958 OPS with eight home runs -- when the Yankees get Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) back from the injured list. Rice saw one inning at catcher in the April 27 win against the Blue Jays and Boone wanted to play him behind the plate Tuesday in Baltimore but decided against it after Rice was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning. The 26-year-old Rice is a natural catcher and works out there and at first base every day. Rice could see enough game action at catcher to earn eligibility there in fantasy leagues, although it probably won't happen anytime soon. Stanton is progressing in his rehab but is not close to returning, so Boone has time to mull how to use Rice once the team is at full strength. The manager did say he is not considering using Rice at any unfamiliar positions, so when Rice plays in the field it will be at first base or catcher.

Devers went 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-6 extra-inning loss to the Blue Jays.

Devers, who's had an up-and-down season, is on the rise again. He's hit safely in five straight (8-for-22) with three doubles, three home runs and an RBI in all five games. He's batting just .225 for the season, but 15 of his 27 hits have gone for extra bases. Devers ranks third on the team with 19 RBI.

Rooker went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 7-1 win against Texas on Wednesday.

The game was tied 1-1 entering the ninth inning, when Rooker unknotted the score with a two-run blast to left field. The Athletics tacked on four more runs later in the frame on a Lawrence Butler grand slam to secure the victory and move back above .500. Rooker had gone seven games without a long ball before Wednesday's blast, but he's been swinging an effective bat of late with three multi-hit performance across his past four contests. He's at a .258/.313/.508 slash line with eight homers, 17 RBI and 19 runs through 134 plate appearances on the season.

Santander went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's extra-inning win over Boston.

Santander is finally starting to emerge from his early-season doldrums, going deep in two of his last three games. The slugging switch hitter still has work to do, however, as he's slashing .175/.258/.316 with four round trippers, four doubles, 12 doubles and nine runs scored through 128 plate appearances. Fantasy managers should stay patient with Santander, who should continue to see plenty of RBI opportunities while primarily batting third in Toronto's lineup.

Schwarber went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Wednesday's win over the Nationals.

Schwarber has now homered in back-to-back contests, racking up five RBI during this span. The star slugger has also recorded an extra-base hit in three of his past four outings. Despite not having a multi-hit game in his last 11 contests, Schwarber extended his on-base streak to 30 games to open the season.

McCutchen went 1-for-3 with a walk and a two-run double in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Cubs.

McCutchen put the Pirates up for good in the seventh inning, when his double to center field off Brad Keller plated Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan Reynolds. McCutchen has logged at least one hit in nine of his last 10 games, and over that span he has gone 13-for-40 (.325) with one stolen base, five runs scored, two home runs and seven RBI.

Grichuk will serve as Arizona's designated hitter and No. 3 batter in Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Grichuk has essentially served as a pure short-side platoon player for Arizona this season, logging 35 of his 42 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. He'll replace Pavin Smith as the Diamondbacks' DH on Wednesday with southpaw Brandon Waddell in line to work in bulk relief for the Mets once right-handed opener Huascar Brazoban exits the contest.

Winker is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Diamondbacks.

Right-hander Corbin Burnes has reverse splits, which helps explain why the left-handed-hitting Winker will begin this one on the bench. Starling Marte is batting fifth as the designated hitter for the Mets.