MLB Player News

Belt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

He'll be on the bench for the second day in a row with Milwaukee bringing another lefty (Aaron Ashby) to the hill for the series finale. Yermin Mercedes will step in at designated hitter for Belt, who has yet to return to first base since suffering a knee injury earlier this month.

Ramirez exited after the first inning of Sunday's game against the Orioles and was diagnosed with a broken right thumb, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. He'll be re-evaluated in two weeks before potentially being cleared for baseball activities.

Ramirez's absence from the lineup until at least the early part of August is yet another blow to a banged-up Rays roster that already has Wander Franco (wrist), Kevin Kiermaier (hip), Mike Zunino (shoulder) and Manuel Margot (knee) sidelined with long-term injuries. Before exiting after being hit on the hand by a pitch in his lone plate appearance of Sunday's contest, Ramirez had entered the contest with a .329 batting average for the season, the third-best mark in the majors among all players with at least 200 at-bats. Brett Phillips, Christian Bethancourt and Luke Raley are the potential candidates to take on increased roles while Ramirez is out, though it wouldn't be surprising if the Rays looked to the trade market to add a more experienced piece to replace him and some of the other injured hitters on the roster.

The Rangers recalled Solak from Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday.

Solak isn't included in the lineup for Sunday's series finale with the Mariners and will likely function as a short-side platoon option off the bench while he's up with Texas. In 75 plate appearances for the Rangers this season, Solak has slashed .209/.293/.313 with a 22.7 percent strikeout rate.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Alvarez (hand) will do some hitting Sunday for the first time since landing on the injured list a week ago, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez's inflamed right hand will prevent him from partaking in All-Star festivities during the upcoming week, so rather than heading to Los Angeles for the Midsummer Classic, the 25-year-old slugger will remain in Houston to receive treatment. Baker said that he's hopeful to have Alvarez available for the Astros' doubleheader with the Yankees on Thursday to open the team's second-half slate, but Alvarez's availability for either contest will hinge on how his hand responds to hitting activities over the next few days.

Miller (neck) is starting at designated hitter and batting eighth in Sunday's series finale versus the Mariners.

Miller was scratched from Saturday's lineup with neck tightness, but he's ready to go Sunday. The 32-year-old has produced just one hit over his last 10 at-bats, but the one hit was a two-run single.

Morel is starting in center field and batting first in Sunday's game against the Mets.

Morel sat in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader but will return for the series finale and last game before the All-Star break. The rookie has had a nice first half with an .814 OPS through 54 games, and he's chipped in nine home runs and eight stolen bases.

Jimenez (leg) is not starting Sunday's series finale against the Twins.

Jimenez has yet to resume running after he exited Wednesday's contest early with right leg tightness, causing him to miss the White Sox' last four games before the All-Star break. Jose Abreu will take over at designated hitter while Andrew Vaughn draws the start at first base and will bat third in the series finale.

Cabrera will sit Sunday versus the Guardians.

Cabrera will get a breather in the Tigers' final game before the All-Star break. Robbie Grossman will take over at designated hitter and bat sixth in the series finale.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Ozuna will hit the bench for the second time in less than a week while he heads into the All-Star break amid a slump at the plate. Over his last eight games, Ozuna went 4-for-29, dropping his season average to .221. Atlanta will give Ronald Acuna a day out of the outfield and deploy him as the designated hitter Sunday in place of Ozuna.

Stanton is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Red Sox.

Stanton will get a breather after he started seven straight games and went 7-for-30 with three homers, seven RBI and seven runs in those contests. Tim Locastro will take over in right field and bat eighth in the Yankees' final game before the All-Star break.