MLB Player News

Merrill is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The Cardinals are rolling out southpaw Zack Thompson, so the left-handed hitting Merrill will take a seat. The Padres will go with Jose Azocar in center field.

DeJong is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

DeJong will take a seat against a right-handed starting pitcher (Spencer Strider) for the second day in a row and looks to be moving into a short-side platoon role at shortstop with the lefty-hitting Braden Shewmake. DeJong has just two hits through 11 at-bats this season, though both knocks have been solo home runs.

Arcia is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

Arcia will head to the bench in what appears to be routine maintenance for a day game after a night game. Luis Guillorme will step in at shortstop for Arcia, who has gone 9-for-20 with four doubles and one walk while plating two runs and scoring twice through Atlanta's first five contests of the season.

Mateo will start in center field and bat seventh in Wednesday's game versus Kansas City.

Mateo has yet to start a game versus a right-hander, but he's been in the starting nine all three times the Orioles have faced southpaws thus far. He manned second base in his first two starts but will handle center field Wednesday while the lefty-hitting Cedric Mullins gets a breather against Royals southpaw Cole Ragans.

Shewmake will start at shortstop and bat sixth in Wednesday's game versus Atlanta.

Shewmake will get his second straight start at shortstop, and he has now been in the lineup four of the five times the White Sox have faced a right-hander. He could be overtaking Paul DeJong as Chicago's preferred option at shortstop, at least against righties.

Betts went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during Tuesday's win over the Giants.

Betts' bat continues to be one of the best in baseball, as he mashed his league-leading fifth home run of the campaign. He sits comfortably atop the league in hits (15) with the next-closest players a full three hits behind, and he has 14 more total bases than any other player. While his ridiculous .500/.605/1.167 slash line is certain to regress at some point, fantasy managers have to be thrilled with what they're getting from the six-time All-Star early on.

Rosario is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Rosario will hit the bench after he started each of the last four games -- three in right field, one at shortstop -- while going 2-for-15 with a double, a walk and an RBI. The righty-hitting Rosario should be a mainstay in the lineup versus left-handed pitching, but he'll occasionally mix into the starting nine against righties, too. Two of his four starts to date have come versus right-handed pitching.

DeJong went 1-for-2 with a solo home run Tuesday against Atlanta.

DeJong began Tuesday's game on the bench, with Braden Shewmake instead getting the start at shortstop. DeJong has now been out of the lineup for two of the White Sox's first five games and has also struck out seven times in 11 plate appearances. He has also mixed in two homers, but Shewmake has the potential to continue cutting into his playing time.

Story went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI in Tuesday's 5-4 win over Oakland.

Story doubled in Boston's first run in the first inning then singled in the game-tying run in the seventh. After a slow start, going 1-for-13 through the season's first three games, Story's bat has come alive. He's hit in three straight (6-for-13) with three doubles and four RBI.

Duran entered Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay as a pinch hitter and stayed in the game at third base. He went 0-for-1 with a walk.

Duran pinch hit for Josh Smith, who had started at third base in place of the injured Josh Jung (thumb). The lefty-batting Smith started against a right-hander, while Duran cane into the game once a left-handed reliever entered for the Rays. While those two could form a platoon as Jung rehabs for at least the next six weeks, Justin Foscue could get opportunities there, too. Foscue was called up Tuesday and played 35 games at the hot corner while at Triple-A Round Rock in 2023.