MLB Player News

Kirk (head) exited Sunday's contest against the Mariners in the top of the fifth inning, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Kirk suffered a blow to the helmet on a backswing from Julio Rodriguez in bottom of the third inning. The catcher remained in the contest for another full inning before exiting, likely due to precautionary reasons. Tyler Heineman replaced him behind the plate versus Seattle.

Kittredge (knee) tossed one scoreless inning, allowing two hits while striking out a batter in Triple-A Norfolk's loss against Nashville on Sunday, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Kittredge threw all nine of his pitches for strikes in the inning, completing his second appearance out of the bullpen with Norfolk on his rehab assignment. The relief pitcher has missed the entirety of the 2025 campaign while on the 15-day injured list after he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in early March. Kittredge appears to be on the cusp of an activation and may require just one more outing in Triple-A before potentially joining the Orioles' roster.

Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Stroman (knee) has been experiencing some discomfort after throwing a simulated game Friday, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

The right-hander is working his way back from inflammation in his left knee and appeared to be closing in on the start of a rehab assignment, but the renewed discomfort will pause his progress for at least a few days. Stroman received a cortisone injection for his knee shortly after landing on the injured list April 12, and it's concerning that he's still having some issues a month later.

Lukes will start in right field and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Lukes will pick up his fourth straight start in the outfield and seems to be the primary beneficiary of second baseman Andres Gimenez's (quadriceps) recent move to the injured list. Since Gimenez landed on the IL, Ernie Clement has taken over as the Blue Jays' primary second baseman, and Addison Barger has moved to third base to open up a spot in the outfield for Lukes.

Varsho is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Since being activated from the 10-day injured list April 29 after completing his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, Varsho has yet to start in more than three consecutive games. That trend will continue Sunday, as Myles Straw gets the nod in center while Varsho rests after starting Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Over his first nine games of the season with Toronto, Varsho is slashing .194/.250/.516 with three home runs, one stolen base, seven RBI and four runs.

Santander (shoulder) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Santander will hit the bench for a third straight game as he continues to nurse the sore left shoulder he suffered Thursday. Toronto has a scheduled day off Monday, so the outfielder will end up having four full days of rest heading into Tuesday's series opener versus the Rays. Nathan Lukes and Jonatan Clase are starting in the corner-outfield spots Sunday for the Blue Jays.

Rengifo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Tim Anderson will step in at second base while Rengifo hits the bench for the second time in the last four games. Though Rengifo still appears to be locked into a near-everyday role, he may have lost some job security after a slow start to May in which he's gone just 2-for-22 at the dish.

Schanuel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Schanuel appears to be receiving a routine day off after he had started each of the Halos' last 11 games while slashing .282/.378/.333 with seven runs and one RBI. Kevin Newman will cover first base Sunday in Schanuel's stead.

Soler (groin) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Soler was out of the lineup for the previous two games due to a groin injury, though the fact that he was deployed as a pinch hitter in Friday's 4-1 loss suggested that the Angels weren't too concerned about the issue. He'll take back his normal duties at DH in the series finale and should be in store for a full slate of starts during the Angels' upcoming six-game week.

Williamson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

After making 10 straight starts at third base, Williamson will hit the bench Sunday after going 8-for-40 (.200 average) with 13 strikeouts during that span. Miles Mastrobuoni will step in at the hot corner and bat eighth.