MLB Player News

Grisham will start in center field and bat ninth in Thursday's game against the Orioles, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Grisham will get his fourth straight start in center field, but his run of regular playing time should soon come to an end. During the first three starts, the Yankees were without Alex Verdugo (personal), who was on the paternity list. Verdugo has rejoined the Yankees for Thursday's series finale in Baltimore and will start in left field, but New York will have room in center field for Grisham once again while Aaron Judge serves as the designated hitter in place of a resting Giancarlo Stanton. Grisham will be relegated to the fourth-outfielder role for games in which all of Judge, Verdugo, Stanton and Juan Soto are included in the lineup.

Stanton is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Baltimore, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Stanton is getting Thursday off after he went 1-for-10 with a 3:2 K:BB in the first three games of the series. Aaron Judge will get a day out of the outfield and will replace Stanton as the Yankees' designated hitter.

Abreu is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

With southpaw Kyle Harrison on the bump for the Giants, the lefty-hitting Abreu will retreat to the bench for the series finale. The Red Sox will have Tyler O'Neill move from his usual spot in left field to replace Abreu in right.

Smith is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

After he was granted his release from his minor-league deal with the Rays earlier Wednesday, Smith quickly landed with the Red Sox on a one-year contract and was included in the lineup upon joining the team. He started at first base in Wednesday's 6-2 win, going 1-for-4 with an RBI. While Masataka Yoshida (thumb) is on the shelf along with Triston Casas (ribs), the Red Sox could have room in the lineup at designated hitter and first base for both Smith and Garrett Cooper (wrist), though the lefty-hitting Smith will still likely sit against most left-handed pitchers. Smith finds himself on the bench Thursday with the Giants bringing southpaw Kyle Harrison to the hill.

Cooper (wrist) will bat sixth as the Red Sox's designated hitter in Thursday's game against the Giants, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Cooper didn't play in Wednesday's 6-2 win while tending to a bruised right wrist, but he'll be back in action for the series finale. Given that he's serving as the Red Sox's DH rather than manning first base, it's possible that the bruised wrist is still presenting some complications with his throwing. With Masataka Yoshida (thumb) going on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, the Red Sox can give Cooper as much time as he needs at DH to heal up from the wrist issue before he's reintegrated at first base.

The Yankees optioned Narvaez to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday.

Narvaez was up for three games while Alex Verdugo was on paternity leave but didn't make an appearance. The catcher will return to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he's collected a .718 OPS with two homers in 101 plate appearances this season.

The Yankees activated Verdugo from the paternity list Thursday.

Verdugo missed three games while tending to more important personal matters, but he's rejoined the club Thursday and presumably will be back in the lineup for their afternoon tilt against the Orioles. Aaron Judge played some left field while Verdugo was away but will now return to center field.

The Orioles reinstated Bradish (elbow) from the 15-day injured list and will have him start Thursday's game against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

Baltimore lost Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder) to the 15-day IL on Wednesday, but they'll add two pitchers back into the rotation this week with Bradish returning Thursday and John Means (elbow) expected to take the hill Friday or Saturday in Cincinnati. Bradish was diagnosed with a sprained UCL in his pitching elbow upon reporting to spring training, but he was able to avoid surgery and has seemingly bounced back from the injury after a lengthy rest and rehab period. He closed his three-start minor-league rehab assignment on a high note last Friday with Triple-A Norfolk, striking out six over five innings and allowing one run on five hits and one walk. He built up to 77 pitches in that outing and should have only a light workload restriction in place Thursday when he makes his 2024 Orioles debut. Bradish emerged as arguably the Orioles' top starter in his second MLB season in 2023, logging a 2.83 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 168:44 K:BB across 168.2 innings.

The Orioles designated Ramirez for assignment Thursday, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Ramirez is the roster casualty as the Orioles bring back Kyle Bradish (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to start Thursday's contest versus the Yankees. The 28-year-old reliever holds an 8.74 ERA over eight relief appearances this season between the Mets and Orioles.

The Red Sox optioned Valdez to Triple-A Worcester on Thursday, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

The 25-year-old will head back to the minors to make room on the roster for infielder Zack Short, who was acquired via trade Wednesday and has now been added to the 26-man active roster. Valdez has slashed just .156/.186/.267 across 28 games with the big club this season. He will add to his versatility while at Worcester, as the plan is to use him at third base, first base and potentially the outfield in addition to second base.