MLB Player News

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

After he appeared to briefly overtake Martin Maldonado as the Padres' preferred catching option toward the end of July, Diaz may be back in the No. 2 role for the rest of the season with San Diego bringing in Freddy Fermin from Kansas City ahead of Thursday's trade deadline. Fermin was on the bench for Friday's 4-1 win but will end up starting the final two games of the series with St. Louis while Diaz sits out.

Sheets is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

With the Padres acquiring Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano from the Orioles on Thursday to bolster their lineup, Sheets looks as though he'll be in store for a downsized role. Sheets didn't end up making a start during the three-game series versus St. Louis, with the Cardinals sending two right-handers and one left-hander to the hill. Since he's a left-handed hitter, Sheets doesn't profile as a potential short-side platoon player, so he may have to settle for a part-time role against right-handed pitching when San Diego has all of its key bats available.

Nootbaar is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

After missing about three weeks due to a left costochondral sprain, Nootbaar made his return to the St. Louis lineup in Saturday's 8-5 win, starting in right field while going 1-for-5 with two strikeouts. He'll cede his spot in the outfield to Jordan Walker in the series finale, but Nootbaar should be a near-everyday player against right-handed pitching now that he's healthy again.

Pozo will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Padres.

Pozo appears to have moved ahead of the slumping Pedro Pages on the depth chart at catcher -- he'll be making his fourth start behind the dish in six games Sunday. Though Pages is regarded as the superior defender, the upgrade Pozo provides with the bat appears to be too much for manager Oliver Marmol to ignore. Pozo heads into Sunday's contest with a .746 OPS over 121 plate appearances, compared to Pages' .566 OPS across 278 plate appearances.

Donovan was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres due to a family emergency, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Donovan was penciled in atop the lineup for the series finale in San Diego, but he'll instead be unavailable while he address a personal matter. It's unclear if the situation will affect his availability beyond Sunday's contest.

Alexander will start at third base and bat second in Sunday's game against the Athletics.

In the wake of Eugenio Suarez being traded to the Mariners on Thursday, Alexander appears to have settled in as Arizona's everyday third baseman. He'll pick up his fifth straight start Sunday after going 2-for-14 with a walk and a run over the previous four contests.

Marte is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

After starting each of the past 11 games while batting .279 with two home runs and four RBI, Marte will retreat to the bench for Sunday's matinee. Connor Kaiser will step in at second base in place of Marte.

Del Castillo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Though he's been a regular in the lineup against right-handed pitching since getting a call-up from Triple-A Reno on July 18, the left-handed-hitting Del Castillo will exit the lineup while the Athletics send righty Jack Perkins to the hill. Lourdes Gurriel will get a day off from playing the outfield and will step in at designated hitter in place of Del Castillo, who has gone 3-for-28 with 13 strikeouts over his last eight contests.

McCann is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

McCann will be on the bench for the third time in four games while the Diamondbacks continue to use a three-man committee at catcher that also includes Jose Herrera and Adrian Del Castillo. Herrera will get the nod behind the dish Sunday, catching for starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez.

The Padres reinstated Cortes (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Sunday.

Shortly after being acquired from the Brewers at the trade deadline, Cortes will join the Padres' 26-man active roster after missing about four months due to a flexor strain. The left-hander threw 93 pitches over 5.2 innings during his final rehab outing at Triple-A Nashville on July 24, so he should be able to handle a full starter's workload whenever he makes his Padres debut. The open spot in San Diego's rotation lines up for next weekend versus Boston, but the Padres could have Cortes take the mound during the three-game series in Arizona that begins Monday.