MLB Player News

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez will hit the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Matt Mervis and Liam Hicks while the Diamondbacks send southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez to the hill for the series finale. After being activated from the injured list Tuesday, Sanchez has picked up starts in center field and designated hitter through his first two games of the season, going 3-for-8 with a walk between those contests.

Mervis is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

With southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez taking the hill for Arizona, Mervis will be one of three left-handed-hitting Marlins regulars who will retreat to the bench. Eric Wagaman will pick up a start at first base in place of Mervis, who has gone 9-for-25 with six home runs and 11 RBI over his last eight games.

Hicks is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Hicks will take a seat for the day game after a night game, opening up a start behind the dish for Rob Brantly. While Nick Fortes is on the injured list due to a Grade 1 oblique strain, Hicks should see the bulk of the starts at catcher. The Rule 5 pickup is batting .194 with no home runs, seven RBI and four runs over 43 plate appearances on the season.

Davis is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

While Joey Bart (back) was out of the lineup for the previous five games, Davis drew four starts behind the dish and went 3-for-17 with a home run and two RBI during that stretch. Bart has made enough progress with his recovery to resume catching duties in Thursday's series finale, and assuming he steers clear of setbacks, he should see the bulk of the starts moving forward.

Reynolds (triceps) will start in right field and bat second in Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Reynolds will be making his first start in the outfield since March 30, as he had been limited exclusively to designated-hitter duties over the past two and a half weeks while managing right triceps soreness. The 30-year-old was apparently able to resume a throwing program without issue in recent days, and the Pirates are now comfortable enough with his health to have him play defense again. Pittsburgh had been getting by with a committee of Andrew McCutchen, Jack Suwinski and Alexander Canario in right field, but assuming Reynolds is ready to play in the outfield on a regular basis moving forward, McCutchen will likely end up seeing the bulk of the starts at DH.

Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said Thursday that McCarthy still has hand soreness as a result of a hit-by-pitch in Sunday's game versus the Brewers, Jose M. Romero of MLB.com reports.

The injury partly explains why McCarthy is out of the lineup for a third straight game Thursday in Miami, although the 27-year-old has not been used as an everyday player so far this season. Lovullo plans to get McCarthy back into the lineup at some point during the team's weekend series against the Cubs. Alek Thomas will start in center field and bat seventh for the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Bart (back) will start at catcher and bat cleanup in Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Though the Pirates were concerned enough about Bart's health to keep newly acquired Brett Sullivan on hand Thursday in case he needed to be added to the roster as additional catching depth, Bart demonstrated enough progress in his recovery from lower-back soreness to resume catching duties Thursday. The injury kept Bart out of the lineup for five straight games, but assuming he experiences no setbacks Thursday, he should be capable of handling a near-everyday role behind the dish moving forward. Bart had gotten off to a strong start o the season prior to getting hurt, batting .275 with one home run, one stolen base, five RBI and four runs over 12 games.

Trevino is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Mariners.

Trevino caught each of the first two games of the series, so he'll receive some rest for Thursday's matinee. Austin Wynns is behind the dish and batting ninth for the Reds in Thursday's rubber match.

McLain is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

McLain started the first two games upon his return from the 10-day injured list, but he'll get a breather for Thursday's series finale. Gavin Lux is at second base and batting fifth for the Reds on Thursday.

Steer is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Steer has been limited to designated-hitter duties thus far as he works his way back from a right shoulder injury, but manager Terry Francona said that the 27-year-old is ramping up his throwing and is almost ready to play first base, according to Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News. It's not clear when Steer might be ready to play additional positions, however. Austin Hays will get a start at DH on Thursday while Steer rests.