MLB Player News

Conforto is not in the lineup for Monday's contest versus Atlanta, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Atlanta is sending left-hander Chris Sale to the hill, so the left-handed hitting Conforto will begin this one on the bench. Jerar Encarnacion will patrol left field and Marco Luciano will be the designated hitter.

The Diamondbacks reinstated Walston (elbow) from the 15-day injured list Monday and optioned him to Triple-A Reno.

With Eduardo Rodriguez and Merrill Kelly both recently returning from the IL, the Diamondbacks don't have an open spot on the rotation for Walston. For now, Walston will head down to Triple-A, but the 23-year-old southpaw should eventually make his way back to the big club, possibly as a multi-inning option out of the bullpen if the rotation isn't impacted by injury. Prior to landing on the IL on June 6 due to left elbow inflammation, Walston registered a 2.84 ERA and 1.42 WHIP across 12.2 innings in three major-league appearances (two starts).

Kiermaier will start in center field and bat ninth in Monday's game against the Brewers.

Kiermaier will occupy center for the fifth time in six games, with two of his starts coming against left-handed pitching. The Dodgers seem to be favoring Kiermaier over Andy Pages at the moment, with the former's superior defense giving him the edge in playing time while the latter has been slumping at the plate. Kiermaier is batting just 1-for-13 with six strikeouts since joining the Dodgers at the trade deadline and is slashing .188/.233/.296 on the season, so fantasy managers likely won't be able to extract much value from him even if he continues to play ahead of Pages.

Black has been added to the Brewers' taxi squad and could be formally recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Monday, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Black is with the club at American Family Field ahead of Monday's game against the Dodgers and could be activated if Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins (calf) requires a stint on the injured list. The rookie has gone 8-for-34 at the plate in 12 games with Milwaukee this season.

Perkins is likely unavailable to play Monday against the Dodgers due to a calf issue, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Perkins evidently tweaked his calf during Sunday's loss to the Reds. The Brewers have added Tyler Black to the taxi squad, and he could be recalled from Triple-A Nashville if Perkins requires a stint on the injured list.

The Padres activated Musgrove (elbow) from the 60-day injured list Monday.

Musgrove will rejoin San Diego's rotation Monday versus the Pirates after missing 11 weeks of action with a bone spur and bone bruise in his right elbow. The veteran right-hander threw only 43 pitches in his lone rehab start, so his workload will be curtailed against Pittsburgh.

Machado is not in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the Pirates, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Machado will begin the series in the dugout after going 3-for-14 with two doubles and four RBI in the Padres' three-game weekend series against the Marlins. Since the All-Star break, Machado is slashing .274/.311/.536 with five home runs and 16 RBI across 100 plate appearances. Donovan Solano will man the hot corner and bat fifth against Pittsburgh right-hander Joe Musgrove.

Manager Craig Counsell said Monday that Brown (neck) has been shut down from throwing "for the time being," Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Brown continues to experience lingering discomfort in his neck that has kept him on the injured list since June 11. Counsell did note that the situation is not season-ending, and he expressed confidence that rest will be enough for Brown to recover, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune.

Manager Oli Marmol told reporters Monday that Matz did not feel any back pain following his rehab outing with Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Matz came away with the no decision Sunday after allowing one run on two hits while striking out three across four frames. His next rehab appearance will take place Friday, and the plan is for the 33-year-old southpaw to toss five innings and approximately 75-to-80 pitches. Matz has not pitched for the Cardinals since late April due to a herniated disc in his back, though he could be on his way back to the big club if he comes out of Friday's outing unscathed.

Pages is not in the lineup for Monday's game in Milwaukee, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Pages is coming off one of his better games in a while, having reached base four times in Sunday's win over the Pirates. Nevertheless, he will begin the series opener versus the Brewers on the bench, marking the third time in four games that he has exited the lineup against a right-hander. Kevin Kiermaier will get the nod in center field and may represent the Dodgers' preferred option at the position.