MLB Player News

De La Cruz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

De La Cruz started the previous 31 games but will take a breather Sunday after he posted a .222/.258/.421 slash line during that span. Nick Gordon will receive a start in left field while batting seventh in the series finale versus Chicago.

The Pirates placed Falter on the 15-day injured list Sunday with left triceps tendinitis.

Falter was pulled during his start in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Mets with what the Pirates initially termed as left posterior arm discomfort, but the team has now settled on a more precise diagnosis for the injury. He'll be ineligible to rejoin the Pirates for at least the next two weeks, and a clearer timeline for his return should emerge once he's cleared to resume throwing. The Pirates could activate Quinn Priester (lat) from the IL during the upcoming week to fill Falter's spot in the rotation.

The Pirates designated Bruihl for assignment Sunday.

Pittsburgh will move Bruihl off its 40-man roster to open up a spot for right-handed reliever Brent Honeywell, whose contract was purchased from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to Sunday's game against the Mets. Before he was optioned to Indianapolis on June 27, Bruihl made seven relief appearances for the Pirates, giving up six earned runs on nine hits and one walk over 5.2 innings.

Bader is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Bader missed a pair of starts last Wednesday and Thursday while recovering from a head injury, but he returned to the lineup for the first two games of the Mets' series in Pittsburgh, going 1-for-6 with a double and an RBI. The Mets haven't indicated that Bader suffered any sort of setback since rejoining the lineup, so his absence Sunday is likely just a maintenance day.

Taylor is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Taylor has been operating as the Mets' primary right fielder since Starling Marte (knee) landed on the injured list June 25, but he'll exit the starting nine Sunday to clear a spot for DJ Stewart. Thus far during Marte's absence, Taylor is hitting just .162 over 10 games, but five of his six hits during that stretch have gone for extra bases (three home runs, two doubles).

Alvarez (elbow) will start at catcher and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Alvarez was held out for Saturday's 5-2 win after he was struck in the left elbow by a fastball in Friday's 14-2 loss in the series opener, but the day off was apparently all the young catcher needed to overcome the soreness he had been experiencing. Since returning from the injured list June 11, Alvarez has slashed .338/.413/.600 with three home runs, 15 RBI and eight runs.

Lipscomb will start at third base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Called up from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday, Lipscomb will make his second straight start at third base after going 1-for-5 with a run scored in the Nationals' 14-6 win in the second game of the series with St. Louis. With Washington designating Nick Senzel for assignment Saturday, Lipscomb should have a fairly clear path to a regular role at the hot corner, if his performance warrants him sticking around as an everyday player. Over four stints in the majors this season, Lipscomb enters Sunday's game with a collective .236/.307/.268 slash line to go with one home run and 10 stolen bases across 137 plate appearances.

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

Vargas picked up five straight starts in the infield between last Sunday and Thursday, but he benefited largely from Washington facing three left-handed pitchers over that stretch. He'll now hit the bench for the third game in a row, with a right-hander taking the hill for the opposition in each of those contests.

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

Ruiz will get a breather for the day game after he started behind the plate in the first two games of the series with St. Louis, going 4-for-9 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and two additional runs between those contests. Riley Adams will get the nod at catcher Sunday.

White will start in left field and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Phillies.

White will pick up his third straight start in left field, but his run of regular playing time could come to an end as soon as corner outfielder Ramon Laureano (oblique) is cleared to return from the injury that has kept him out of the lineup since June 26. After getting called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday, White has gone 0-for-7 with three strikeouts between Atlanta's first two games of the weekend.