MLB Player News

Garcia is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Garcia will head to the bench for the series finale while the Pirates go with Oneil Cruz at designated hitter and Bryan Reynolds, Jake Mangum and Esmerlyn Valdez in the outfield from left to right. Before being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis on May 18, Garcia had missed time earlier this month due to a back issue, prompting manager Don Kelly to note that the Pirates don't want to overextend the young outfielder too much until the back injury is further behind him, per Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Nonetheless, Garcia is off to a solid start since his promotion, going 5-for-16 with a walk while starting four of the last six games.

Mangum will start in center field and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Since returning from the injured list last Sunday, Mangum has drawn starts in five of the last seven games. The Pirates recently called up Jhostynxon Garcia and Esmerlyn Valdez from Triple-A Indianapolis to fortify their outfield while Ryan O'Hearn (quadriceps) is on the shelf, but Mangum could still have a path to at least a semi-regular role if Oneil Cruz continues to make more of his starts at designated hitter in place of the struggling Marcell Ozuna rather than in center field.

Lowe homered in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He went a combined 3-for-8 with two home runs and three RBI.

Lowe started at first base in both games while Sal Stewart served as the designated hitter in the matinee and handled third base in the night cap. An injury to Ke'Bryan Hayes (back) should result in consistent playing time for Lowe at first base or DH against right-handers while a combination of Stewart and Eugenio Suarez fill in at the hot corner. Lowe is up to eight home runs and 23 RBI over 38 games.

Davis is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Though he's seen his playing time pick back up since Joey Bart (foot) landed on the injured list May 12, Davis looks to be part of a timeshare at catcher with Endy Rodriguez. Davis and Rodriguez have now alternated turns behind the dish over the Bucs' last six games.

Ozuna is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Though he drove in both of the Pirates' runs in Saturday's 5-2 loss to Toronto, Ozuna will find himself on the bench for the third time in six contests for the series finale. The Pirates will deploy Oneil Cruz as their designated hitter in place of Ozuna, who may be fading into a part-time role while he's struggled to a .189/.279/.314 slash line across 179 plate appearances on the season.

Griffin is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Griffin carried an eight-game hitting streak into the weekend, but after going 0-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts through the first two games in Toronto, he'll be rested for the series finale. Jared Triolo will replace the star rookie at shortstop and bat ninth.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI on Saturday against the Blue Jays.

Ozuna doubled in the sixth inning to drive in his first run of the day, and he drove in another on a groundout two frames later. He's hit only .233 since the start of May, though he does have 12 RBI and eight runs scored across 17 games this month. Ozuna has also started only three of the team's last six games, with Oneil Cruz shifting to DH to allow for Jhostynxon Garcia and Esmerlyn Valdez to play regularly in the outfield.

Single-A Wilson reinstated Knoth (elbow) from its 7-day injured list Thursday and assigned him to High-A Wisconsin.

Knoth opened the season on Carolina's IL while completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent early in 2025. After a three-start rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Knoth received the green light to move up to a full-season affiliate. He made his debut for Wisconsin on Friday, covering two innings and striking out two batters while allowing one earned run on two hits and two walks.

Tawa started in left field and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Saturday's 5-4 win over Colorado.

Tawa took over left field in Arizona's first game without Lourdes Gurriel (hamstring), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. In the wake of the injury, Tawa and Jorge Barrosa were considered as the likely fill-ins, but the Diamondbacks promoted prospect Tommy Troy. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo suggested that Troy will get a long look while Gurriel is out, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.

Johnston went 2-for-3 with a walk, one RBI, a stolen base and one run scored in Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Johnston had gone 29 games without a steal entering this contest. He's gone even longer (39 games) without a home run, but he's hit consistently enough to stay in the Rockies' lineup, primarily as a strong-side platoon option in the corner-outfield spots. On the year, he's hitting .323 with an .827 OPS, two homers, two steals, 23 RBI, 19 runs scored and 13 doubles across 48 contests.