MLB Player News

Cruz (ankle) will start at shortstop and bat third in Sunday's game against the Rockies, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz will check back into the lineup after a sore left ankle prevented him from playing in either of the first two games of the series. The fact that the Pirates are using him at shortstop Sunday rather than deploying him at designated hitter would seem to speak to confidence in Cruz's health heading into the team's upcoming six-game week.

Hoskins is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

He'll get a breather for the day game after he started in the first two games of the series while going 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. Jake Bauers will fill in for Hoskins at first base.

Martini will start at designated hitter and bat sixth Sunday against the Brewers.

The lefty-hitting Martini will pick up his second straight start against a right-handed starting pitcher or primary pitcher and may have temporarily supplanted Jacob Hurtubise as a strong-side platoon player at DH. Martini owns an underwhelming .205/.252/.357 slash line over 123 plate appearances on the season in the majors, so he'll most likely be the odd man out of the everyday lineup against right-handed pitching once the Reds get Noelvi Marte back from an 80-game suspension June 27.

Hurtubise is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

The lefty-hitting Hurtubise is on the bench for the second day in a row while the Reds have faced off against right-handed starters or primary pitchers in both contests. He appears to have lost his strong-side platoon role in left field or at designated hitter to Nick Martini, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville on Friday and is occupying the DH spot for the second day in a row. Both Martini and Hurtubise are likely to see their opportunities to play against right-handed pitching take a hit once Noelvi Marte (suspension) is reinstated June 27.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

He'll get a breather for the series finale after he had started at catcher in each of the Reds' previous four games. Luke Maile will spell Stephenson behind the plate.

Miller will serve as the Giants' opening pitcher for Sunday's game against the Angels, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Miller will draw the opener assignment for the fifth time this season after the Giants had previously listed Kyle Harrison as the starter for Sunday's contest before placing him on the 15-day injured list with an ankle sprain just a few hours before the 4:05 p.m. ET opening pitch. Miller hasn't been tasked with recording more than five outs in any of his previous turns as an opener, so he shouldn't be expected to handle more than two innings before he turns the game over to the bullpen. Spencer Bivens was called up from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday and could be an option to cover multiple innings behind Miller.

The Giants selected Bivens' contract from Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday.

Bivens hadn't been used at Sacramento since Tuesday, so he'll provide the San Francisco bullpen with a much-needed fresh arm in Sunday's series finale versus the Angels. After Kyle Harrison (ankle) was scratched from the start Sunday and placed on the 15-day injured list, lefty reliever Erik Miller will be tabbed to open the game for the Giants. Bivens has four three-inning appearances under his belt in the minors this season and will be a strong candidate to see work behind Miller. The 29-year-old righty has accrued a 2.81 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 36:16 K:BB across 41.2 innings with Sacramento this season.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said that Contreras (forearm) is likely to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with either Triple-A Memphis or Double-A Springfield, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Contreras reached a meaningful milestone in his recovery from surgery to repair a fractured left forearm by taking batting practice earlier in the weekend, and with the veteran backstop apparently coming out of the workout without any renewed soreness, he looks like he's ready for game action. Because he's been on the shelf since May 8, Contreras could stay on his minor-league rehab assignment throughout the week before potentially returning from the 10-day injured list before the end of June. Once Contreras is activated, he should reclaim the No. 1 catcher's role from Ivan Herrera.

The Giants placed Harrison on the 15-day injured list Sunday with a right ankle sprain.

Harrison had been scheduled to start Sunday's game against the Angels, but his ankle injury will prompt the Giants to go with an impromptu bullpen day for the series finale, with left-hander Erik Miller serving as the team's opening pitcher. The severity of Harrison's ankle sprain isn't clear, but he'll be eligible to return from the IL as soon as June 28. After getting off to a rough start to the season through his first five outings, Harrison had rebounded with a 2-2 record, 3.40 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 44:17 K:BB in 50.1 innings across his subsequent nine starts.

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

Alvarez will get a breather for the day game Sunday after he started behind the plate Friday and Saturday. Luis Torrens will step in as the Mets' starting catcher in place of Alvarez, who has gone 2-for-14 with two RBI through his first four starts since returning from the 10-day injured list Tuesday.