MLB Player News

Manager Dave Martinez said Friday that Gallo's MRI revealed a "significant hamstring strain," Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Martinez didn't give a return timeline for Gallo, simply saying that the 30-year-old will be out for "a while." Joey Meneses has been acting as Washington's primary first baseman since Gallo landed on the injured list Wednesday, but it's possible the Nationals decide to add someone from their farm system or outside the organization to help split the workload.

Cruz was scratched from the Pirates' lineup ahead of Friday's game versus Colorado due to left ankle soreness, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

The 25-year-old was initially slated to start at shortstop, but it will instead be Jared Triolo making his first career start at short. Cruz will get some time to recover from a tweaked ankle he suffered during Thursday's contest.

Castro (shoulder) threw a 26-pitch bullpen session Friday, Jesse Friedman of GoPHNX.com reports.

Castro continued to ramp up after tossing 21 pitches in his previous bullpen session Tuesday. The 29-year-old should begin a rehab assignment soon.

Harris was removed from Friday's game against the Rays due to left hamstring tightness.

Harris strained his left hamstring while running from first base to third in the bottom of the first inning. J.P. Martinez pinch ran for Harris and took over in center field. The severity of Harris' injury isn't yet known.

Bird (elbow) will make another rehab appearance at Triple-A Albuquerque on Saturday, Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com reports.

After beginning his rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, Bird pitched a scoreless inning with Albuquerque on Thursday and will come out of the bullpen again Saturday. A return to the big-league roster seems imminent for Bird, who's eligible to return any time.

Lawrence (shoulder) will make his first rehab appearance Friday at Triple-A Albuquerque, Patrick Lyons of JustBaseball.com reports.

Lawrence was placed on the IL on May 27 due to a right shoulder strain. Though it's unclear how many rehab appearances he'll require, Lawrence seems poised to return in the next week or two.

The Pirates selected Fleming to the active roster Friday, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Fleming will rejoin the Pirates' bullpen after being DFA'd on May 14. He'll take the place of Hunter Stratton (triceps), who was placed on the 15-day IL, while Niko Goodrum was designated for assignment to make room for Fleming on the 40-man roster. Fleming has pitched 19 innings with the Pirates this season and owns a 5.68 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP.

The Pirates placed Stratton on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right triceps strain, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Stratton had to make an early exit from his appearance Thursday, and he will now officially be sidelined until at least June 29. Josh Fleming will come up from Triple-A Indianapolis to fill Stratton's spot in the bullpen.

Montero is starting as the designated hitter and batting eighth for Friday's game against the Pirates.

Montero was initially slated to begin Friday's game on the bench, but he was inserted into the starting lineup after Jake Cave (undisclosed) was hit in the head by a line drive during batting practice. Montero will face off against Pirates opener Carmen Mlodzinski.

Pages went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-0 win over the Cubs.

Pages opened the scoring with his first career homer, taking Hayden Wesneski deep in the eighth inning. This was Pages' fourth start over the Cardinals' last five games, though he's gone just 3-for-12 in that span. All of his starts have come at catcher, which has taken a chunk out of Ivan Herrera's playing time. Pages is slashing just .125/.231/.250 with seven RBI, four runs scored and one double through 39 plate appearances. With Willson Contreras (forearm) tracking toward an earlier-than-anticipated return, Pages may be on his way back to Triple-A Memphis before the end of the month.