MLB Player News

Ballesteros will start at designated hitter and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Pirates.

Just when he appeared to have ceded primary DH duties to Michael Conforto, Ballesteros has re-emerged to take back playing time at that spot in the lineup. Ballesteros will be awarded a fifth consecutive start after going 2-for-9 with a 5:3 BB:K and a run scored over the previous four contests. The Cubs will still look to shield Ballesteros from left-handed pitching, but he could continue to see the bulk of the starts at DH versus righties if he can continue to get on base at a steady clip.

The Nationals optioned Poulin to Triple-A Rochester following Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Guardians.

For the seventh time this season, Poulin served as an opener for Washington during Wednesday's contest. The lefty struck out a batter and gave up no hits and one walk over a scoreless frame before Miles Mikolas took over in bulk relief. Washington didn't announce a corresponding transaction but will add another player to the active roster as a replacement for Poulin prior to Friday's game against the Padres.

Perez said after Wednesday's 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays that he will undergo further imaging on his right hamstring, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

After limiting the Blue Jays to three base hits while striking out nine and issuing no walks over four scoreless frames, Perez was pulled in advance of the fifth inning of his start Wednesday due to a right hamstring spasm. The Marlins will send Perez in for an MRI to glean more information on the severity of the injury, which the right-hander indicated is already beginning to show some improvement. Until the results of his imaging are available, Perez's status for his next turn through the rotation Tuesday in Washington is up in the air.

Lowder (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati reports.

Lowder threw a successful live batting practice session Wednesday, clearing the way for him to pitch in an official game. The right-hander is slated to throw 70 pitches in Tuesday's outing, so it might be the only rehab start he needs before rejoining the Cincinnati rotation. Lowder has been on the shelf since early May due to right shoulder discomfort.

Davis is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Davis will be given a break after he started at catcher in the first two games of the series. Endy Rodriguez will fill in for Davis behind the dish Wednesday, forming a battery with starting pitcher Bubba Chandler.

Mangum is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Upon returning from the injured list May 17, Mangum started in five of the Pirates' ensuing seven games, but he'll be relegated to the bench Wednesday for the third consecutive contest. Unless the Pirates are willing to pull the plug on the struggling Marcell Ozuna as their primary designated hitter, Mangum likely won't have a path to steady at-bats in the outfield while Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz are available and while rookie Esmerlyn Valdez is getting prioritized ahead of him.

Garcia is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Garcia will head to the bench for the third time in four games and could have to settle for more of a part-time role in the outfield while the Pirates continue to open up room in the lineup for Marcell Ozuna, who will draw a third straight start. With Ozuna occupying the designated-hitter spot, Oneil Cruz will cover center field and will be flanked by Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez in the corner spots.

Alvarez will start Friday's game against the Padres, Kyle Williams of TheBanner.com reports.

He's taking the rotation spot vacated by the injured Jake Irvin (shoulder). Alvarez has been terrific in a long-relief role so far for the Nationals, contributing a 2.84 ERA and 16:3 K:BB over 12.2 innings. The left-hander hasn't thrown more than 56 pitches in any of his relief outings this month but exceeded 90 pitches on two occasions at Triple-A Rochester in early May, so Alvarez should be capable of providing some length.

McLain is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

The Reds will give Spencer Steer a look at second base while McLain takes a seat after starting in the team's last three games. Though McLain has most commonly been deployed out of the No. 2 spot this season, he's made his last two starts as the Reds' No. 9 hitter while manager Terry Francona has handed the hot-hitting Blake Dunn more opportunities near the top of the lineup. McLain's slide down the batting order coincides with him recording just three hits and striking out 11 times in 34 at-bats over his last eight games.

Benson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

The left-handed-hitting Benson will be on the bench for the fourth time in five games, with three of those absences coming against right-handed starting pitchers. At this point, Benson appears to have faded into a reserve role while the Reds have opened up more playing time in the outfield lately for Blake Dunn and Spencer Steer. The decline in opportunities comes while Benson has slashed just .091/.259/.091 with a 37 percent strikeout rate over his last 11 games.