MLB Player News

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

It's just a maintenance day for Alvarez after he started the first two games of the season. He's gone 2-for-6 with a walk, a solo home run and an additional run scored. Luis Torrens will catch for righty Nolan McLean on Sunday.

The Reds released Valdez (shoulder) on Thursday.

After sustaining a left shoulder injury in spring training, Valdez had been slated to open the season on the 60-day injured list at Triple-A Louisville. Rather than keeping him in the organization and overseeing his rehab process, the Reds will instead opt to move on. Valdez will look to land a minor-league deal elsewhere.

Hayes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

Hayes will give way to Eugenio Suarez at third base in the series finale after he started in the Reds' first two games of the season while going 0-for-7 with a run scored. While Hayes has produced at well-below-league-average levels at the plate each of the past two seasons, his exceptional defense at the hot corner should keep him in the lineup more often than not.

Fraley was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals due to right shoulder soreness, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports..

Fraley was set to start in right field and bat third but will now step out of the lineup to tend to an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, which he sustained while attempting to make a diving play in the outfield in Saturday's 6-5 extra-inning loss, per Ryan Bass of Rays.tv. Manager Kevin Cash said that he expects Fraley to be OK, but Jonny DeLuca will spell Fraley in right field for Sunday's contest.

Abrams (personal) will start at shortstop and bat sixth Sunday against the Cubs, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.

The 25-year-old shortstop was away from the team for Saturday's contest due to a death in his family, but he's rejoined the club in Chicago for Sunday's series finale. Abrams went 1-for-4 with two RBI in the season opener Thursday.

Narvaez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Narvaez started behind the plate in the first two games of the season and will get a breather in Sunday's series finale after going 3-for-6 with a run and a strikeout. Connor Wong will instead do the catching for lefty Connelly Early.

Lukes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Toronto has now used three different starters in left field and in the No. 2 spot in the batting order in its first three games, with Jesus Sanchez receiving the nod Sunday after Lukes got the Opening Day nod and Davis Schneider started Saturday against lefty Jeffrey Springs. Schneider is the preferred short-side platoon option of the trio, but Lukes and Sanchez may be stuck in a timeshare against righties unless one of them gets hot at the plate.

Kirk is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

He'll get a breather after starting behind the plate in the Blue Jays' first two games of the season and going 1-for-9 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run. Tyler Heineman will step in behind the dish, forming a battery with Eric Lauer.

Rafaela is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Rafaela went 3-for-9 with an RBI and a run scored in the first two games of the season and will receive a day off for Sunday's series finale in Cincinnati. Jarren Duran will shift to center field while Roman Anthony receives a turn at designated hitter.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said that he would be "surprised" if Estevez is available out of the bullpen for Sunday's game in Atlanta, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Estevez was seen wearing a walking boot Sunday after taking a line drive off his left ankle Saturday, when he suffered a blown save after allowing six earned runs while recording just one out in the Royals' 6-2 loss. Though Estevez been diagnosed with nothing more than a contusion after getting X-rays on his ankle, the Royals appear content to stay away from the 33-year-old reliever, at least for one day. Per Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City, Quatraro added that he's "not averse to putting [Estevez] in a lower-leverage situation" once he's deemed available, which suggests that the right-hander may not have a stranglehold on the closer's gig after Saturday's blowup. Before the rough showing in his season debut, Estevez was coming off a discouraging spring training in which he noticed a steep decline in his velocity.