MLB Player News

Vargas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

Vargas will remain on the bench for a third game in a row and looks to have lost hold of an everyday role following Ketel Marte's return from the injured list. Vargas had made 18 starts in a stretch of 19 games from Aug. 14 through Wednesday but slashed just .176/.184/.297 during that span.

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

The Royals will give Massey a break while Nick Loftin fills in for him at second base. Massey had started in each of the Royals' last four games, going 5-for-14 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and an RBI following his return from the 7-day concussion injured list.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Grisham has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain and is without a definitive recovery timetable but "could be" out for the remainder of the regular season, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Grisham might have had a chance at returning from the injured list when first eligible Sept. 15 if he was tending to a Grade 1 strain, but the moderate-grade strain likely takes a minimum-length stay on the shelf off the table. While Grisham is out, Spencer Jones appears likely to shift over from a corner spot to serve as the Yankees' primary center fielder. Heliot Ramos and Jasson Dominguez should see more opportunities in the corner outfield as a result, though both will lose out on playing time once Aaron Judge (rib) returns from the IL, perhaps as soon as the upcoming week.

The Mariners selected Arroyo's contract from Triple-A Tacoma, and he'll start at second base and bat eighth Sunday against the Athletics.

The 21-year-old has made the transition to left field this season but has continued to see action at second base for Tacoma, and the latter position is where he'll make his MLB debut. Arroyo, who is one of Seattle's top prospects, opened the campaign with Double-A Arkansas before being promoted to Triple-A in early July. He's posted an .830 OPS with 18 home runs and 17 steals in 114 games between the two levels.

Straw is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Straw will take a seat for the series finale, but he may have at least pushed his way into a timeshare in the outfield with Jesus Sanchez. The Blue Jays kept Sanchez on the bench for all but one of the previous seven games, while Straw was included in the lineup for the other six. The speedy outfielder is slashing .241/.309/.366 since the All-Star break, and while his .675 OPS during that span slightly trails Sanchez's .693 mark, Straw provides superior defense.

The Cardinals recalled Hjerpe from Triple-A Memphis, and he's expected to pitch behind starter Kyle Leahy in Sunday's game against the Rockies at Coors Field, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

After getting bumped up from Double-A Springfield in early August, Hjerpe posted a 0.95 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 27:17 K:BB across 19 innings in his first five starts for Memphis. He will now get his first call to the big leagues and will be asked to provide length behind Leahy, whose workload is being managed down the stretch. Leahy has failed to last five frames in each of his past two starts but has given up two runs or fewer in each of his past 12 outings, so Hjerpe could have a decent chance at a win if Leahy has another short but effective start Sunday. According to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals plan to keep Hjerpe on a starter's workload moving forward, so he could piggyback Leahy in future turns through the rotation.

Baty is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

The left-handed-hitting Baty will retreat to the bench for the second time in the series while the Giants send a southpaw (Cesar Perdomo) to the hill. For the season, Baty is slashing just .171/.275/.229 (49 wRC+) in 80 plate appearances against lefties.

Young is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

The left-handed-hitting Young will take a seat for the series finale while the Giants send a southpaw (Cesar Perdomo) to the bump. Mark Vientos will spell Young at first base and will bat fifth.

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

Alvarez will get a breather Sunday after he started behind the plate in the first two contests of the series. Luis Torrens will handle the catching duties in place of Alvarez.

Happ was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins due to left knee discomfort, Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

It's unclear when exactly the injury surfaced for Happ, who started the past four games and went 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in Saturday's contest. Tyrone Taylor will instead start in left field in the series finale at Miami.