MLB Player News

McCutchen isn't in the Pirates' lineup Thursday versus the Cubs.

McCutchen gets to have some rest after going 8-for-20 in the past 5 games. The 37-year-old went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 10-2 loss to Milwaukee. Bryan Reynolds has the start as the designated hitter and Edward Olivares enters the lineup as the right fielder, batting cleanup.

Stanton is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Stanton will get a breather for the day game after a night game, ceding his spot in the lineup to Trent Grisham, who will man center field while Aaron Judge slots into Stanton's usual role at designated hitter. After making 33 starts in the corner outfield in 2023, Stanton has been deployed exclusively at DH through the first quarter of the 2024 season. Given Stanton's lengthy injury history, the Yankees will likely look to keep him in a non-defensive role so long as the likes of Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo all maintain health.

De La Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-0 win over the Tigers.

De La Cruz crushed a two-run, 422-foot homer off Casey Mize in the first inning Wednesday for the only runs scored in the Marlins' shutout victory. De La Cruz has gone just 4-for-24 in his last six games, though he's already up to nine home runs on the season, nearly halfway to the career-high 19 he hit last year. Overall, the 27-year-old outfielder is slashing .256/.304/.456 with 25 runs scored and 24 RBI, both team highs, through his first 194 plate appearances in 2024.

Sanchez went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Pirates.

Sanchez extended Milwaukee's lead to 10-2 in the third inning with a two-run blast off Martin Perez, his sixth long ball of the year. The 31-year-old Sanchez has gotten steady playing time against left-handed pitching, either spelling William Contreras behind the plate or at DH. Sanchez has swung the bat well recently, going 8-for-26 with three homers and a 1.033 OPS over his last eight games. Overall, he's slashing .243/.317/.527 with 13 RBI and 11 runs scored through 82 plate appearances this season.

Soler (shoulder) went 0-for-4 with one strikeout in his first rehab game with Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.

Soler had a freak accident Tuesday when he was hit in the head by a ball while taking batting practice, but he came out of the incident no worse for wear and was cleared to begin his rehab assignment a day later. The slugger is coming back from a right shoulder strain and should be activated from the 10-day injured list in the coming days.

Jankowski started at designated hitter and went 1-for-4 in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Cleveland.

Jankowski made his third consecutive start and fourth in the last five games, but his opportunities may be coming to close. Evan Carter (lower back stiffness) is expected to return to the lineup Friday against the Angels, which is expected to move Jankowski back to a bench role. Additionally, the Angels' projected starter Friday is lefty Tyler Anderson, which would likely preclude Jankowski from making a fourth straight start.

Martinez went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Phillies.

Martinez went deep in the eighth inning, launching a 403-foot solo shot off Spencer Turnbull. It was the veteran slugger's second long ball of the campaign, both of which have come over his past five games. Martinez is batting .350 (7-for-20) with four RBI over that stretch.

McCutchen went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 10-2 loss to Milwaukee.

McCutchen provided a bright spot in an otherwise rough day for the Pirates. The 37-year-old veteran has been swinging the bat well, going 8-for-20 with a pair of homers in his last five games. McCutchen's now slashing .211/.317/.358 with five homers, 18 runs scored, 10 RBI and a stolen base through 34 games this season.

Ramirez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox.

On the bench for the third time in four games -- all against right-handed starting pitchers -- Ramirez looks as though he's fallen into a short-side platoon role. He's been playing fairly regularly against both lefties and righties for most of the season, but Ramirez's overall opportunities will likely be more limited moving forward with the Rays recently welcoming back Josh Lowe and Jonathan Aranda from the injured list.

Garver (back) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

He'll remain on the bench for the second day in a row while he manages upper-back spasms. Mitch Haniger will get a day out of the outfield and serve as the Mariners' designated hitter while Garver rests up.