MLB Player News

Pirates interim manager Don Kelly said that Cruz (concussion) will not be activated from the 7-day injured list prior to Monday's game in St. Louis, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz played rehab games with Double-A Altoona on Saturday and Sunday and came out of it without any setbacks. Kelly did not offer a target date for Cruz's activation, saying only that the team is taking it day by day. The Pirates might have just wanted to give Cruz a day to rest after he played back-to-back rehab games and then traveled to meet the team in St. Louis. Cruz has been sidelined since mid-August.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Monday that Chourio (hamstring) will remain on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Nashville for a few more days before being activated from the 10-day injured list, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Murphy noted that Chourio looked tentative while running the bases on a double during a rehab game Sunday, so the club will keep the outfielder at Nashville for a little while longer until he's able to run at full effort without worrying about his right hamstring. Chourio could be ready to go for the opening game of the Brewers' road trip Friday in Toronto, but that will depend on how he looks and feels in his rehab games between now and then.

Nationals interim manager Miguel Cairo said that Lile is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees due to an illness, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

The left-handed-hitting Lile was excluded from the lineup for Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Phillies while southpaw Ranger Suarez toed the rubber for Philadelphia, but the illness helps explain why the outfielder is getting a second straight day off with right-hander Cam Schlittler starting for New York. Cairo noted that he's hopeful Lile will return to the starting nine Tuesday.

Lile is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.

After he was withheld from the lineup for Sunday's 3-2 loss while lefty Ranger Suarez started fro the Phillies, the lefty-hitting Lile now finds himself on the bench against a righty (Cam Schlittler) for the series opener in New York. Lile has supplied an .818 OPS thus far during August, so despite the two straight absences from the lineup, he doesn't yet appear to be at major risk of losing hold of a regular starting role.

Castellanos is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.

Castellanos got off to a rough start to August, but his bat began to heat back up over the past week, with the 33-year-old going 9-for-24 with a solo home run, two doubles, two walks and seven runs over his past six starts. The Phillies will still send Castellanos to the bench for the second time in five games, with Harrison Bader entering the lineup in center field and getting flanked by Brandon Marsh in left and Max Kepler in right.

McCarthy is not in the lineup for Monday's game in Milwaukee.

McCarthy had started in each of the previous two contests but will take a seat for the series opener against the Brewers. Lourdes Gurriel will cover left field and Adrian Del Castillo will serve as the Diamondbacks' designated hitter Monday.

Hernandez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.

Hernandez began to gain traction in the Marlins' everyday lineup about two weeks ago, but his grip on a regular starting role could be starting to slip. He's slashing just .146/.205/.171 with a 2:12 BB:K over his last 12 games and now finds himself on the bench for the second time in three days.

Mullins is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies.

The left-handed-hitting Mullins has been playing fairly regularly against southpaws since the Mets acquired him from the Orioles on July 31, but he'll take a seat Monday while the Phillies send lefty Cristopher Sanchez to the hill. With Mullins on the bench, New York will roll out a starting outfield of Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor and Juan Soto from left to right.

Nimmo (neck) will start in left field and bat sixth in Monday's game against the Phillies.

After exiting Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Nationals with a stiff neck, Nimmo was held out of the starting nine for the Mets' next four games, though he made an appearance as a pinch hitter in Sunday's 4-3 loss to Atlanta. With Nimmo's neck issue having seemingly improved with the rest, he'll take back his usual spot in the Mets outfield as the team kicks off an important three-game set with Philadelphia.

General manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that Cruz (concussion) is expected to rejoin the Pirates in St. Louis and could be activated prior to Monday's series opener versus the Cardinals, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz was cleared to begin a rehab assignment Saturday with Double-A Altoona and made starts in center field and at designated hitter to close out the weekend, going 1-for-6 with one triple, two walks, one stolen base, two RBI and two runs between those contests. Assuming the Pirates' medical staff is satisfied with his health once he links back up with the team, Cruz could be cleared to re-enter the big-league lineup Monday while the Cardinals send righty Michael McGreevy to the hill. The Pirates may still look to shield the left-handed-hitting Cruz against southpaws, however; the 26-year-old is slashing an abysmal .110/.219/.190 with a 36.8 percent strikeout rate in 114 plate appearances versus same-handed pitching this season.