MLB Player News

Mullins is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

Mullins will receive a breather for Thursday's matinee after he had started in each of the Rays' last eight games. Victor Mesa will cover center field in place of Mullins and will bat in the cleanup spot.

Schuemann will start in left field and bat seventh in Thursday's game against the Rays.

The 29-year-old has been up with the Yankees since April 28 following his call-up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but it wasn't until May 7 that he made his first start. Though Schuemann continued to see scarce opportunities over his first two months with the big club, he's finally begun gaining some traction in the outfield in July while the Yankees navigate the absences of Aaron Judge (rib) and Giancarlo Stanton (calf). Schuemann will stick in the starting nine for the fifth time in six games after going 3-for-9 with a home run and two walks through his first four contests of the month.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Thursday that Judge will get follow-up imaging on his injured rib during the All-Star break, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

After Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list June 5 due to a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side, the Yankees relayed that the outfielder would be re-evaluated in 4-to-6 weeks. The Yankees will ultimately wait until around the six-week mark to send Judge in for re-imaging, after which he could be cleared to resume baseball activities if the MRI shows that his rib has healed as anticipated. Cashman reiterated that the Yankees fully expect Judge to return to action at some point this season.

The Guardians recalled Halpin from Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Halpin takes the spot on the 26-man roster vacated by Cooper Ingle, who was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move after he hit just .095 across his first 24 big-league plate appearances. Halpin has logged 56 plate appearances with Cleveland this season, slashing .170/.185/.226 with one RBI, eight runs scored, two stolen bases and a 1:16 BB:K.

The Guardians optioned Ingle to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Ingle appeared in seven games for Cleveland after he was promoted from Columbus on June 26. In 24 trips to the plate, Ingle went 2-for-21 with a pair of singles, two RBI, one run scored and a 3:12 BB:K. He'll head back to the minors for more seasoning.

The Marlins will recall Hinds from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of Thursday's contest versus the Mariners, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Hinds is expected to take the roster spot of the injured Owen Caissie (calf). Acquired from the Reds via trade in May, the toolsy Hinds is a career .172/.221/.426 hitter with a 42 percent strikeout rate over parts of three major-league seasons. The 25-year-old could see some playing time in Miami's outfield while Caissie is out, but Heriberto Hernandez and/or Esteury Ruiz are also in the mix.

The Marlins are likely to place Caissie (calf) on the 10-day injured list prior to Thursday's game against the Mariners, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Caissie had to be lifted from Wednesday's contest with right calf tightness. He could be dealing with a strain, but the Marlins will have more specifics on Caissie's status later Thursday. Heriberto Hernandez and Esteury Ruiz will likely see an uptick in playing time while Caissie is shelved, and Rece Hinds is expected to take Caissie's spot on the active roster.

O'Neill went 2-for-2 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 9-7 loss to the Cubs.

The two teams combined for nine long balls on the night, and O'Neill made his contributions even though he began the game on the bench -- after launching a pinch-hit homer off Drew Pomeranz in the seventh inning, he went yard again in the eighth off Caleb Thielbar as Baltimore tried to put together a late rally from a 9-3 deficit. O'Neill has five homers on the season in 55 contests, but three of them have come in his last 10 plate appearances. Over his last 16 games, the veteran outfielder has compiled a .273/.360/.591 slash line and pushed for consistent playing time, but his 34.0 percent strikeout rate during that stretch remains a red flag.

The Angels signed Reyes to a minor-league contract Wednesday.

Reyes recently opted out of his minor-league deal with the Padres after posting a .310/.408/.491 batting line with six home runs, 15 steals and a 35:36 BB:K in 56 games with Triple-A El Paso. The 32-year-old utility player will aim to eventually get a chance in the majors, but he'll report to Triple-A Salt Lake for now.

Atlanta designated Azocar for assignment Thursday.

Azocar was with the major-league club for a few days while Eli White was on paternity leave. With White returned to the active roster, Azocar is now headed to waivers. Azocar has re-signed with Atlanta on a minor-league deal after clearing waivers on two occasions earlier this season, so he could stick around.