MLB Player News

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

LaMonte Wade will step in as the Astros' right fielder after Smith occupied the position in each of the previous five games. Smith turned in multi-hit efforts in four of his first seven starts of August, but he's cooled down over his last four contests, going 2-for-15 with no walks and three strikeouts.

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

The left-handed-hitting Schanuel will be given the afternoon off while the Royals send southpaw Noah Cameron to the bump. Vaughn Grissom will fill in at first base for Schanuel and will bat third.

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

Heineman had started behind the dish in the first two contests of the series but will hit the bench in the rubber match. Travis d'Arnaud will handle catching duties for the Angels on Sunday.

McClanahan (back) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to start Monday's series finale versus the Orioles at Tropicana Field, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

McClanahan has received the green light to rejoin the Tampa Bay rotation after he struck out two batters over three perfect innings during his lone rehab start Tuesday with Triple-A Durham. Considering that McClanahan tossed just 30 pitches in that outing, he'll likely be in line for a restricted workload Monday, when he'll be making his first start for the Rays since July 30 before hitting the shelf with left mid-back tightness.

The Astros recalled Ullola from Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday.

Ullola will be up with the Astros for the third time this season after giving up three earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out seven batters across five innings over three relief appearances between his first two stints in the big leagues. He'll join the Houston bullpen as a replacement for Ronel Blanco, who was optioned to Triple-A.

Walton is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

The left-handed-hitting Walton will hit the bench for the second day in a row while the Rangers send another southpaw (Cody Bradford) to the bump. Alika Williams will replace Walton at second base and will bat eighth.

The Astros optioned Blanco to Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday.

The 32-year-old right-hander has struggled to return to form since making his 2026 debut for the Astros in late July after completing his recovery from his June 2025 Tommy John surgery with an internal brace. After posting a 6.98 ERA and 1.34 WHIP through his first four starts with Houston, Blanco was shifted to a relief role and was promptly roughed up for five earned runs on seven hits and one walk in four innings in his first appearance out of the bullpen in Saturday's 10-5 loss to the Mariners. The Astros recalled right-hander Miguel Ullola from Triple-A to take Blanco's spot in the bullpen.

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

The left-handed hitter will retreat to the bench for the second time in the series against another southpaw in Jacob Lopez. Justin Foscue will fill in for Lopez at the keystone and bat fifth.

Kikuchi (shoulder) said Sunday that he expects to join the Angels on their upcoming six-game road trip and believes he'll be ready to return from the 60-day injured list during that time, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The veteran southpaw hasn't been informed that he's on track to be activated, but he'll meet with the Angels' brass Sunday to determine whether he'll be sent for another rehab start or not. Kikuchi certainly hasn't looked like a pitcher ready to return to the big leagues, as he was roughed up for eight earned runs over 4.2 innings in his latest outing Saturday with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and has posted a 15.63 ERA, 2.37 WHIP and 24:8 K:BB over 12.2 innings in four starts between Single-A and Triple-A Salt Lake. If the Angels are comfortable adding Kikuchi back to the rotation during their road trip, he would likely start either Friday or Saturday in Arlington versus the Rangers.

Roden is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Though he produced a three-hit effort in his most recent start Wednesday, Roden has unsurprisingly been the odd man out of the lineup following Byron Buxton's return from the injured list Thursday. Roden will hit the bench for a third straight game while the Twins go with Trevor Larnach, Buxton and Luke Keaschall as their starting outfield trio from left to right.