MLB Player News

Garcia (shoulder) is batting sixth and playing second base Friday against the Reds.

Garcia was scratched from Sunday's game with left shoulder soreness but is back in the lineup as expected coming out of the All-Star break. The second baseman was on a five-game hit streak before the break, going 7-for-18 with two doubles and a solo home run during that stretch.

Stott is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Pirates.

Stott will take a seat Friday with southpaw Martin Perez on the mound for Pittsburgh. In his place, Edmundo Sosa will handle the keystone and bat sixth. Stott has a .676 OPS with six homers and 22 stolen bases this season.

The Marlins activated Lopez (back) from the 10-day injured list Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Lopez has missed much of July with a back injury but is ready to roll after playing a few rehab games. He is starting at second base and batting fifth for the Marlins in Friday's series opener versus the Mets.

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said Sunday that Edman (wrist) will need to be ready to play all his defensive positions and have his proper timing at the plate before completing his minor-league rehab assignment and being activated from the 60-day injured list, Wilson Truong of KMOX News Radio reports.

The 29-year-old began a rehab assignment with Double-A Springfield last week but has exclusively played at designated hitter in his first four games, and Edman will need to see significant action in the field before joining the Cardinals. He has yet to see major-league action this season while recovering from offseason wrist surgery, and his rehab has been bumpy due to setbacks and other minor injuries. Given the length of his absence, Edman will likely need a couple more weeks in the minors to get up to speed, putting him on track to return in late July or early August.

Lopez (back) began a rehab assignment last weekend at Triple-A Jacksonville, appearing in three games while going 2-for-12 with a double and a run scored.

Lopez hasn't moved his rehab assignment to the rookie-level Florida Complex League while all of the Marlins' full-season affiliates are in the midst of their All-Star break, but so long as he didn't experience any setbacks with his back this past weekend, he could be ready to return from the 10-day injured list when Miami opens its second-half schedule Friday versus the Mets. Before being placed on the shelf July 4 with lower-back inflammation, Lopez slashed .252/.279/.350 with three home runs and six stolen bases across 174 plate appearances. Lopez could take back primary starting duties at second base from Vidal Brujan once he's activated.

Lowe went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Guardians.

Lowe had the first half of his season disrupted by oblique and toe injuries, but he appears to be finding his timing at the plate. Since June 1, he's hit .287 with eight home runs, 19 RBI and 19 runs scored. Lowe will continue to sit regularly against lefties, but he should be locked into the top third of the lineup for most games against right-handed pitching.

Albies went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's win over the Padres.

Albies began his day with a double and later led off the fourth with a single before stealing second and coming around to score on a base hit from Matt Olson. Albies has notched a double in three straight games and now has four multi-hit efforts in July. The 27-year-old switch hitter heads into the break slashing .258/.312/.410 with eight homers, 44 RBI, 47 runs, eight steals and a 24:59 BB:K in 381 plate appearances.

Gelof went 1-for-5 with a grand slam Sunday against the Phillies.

Gelof's ninth-inning grand slam was the eighth and final long ball of the day for Oakland and put a rubber stamp on an 18-run outburst for the A's. It was the second consecutive game with a homer for Gelof, who has now hit seven over the past 23 games and is up to 12 on the season.

Frazier went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Red Sox.

Frazier's homer was his first since June 8. He's gone 4-for-19 (.211) with three RBI over five games since he returned from a right thumb strain. The Royals have used him at second base, at third base, in right field and at designated hitter over the last week, which makes it appear Frazier has supplanted Nick Loftin as the team's top utility man. Frazier is slashing .211/.292/.307 with three homers, two stolen bases, 13 RBI and 20 runs scored across 185 plate appearances this season.

Gimenez went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Sunday's 2-0 loss to the Rays.

Gimenez went 18 games without a steal, though his chances were a bit limited since he got on base at a .275 clip in that span. The second baseman is still seeing most of the playing time at the keystone, though he's regularly batted sixth for nearly three weeks after often hitting second. Gimenez has 15 steals in 18 attempts, five home runs, 45 RBI, 43 runs scored and a .252/.304/.339 slash line through 89 contests this season.