MLB Player News

Smith started at shortstop and went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 4-3 loss to Seattle.

Smith launched his first homer of the season in the fourth inning, which tied the game momentarily before the Mariners plated two a half-inning later. He got the start at shortstop while primary starter Corey Seager served as DH a day after he left a game with a bruised shin. If Seager is limited to DH for a bit, Smith will be the primary fill-in at short. If Seager is ready for a defensive role, then Smith will go back to sharing third base with Ezequiel Duran. Smith is batting .292/.393/.417 over 84 plate appearances, much better than his previous two MLB seasons.

Ramirez went 3-for-4 with a grand slam, a stolen base and an additional run scored in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Red Sox.

Ramirez extended the Guardians' lead to 5-0 in the second inning, blasting a two-out grand slam on the 10th pitch of the at-bat from Chase Anderson. While it had been a slow start to the year by Ramirez's standards, he now has six extra-base hits, including three home runs, and three stolen bases in his last 10 contests. The veteran third baseman is now slashing .260/.271/.471 with five home runs, 23 RBI and 18 runs scored across 107 plate appearances this season.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Berti (groin) could begin a rehab assignment Sunday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Berti is nearly two weeks removed from suffering a left groin strain and is almost ready to test things out in game action. The utility player shouldn't need too many rehab games before rejoining the Yanks.

The Athletics recalled Hernaiz from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

He's taking the roster spot vacated by Zack Gelof (oblique). Hernaiz will be a candidate for reps at second base in Gelof's absence and he can handle shortstop and third base, as well. It's unclear how high he'll be in the pecking order, however, after he managed just a .103/.156/.103 batting line before being sent down.

Urias (wrist) will start at third base and bat eighth in Thursday's game against the Rangers.

Urias will make his first start since he exited the second game of Sunday's doubleheader versus the Rockies when he was hit by a pitch on the right wrist. The Mariners faced right-handed starting pitchers in both of the ensuing two games, so Urias' absence from the lineup for those contests might have had more to do with his status as a short-side platoon player than because of the injury. Urias will face off against Rangers southpaw Andrew Heaney on Thursday.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Thursday that Devers (knee) isn't comfortable enough yet to play third base but will likely return to the position Saturday versus the Cubs, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

The good news is Devers is well enough to hit, as he'll be the club's designated hitter again Thursday after homering from the spot in his return to the lineup Wednesday. The Cubs are starting left-hander Shota Imanaga on Friday, so it's possible the lefty-hitting Devers will rest that day before returning to third base Saturday. With Devers (twice) and Tyler O'Neill (once) occupying the DH spot the last three days, Masataka Yoshida has been on the bench. However, it sounds like Yoshida should be back in there soon enough.

Hernaiz is a likely candidate for a promotion from Triple-A Las Vegas if Zack Gelof's oblique injury forces him to go on the injured list, MLB.com reports.

Gelof was held out of Wednesday's loss to the Yankees with what was originally described as abdominal soreness, and he was eventually diagnosed with a left oblique strain and labeled as a likely IL candidate. If that indeed comes to pass, it appears Hernaiz, who's hit .211 over his first six games with Las Vegas since his demotion last Thursday, would make a quick return to the big-league club. Hernaiz has experience at second base, third base and shortstop, and but he scuffled to a .103/.156/.103 slash line across his first 32 plate appearances to start the season before being sent down to the Aviators.

Garcia went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases during Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Garcia collected his fifth and sixth stolen bases of the season for his second multi-steal game of 2024. He plated Kyle Isbel in the second inning on a single and notched another single in the fifth. Garcia is batting .368 with four runs scored and four RBI in his last five games.

LeMahieu is still dealing with swelling in his right foot and will be shut down from baseball activity for a week, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

LeMahieu had to make an early exit from his first rehab game at Double-A Somerset on Tuesday after his fractured right foot began bothering him in the first inning. After getting checked out by team doctors Wednesday, he will officially be pulled off his rehab assignment and shut down from all activity for the next seven days. Next steps for the 35-year-old infielder will be determined once his seven days are up, though it seems his target return date will be pushed back well into May.

Devers went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 8-0 win over Cleveland.

Devers was in the lineup for the first time in a week while dealing with a bone bruise in his left knee. He returned as the designated hitter and recorded his first multi-hit game since Opening Day. The next hurdle for Devers will be playing a game in the field.