MLB Player News

Seager is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in Boston.

Seager started each of the Rangers' first four games upon his activation from the injured list, but he'll get some rest for Thursday's matinee. Josh Smith will handle shortstop and bat leadoff for Texas.

Wilson went 4-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Mariners.

Wilson has been on a tear at the plate, recording multiple hits in four of his last five games -- he's gone 12-for-21 (.571) with a 1.275 OPS in that span. The rookie shortstop has boosted his slash line to .357/.383/.476 across 150 plate appearances this season with three homers, 21 RBI, 20 runs scored and a stolen base.

Witt went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's win over the White Sox.

Although Witt is batting just .250 over 28 at-bats so far in May, he's beginning to heat up in the power department. The All-Star shortstop has two doubles, three homers and nine RBI to go with three walks and two stolen bases over his last seven games. Witt didn't have any long balls in his final 14 outings in April, so he's certainly starting to get back on track when it comes to slugging.

Anderson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Anderson made three straight starts at second base this past weekend, but he's shifted back to a bench role for the Angels' first two games against the Blue Jays after the team welcomed Yoan Moncada back from the injured list. Anderson's playing time could be limited moving forward while the quartet of Nolan Schanuel, Luis Rengifo, Zach Neto and Moncada typically makes up the Angels' starting infield against both right- and left-handed pitching.

Genao (shoulder) is scheduled to begin participating in simulated games at the Guardians' spring training facility as early as next week, SI.com reports.

The switch-hitting shortstop has been sidelined all season after spraining his right shoulder during spring training. He remains on Double-A Akron's 7-day injured list, but he should be ready to make his Eastern League debut in the coming weeks. If Genao's shoulder responds well to playing in simulated games, he's then expected to begin a rehab assignment with the Guardians' rookie-level Arizona Complex League affiliate.

Pena went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and four RBI in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Brewers.

The big blow from the shortstop was a three-run blast in the sixth inning off Elvin Rodriguez, Pena's fifth long ball of the season. After a sluggish start to the season at the plate, Pena has hit safely in 24 of the last 26 games, boosting his slash line on the season to .279/.340/.434 with five steals, 16 RBI and 19 runs.

Meidroth is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Meidroth had a costly dropped popup in Tuesday's 4-3 loss, although it's not clear whether that's the reason he's not starting Wednesday. Jacob Amaya will fill in at shortstop and bat ninth for the White Sox, while Joshua Palacios has been elevated to the leadoff spot in Meidroth's absence.

Walls will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Phillies, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

Walls will make his fourth straight start, with the Rays going up against two lefties and two righties during that span. The defensive-minded Walls owns a measly .504 OPS on the season and appeared to have fallen behind Jose Caballero on the depth chart at shortstop, but a surprise 4-for-5 performance in Sunday's 7-5 win over the Yankees might have enabled Walls to regain some job security.

Story batted sixth and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to the Rangers.

Story had mostly batted fifth this season and had a stretch as the cleanup hitter, but the shortstop has had a rough go of it of late. After Tuesday's 0-fer, he's hitting .120 (6-for-50) with a .305 OPS, one RBI and 19 strikeouts (35.2 strikeout percentage) over the last 12 contests. Prior to that, Story had an 18-game stretch during which he posted a .378 average and 1.011 OPS.

Smith started at first base and went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Red Sox.

Smith started in center field Sunday and appeared to be line for regular duty there after the Rangers placed Leody Taveras on outright waivers. Since then, the team called up Evan Carter, who will get playing time in center. The Rangers want to get Smith's bat into the lineup, and first base seems like a good spot. Tuesday's start at first base was his third start there this season and first since the club sent Jake Burger to the minors last week. Blaine Crim may start against left-handers while Smith starts against righties. Smith is rolling right now, going 12-for-26 (.462) with a triple, a home run, five RBI, three walks, one steal and four runs scored over his last seven contests, the last four while batting atop the order.