MLB Player News

Cheng is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the White Sox.

The left-handed-hitting Cheng will hit the bench for the second time in the series, with both of his absences coming against lefty starters. Andruw Monasterio will receive the starting nod at shortstop, where he and Cheng appear likely to be used in a platoon until Trevor Story (sports hernia) or Marcelo Mayer (forearm) return from the injured list.

Kreidler is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians.

Tristan Gray will cover shortstop in the series finale while Kreidler rests for the matinee game. Kreidler had drawn starts at shortstop or center field in each of Minnesota's last nine games, slashing .147/.194/.265 with one home run, three RBI and four runs during that span.

Volpe is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Volpe has mostly been handling a near-everyday role since being called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 12, but his playing time has tailed off lately while he's fallen into a 5-for-35 skid at the plate over his last 12 games. The Yankees will keep Volpe on the bench for the third time in four contests, with two of those absences coming against righties and one coming against a lefty. Even though New York still has a couple openings in the lineup while Aaron Judge (rib) and Giancarlo Stanton (calf) are stuck on the injured list, Jose Caballero, Jasson Dominguez and Max Schuemann all appear to be getting prioritized ahead of Volpe.

Manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Lombard (finger) has resumed hitting and fielding and is close to a return, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

The Yankees' top prospect, Lombard remains on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but is seemingly closing in on a return. In 42 games at Triple-A this season, Lombard has slashed .231/.381/.385 with four home runs, 15 RBI, 30 runs scored, eight stolen bases and a 35:42 BB:K across 197 plate appearances. He'll be a candidate to make his major-league debut at some point this summer.

Rocchio went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Twins.

Rocchio smashed a two-run homer into the second deck in left field to give the Guardians a 2-0 lead. The everyday shortstop for Cleveland struggled in June with a .595 OPS, but he's off to a strong start in July with two homers and a .925 OPS in seven games.

Neto went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs scored in Wednesday's 13-1 win over the Rangers.

Neto reached the 20-double mark on the year with this effort. He has gone 22-for-78 (.282) with six home runs, six doubles and 13 RBI over his last 20 contests. That's a marked improvement on his overall numbers -- he's batting .234 with a .788 OPS on the year, and he's added 19 homers, 45 RBI, 64 runs scored and 11 steals through 90 games this season.

Shewmake is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Shewmake will join fellow left-handed hitters LaMonte Wade and Taylor Trammell on the bench while the Astros stock up on some extra right-handed bats to counter Nationals southpaw Foster Griffin. Nick Allen will replace Shewmake at shortstop Wednesday, though both players are likely to see their opportunities in the middle infield dwindle this weekend, when Jeremy Pena (calf) is expected to return from the injured list.

Williams is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers.

After starting at shortstop for nine straight games, Williams has now been left out of the lineup for each of the Athletics' ensuing three contests. The slick-fielding Williams looks to have shifted into a utility role in the wake of Jacob Wilson's return from the injured list earlier this week in addition to the hot-hitting Joshua Kuroda-Grauer's emergence as a regular in the Athletics' infield.

Tolbert went 5-for-6 with a home run, two RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's 16-12 win over the Mets.

Tolbert got the Royals' offense rolling by taking Kodai Senga deep in his first plate appearance of the night. He added his third stolen base of the month in the fifth inning. Entering Tuesday on a 7-for-7 streak, Tolbert capped off a remarkable stretch with an infield single in the seventh, tying the major-league record with hits in 12 consecutive plate appearances. Typically known more for his defense and speed, Tolbert has caught fire at the plate over the last few days and is now slashing .396/.434/.542 across 54 plate appearances this season.

Allen went 1-for-3 with a steal and three RBI during the Astros' 6-3 win over the Nationals on Tuesday.

Allen was responsible for half of the Astros' runs Tuesday, which came on a sacrifice fly in the second inning and a two-run single in the fourth. It was a season high in RBI for Allen, who has seen regular run at shortstop since returning from the 10-day injured list in late June. However, his playing time will take a significant hit once Jeremy Pena (calf) returns from the IL, with Pena having embarked on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Tuesday.