MLB Player News

The Rays optioned Williams to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With Ben Williamson (back) returning from the injured list, Williams will head back to the minors. The 22-year-old has really struggled at the plate across his first 139 big-league trips to the dish, slashing a paltry .155/.204/.302 with five homers, 15 RBI, 17 runs scored, two stolen bases and an 8:55 BB:K. He's hit .100 with a .290 OPS across 33 plate appearances this season.

Gimenez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout in Thursday's win over the Orioles.

Gimenez went deep in the top of the third inning and now has six homers on the year. This was the first time he'd left the yard since a two-HR performance against the Rays on May 11. He's hitting just .165 with a .512 OPS in 25 games since the beginning of the month.

Pena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Rangers.

Pena led off the contest with a 424-foot blast off Nathan Eovaldi, setting the tone for Houston in the victory. After going 17 games without a homer to start the year, a stretch interrupted by a five-week stay on the IL due to a hamstring strain, Pena now has two in his last three games. He's batting .256 with a .689 OPS, 12 runs scored, six RBI and two steals through 90 plate appearances this season.

Smith (illness) rejoined his teammates at Globe Life Field on Thursday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

The infielder originally landed on the injured list May 3 due to a strained glute before dealing with wrist inflammation and then spending time in the hospital due to a bout of viral meningitis. Smith did some light workouts and jogging Thursday as he begins to ramp up his activity level. Prior to the stay on the IL, Smith had been the Rangers' primary second baseman, but that may not be the case when he's ready to return as both Justin Foscue and Ezequiel Duran have made inroads since then.

Montgomery went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Twins.

Montgomery knocked in a run with a single in the first inning and tallied another base hit two frames later. The effort marked his third straight start with multiple hits, and he's gone 6-for-14 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in that span. Even given that hot stretch, Montgomery is hitting only .209 with a 35.4 percent strikeout rate across his last 11 games.

The Rangers reinstated Freeman (back) from the injured list Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

Freeman has been sidelined by a lower-back fracture since spring training but began playing in rehab games May 14. Since then, he's slashed .161/.194/.194 with five RBI and eight runs scored over nine games between the Arizona Complex League, Double-A and Triple-A. He'll stay put at Round Rock now that he's been given a clean bill of health, and he'll likely need to turn things around offensively before the Rangers begin to consider adding him to their major-league roster.

Hernaiz went 2-for-4 in Wednesday's loss against Seattle.

Hernaiz collected a pair of singles, one in the third inning and another in the seventh frame, marking his sixth multi-hit effort of the campaign. The infielder entered the 2026 season in a reserve role but has operated as the Athletics' primary shortstop since Jacob Wilson (shoulder) landed on the injured list May 12. Across his past 15 contests, Hernaiz is slashing .348/.400/.391 with two doubles, two RBI, six runs and a stolen base.

Henderson went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three total RBI in Wednesday's 11-2 win over the Rays.

After Taylor Ward drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, Henderson wasted no time giving Baltimore the lead with a two-run homer off Steven Matz. He later added another long ball in the sixth inning for his first multi-homer game of the season. The star shortstop has started to heat up at the plate lately, batting 14-for-33 (.424) with three homers over his last 10 games. Henderson now has 13 home runs on the year and is slashing .222/.274/.440 with 10 doubles, one triple, 29 RBI, 30 runs scored and six stolen bases across 252 plate appearances.

The Angels designated Lugo for assignment Wednesday.

The transaction clears space on the 40-man roster for the addition of Nick Madrigal. Lugo has spent most of this season at Double-A Rocket City, slashing .258/.382/.406 with three home runs, 11 steals and a 23:40 BB:K over 39 games. He just turned 25 and was once a prospect of some note, so Lugo could draw interest via waivers.

Walls (hamstring) remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Baltimore.

Walls was a late scratch Tuesday because of left hamstring tightness, and he will miss a second straight start. Carson Williams will fill in at shortstop. Walls will have another day to rest Thursday when the Rays are idle and is expected to be back in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Angels, per Ryan Bass of Rays.tv.