MLB Player News

Barger (ankles) resumed baseball activity at the Blue Jays' complex in Florida this week and is expected to begin swinging the bat Friday or Saturday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Barger has played catch the last two days, and returning to hitting and running are the next steps in his recovery from sprained left and right ankles. Barger is expected to resume running Tuesday or Wednesday of next week and will go from there. While eligible to come off the injured list Friday, that doesn't appear to be a realistic target for Barger. Perhaps he'll be back with the Blue Jays for the start of their next homestand against the Guardians on Friday, April 24.

Montgomery is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Montgomery wore the golden sombrero in Wednesday's loss to the Rays and sports a 33.8 percent strikeout rate on the season, so he'll take a day Thursday to regroup. Tanner Murray is at shortstop and batting sixth as the White Sox try to avoid being swept.

Seager went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run, a walk and a second run scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.

Seager has just three hits over his last eight games (3-for-27), but all of those knocks have gone for extra bases. He's also drawn a walk in six of those contests, but he's added 10 strikeouts in that span. The contact has been good for the shortstop when he connects, but he's struggling with the second part of that equation. He's batting .203 with a .774 OPS, five homers, 12 RBI, 12 runs scored, a double and one stolen base over 18 contests.

Wilson went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 6-5 win over the Rangers.

Wilson's seventh-inning homer was his first of the year, and it was a crucial one. He gave the Athletics their last runs of the game, which would ultimately be needed when the Rangers got three runs back in the eighth. The shortstop is off to a modest start to the season, hitting .254 with a .602 OPS, seven RBI, six runs scored, three doubles and no stolen bases over 17 contests. He had 13 long balls over 125 games and hit .311 with a .799 OPS in 2025, though power is never likely to be his calling card.

Antonacci went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored Wednesday against the Rays.

Antonacci had his contract selected Wednesday and hit fifth in the White Sox's order while playing second base. He led off the second inning with a single to record his first big-league hit, and he similarly began the ninth inning with a walk to begin a rally. Antonacci should remain a consistent presence in lineup, though he'll primarily play in left field.

Baez went 1-for-3 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Royals.

Baez started in center field for the third time in Detroit's last five games, and he continued his solid start to the season. The veteran is now batting .295 with a .774 OPS, one home run, five RBI and five runs scored across 13 appearances. Baez's ability to play the outfield has opened up shortstop for young phenom Kevin McGonigle, and that arrangement figures to stick for the time being, though McGonigle can also shift over to third to allow Baez to cover short on occasion.

Perez went 1-for-1 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Royals.

Perez entered the game as a defensive replacement after Zach McKinstry exited following a collision, and the former didn't come to the plate until the eighth inning. Perez made the at-bat count, however, as the outfielder lifted his first home run of the year to break a 1-1 tie. It was a positive moment for Perez, though he still looks like a reserve option for the Tigers after getting recalled from Triple-A Toledo last week.

Story went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run and five RBI in Wednesday's 9-5 win over the Twins.

The veteran shortstop capped a five-run third inning with a three-run shot off Simeon Woods Richardson before adding a two-run double in the sixth. The long ball was Story's first in April and second of the season, and while he had a sluggish start to the campaign, he appears to have found his groove -- over the last nine games he's batting .314 (11-for-35) with a whopping 15 RBI.

Jackson went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's 8-5 extra-inning loss to the Diamondbacks.

The 26-year-old utility player got hold of an Eduardo Rodriguez fastball in the bottom of the fourth inning, ripping it on a line over the fence in left-center field for a two-run shot. It was Jackson's fourth homer of the season, and all four have come in the last five games as part of a six-game hitting streak, during which he's batting .480 (12-for-25) with two doubles, five runs and 10 RBI. With Jackson Holliday (hand) having had a setback on his rehab assignment earlier this week and Jordan Westburg (elbow) still not expected back until late May, Jackson has the starting job at second base locked down for now.

Crawford isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Crawford will grab a seat on the bench Wednesday after going 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch during Tuesday's series opener. Leo Rivas will fill the void at shortstop and bat ninth.