MLB Player News

Hernaiz is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Cubs.

It's the second straight day out of the lineup after Hernaiz had started each of the previous seven tilts. Alika Williams will handle shortstop for the Athletics.

The Red Sox transferred Story (abdomen) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Story underwent surgery two weeks ago to repair a sports hernia. He had seemed to have a chance to make it back before missing 60-plus days, but now Story is ineligible for activation until after the All-Star break. Marcelo Mayer will continue to serve as Boston's primary shortstop while Story recovers.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Baez (ankle) has been shut down from baseball activities for an unspecified length of time, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Initially placed on the 10-day injured list April 29 due to a right high-ankle sprain, Baez hadn't progressed as quickly as the Tigers had hoped while conducting his rehab program at the team's facility in Florida. After meeting with an ankle specialist Monday, Baez was advised to put his rehab on hold and rest up for the time being. Once he eventually starts ramping up again, Baez is likely to require a minor-league rehab assignment before rejoining the Tigers, so he's still expected to be multiple weeks away from being activated.

Smith (glute/wrist/illness) took live batting practice Wednesday, MLB.com reports.

This marked the first batting practice session for Smith since landing on the injured list May 3 with the glute issue. Since then, the infielder has been bothered by wrist inflammation and a bout of viral meningitis that kept him away from baseball activity. Smith could begin a rehab assignment next week.

Witt went 1-for-4 with a run scored, a stolen base and a walk in Wednesday's 5-2 win over Cincinnati.

Witt wasn't a major factor with the bat in Kansas City's win, though he was able to swipe his 20th base of the season, making him one of four players in MLB to reach the mark this year. The shortstop has been particularly active on the bases of late, tallying five steals across the past four contests. It's been a stellar season for the young star, who's slashing .283/.356/.467 with 26 extra-base hits (nine home runs), 26 RBI, 31 runs and an MLB-best 3.7 fWAR among position players through 62 games.

Neto (neck) isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Wednesday will mark the Angels' third consecutive game without Neto in the starting nine while he battles whiplash. Manager Kurt Suzuki said the decision to sit him down was precautionary, per Bollinger, so it doesn't seem like the team is worried about the 25-year-old's injury leading to a stint on the IL. Oswald Peraza will pick up another start at shortstop; meanwhile, Neto will have a team off day to recover ahead of Friday's series opener versus the Dodgers.

Crawford went 3-for-4 with a double and a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-1 loss to the Mets.

Crawford was responsible for three of the Mariners' six hits Wednesday and their lone run -- the shortstop led off the home half of the first inning with a 409-foot blast off Freddy Peralta for his 10th homer of the year and fourth in the last nine games. Crawford's boosted his slash line to .224/.351/.406 across 231 plate appearances with 30 runs scored and 23 RBI this season.

Arias (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Arias has been on the shelf since early April due to a strained left hamstring, but a week after resuming baseball activities, he's now ready to test his hamstring in a competitive setting. He's likely to require an extended rehab assignment because he's been out for so long, but he should be able to return from the IL by the end of June.

Triple-A Norfolk activated Vazquez (thumb) from the 7-day injured list Tuesday.

Vazquez missed about two months of action due to a broken right thumb, but he's since rejoined Norfolk following a rehab assignment with High-A Frederick. After going 6-for-23 (.261) with four doubles, four RBI and two stolen bases during his assignment, Vazquez launched a solo home run in his return to the Tides on Tuesday.

Walls (hamstring) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Walls exited Monday's 10-9 loss due to left hamstring tightness, though he described his removal from the contest as precautionary and said he felt "100 percent" ready to play if needed, per MLB.com. The Rays have nonetheless opted to hold Walls out of the lineup for the final two games of the series, though he may be available off the bench Wednesday. Ben Williamson will receive another start at shortstop in place of Walls.