MLB Player News

Baez (illness) is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Friday against Houston.

Baez missed the Tigers' last two games due to illness, but the issue appears to have subsided ahead of Friday's contest. The 30-year-old shortstop has started to heat up at the plate recently, going 4-for-14 with a home run and three RBI across his last four games.

Seager went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Thursday's loss to Minnesota.

Seager swatted a solo shot in the third inning for one of three Texas homers in the contest. The star shortstop added a single in the fourth frame for his third multi-hit performance over his past four games. Seager also drew a walk in the loss, marking the seventh straight contest he has taken at least one free pass. In the month of August, he's reached base at a .417 clip while hitting nine homers and driving in 19 runs over 18 games.

The Guardians optioned Rocchio to Triple-A Columbus on Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Rocchio was recalled from Columbus on Aug. 2 and slashed .271/.308/.354 through 52 plate appearances during his latest stint in the majors. He'll be replaced on the active roster by Cam Gallagher (concussion), who returned from the 7-day injured list Thursday, but Rocchio could make a quick return to the majors once rosters expand in September.

Story is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Houston, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Story had started each of the last four contests but will sit out Thursday's afternoon game. Pablo Reyes is covering shortstop and Luis Urias is at second base.

Anderson went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Mariners.

Anderson returned from a five-game suspension and immediately slotted back into the leadoff spot. His power production remains disappointing, though he's maintained a .287 batting average with 10 runs scored, nine RBI and two stolen bases across 27 contests since the All-Star break.

Witt went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Athletics.

Over his last 12 games, Witt has put up seven multi-hit efforts with six homers, 13 RBI and three stolen bases. The shortstop's fifth-inning blast provided the last run of the game Wednesday. He's up to 26 homers, 81 RBI, 37 stolen bases, 73 runs scored and a .280/.320/.506 slash line through 126 contests. All of those except his run total are improvements on his numbers from 150 games as a rookie last year.

Story went 2-for-5 with a double, one RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 7-5 extra-inning win over the Astros.

Story had hit a skid over the last week, going 2-for-28 with 10 strikeouts over his previous seven games. He still struck out three times Wednesday, but he was a little more productive at the plate. The shortstop is batting .212 with no home runs, four steals, five doubles and three runs scored over 13 contests this year, with his RBI in this game being his first of the campaign. He missed over four months to begin the season while recovering from elbow surgery, so it's not a surprise for him to be struggling a bit.

Basabe is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Basabe will head to the bench for the first time since being called up from Triple-A Durham and taking over as the Rays' everyday shortstop after Wander Franco was placed on the restricted list. The 22-year-old is off to a hot start to his big-league career, going 10-for-33 (.303 average) with a home run, three doubles, eight RBI and eight runs through his first eight games. Though Isaac Paredes will pick up a start at shortstop, Basabe should have a clear path to a regular spot in the lineup while Franco remains away from the team for the foreseeable future.

Basabe went 2-for-5 with a grand slam and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 12-4 blowout victory over Colorado.

Basabe capped off an eight-run, eighth-inning rally with his first major-league home run, a grand slam to left. The 22-year-old shortstop has hit safely in six of his first eight career games, with three doubles, one homer, eight RBI and eight runs scored across 33 at-bats since getting promoted from Triple-A on Aug. 12.

Mateo went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Tuesday's 6-3 extra-inning loss to the Blue Jays.

Mateo was in the lineup for the fourth time in five games, all of which have seen left-handed opposing starters. The shortstop has gone 5-for-27 (.185) with two steals over 11 games since the start of August. It appears he's in a short-side platoon role, and that will mean less playing time once the Orioles face some righties. Mateo is slashing .209/.255/.347 with 26 thefts, seven home runs, 32 RBI and 47 runs scored through 302 plate appearances.