MLB Player News

Smith (back) started at second base and played the entirety of Triple-A Las Vegas' loss to Albuquerque on Friday, going 1-for-5.

Smith has now played consecutive full games on defense for the first time in his rehab assignment, seemingly teeing up a return to the big-league club. The infielder, who's been out since mid-June with a back strain, has hit .381 (8-for-21) with a double, two home runs, five RBI, a walk and four runs across six rehab games with the Aviators.

Crawford went 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs in a win over the Angels on Friday.

The Mariners put on an offensive display in the high-scoring win, and Crawford's night was actually one of the quieter ones in a game where Seattle laced eight of its 14 hits for extra bases. While Crawford didn't contribute to that total, the veteran shortstop did generate his eighth multi-hit effort since the All-Star break and set the table nicely from the top of the order. Crawford has been thriving the entire second half, as he now owns a .333/.463/.485 slash line and 16.7 percent walk rate across his last 18 games.

Baez was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Rays due to a death in his family, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

It remains to be seen if Baez will be placed on the bereavement list, where players are allowed to reside for 3-to-7 days. Zack Short is starting at shortstop Saturday in his place.

Baez was scratched from Saturday's lineup.

He was slated to bat seventh for the first time this season, but he will instead be held out. Zack Short gets the start at shortstop and Andy Ibanez was added to the lineup at second base.

Seager went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-2 win over Miami.

Seager pulled a Jesus Luzardo changeup 429 feet in the first inning after the Marlins jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top half of the frame. It was his second homer in three games since being activated off the injured list and seventh long ball over the last 14. The shortstop is slashing .345/.406/.636 with 17 home runs and 62 RBI over 69 games.

Witt went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 7-5 victory over the Phillies.

Witt's third inning homer was his 20th of the season. He's now the first player in major-league history to reach the 20/30 plateau in each of his first two seasons. During his last seven games, Witt has five multiple hit outings with four home runs, 15 RBI and four stolen bases.

Neto was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday with lower-back discomfort, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Neto has been bothered by back trouble for the last two weeks and is finally going to be shut down for an extended period. There is currently no timeline for his return. Luis Rengifo is starting at shortstop and batting leadoff for the Angels on Friday night against the Mariners.

Martinez was promoted from Double-A Akron to Triple-A Columbus on Friday.

There has been a middle infielder domino effect within Cleveland's organization -- after Amed Rosario got traded, Brayan Rocchio was promoted from Triple-A to the majors and Martinez got bumped from Double-A to Triple-A. Martinez has started 44 games at second base, 25 games at shortstop and 18 games at third base this season, and while he got off to a slow start, the 21-year-old slashed .308/.372/.483 with five home runs, two steals and a 13.7 percent strikeout rate over his final 139 plate appearances at Double-A.

Cleveland recalled Tena from Triple-A Columbus on Friday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Tena was just promoted to the Triple-A level earlier this week after slashing .260/.353/.370 with four homers and 16 steals through 81 games with Double-A Akron. The 22-year-old infielder will give the Guardians some depth as Josh Naylor (side) and Tyler Freeman (shoulder) both head to the 10-day IL.

Witt went 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Mets.

Witt singled in his first at-bat before coming around to score the Royals' first run of the game. He then took Carlos Carrasco deep in his next trip to the plate and added another insurance run in the eighth with his third hit of the day. The shortstop has now recorded multiple hits in four of his last six games to go along with 13 RBI, seven runs scored and three stolen bases. He's hitting .462 through three games in August.