MLB Player News

Crawford went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and a walk in Sunday's win over Detroit.

Crawford doubled and scored in the first inning and later knocked his 20th double of the year. He'd been stuck in a 5-for-23 (.217) run since his last multi-hit game July 5, but he's still hitting .370 this month. Crawford improved his season slash line to .258/.368/.402 with 28 extra-base hits and 48 runs scored through 362 plate appearances.

Pena (hamstring) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Pena left Saturday's game after appearing to tweak something during his at-bat in the 10th inning. Manager Dusty Baker confirmed after the game that it's a hamstring issue for Pena, though he was optimistic that it was just a cramp, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Grae Kessinger will get a turn at shortstop with Pena banged up.

Witt went 2-for-8 with a solo home run and a double across both games of Saturday's doubleheader versus the Rays.

He's hit safely in 10 of 11 games in July, batting .357 with three homers, four stolen bases and nine RBI this month. It's another step forward after the talented shortstop had a strong June to offset his slower start to the season. Witt is slashing .257/.299/.449 with 15 homers, 27 steals, 48 RBI and 49 runs scored through 92 contests overall.

Reyes (abdomen) is expected to play shortstop in a rehab game Sunday for Double-A Portland, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Reyes has appeared in six games during a rehab assignment and is 8-for-21 with three home runs and seven RBI for Portland. He's seen time at second base, designated and center field prior to his expected start at shortstop Sunday. Following Sunday's game, Boston manager Alex Cora said the organization will reassess the roster. Reyes is out of minor-league options and can't be assigned directly to Triple-A or Double-A, so if the Red Sox want to add him to the major-league roster, Cora must decide which player would be cut. The main candidates for a demotion would appear to be fellow infielders Christian Arroyo and Enrique Hernandez.

Neto went 1-for-6 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 13-12 extra-inning win over the Astros.

Neto sparked one of the Angels' comebacks, going deep in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to four runs. The shortstop went 0-for-5 on Friday in his return from a month-long absence with an oblique injury. He should resume a starting role at shortstop at the expense of Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez's playing time. Neto is slashing .249/.325/.427 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 25 runs scored and five stolen bases through 57 contests. Most interestingly, he's hit leadoff in the last two games and could stick atop the lineup for a while if his bat heats up.

Pena was removed from Saturday's game versus the Angels in the 10th inning with an apparent injury, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena looked to tweak something in the back of his right leg on a swing in the top of the 10th inning. He stayed in the game to finish his plate appearance but was removed for defense prior to the bottom of the frame. The Astros should have more on Pena's condition soon.

Story (elbow) won't begin a rehab assignment this weekend but will be re-evaluated early next week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Reports from early July indicated that Story had a shot to begin his rehab assignment immediately after the break, but that was never officially confirmed as a definite plan, so the fact that he's not quite ready doesn't necessarily count as a setback. If he's cleared for game action early next week, he'll still have a chance to return sometime in early August.

Neto went 0-for-5 with an RBI in a loss to the Astros on Friday.

Neto returned from a one-month stay on the injured list and batted leadoff for Los Angeles. He wasn't able to reach base but did drive in a run on a second-inning groundout. Neto had been hitting at the bottom of the order prior to getting hurt, so it remains to be seen if he'll stick in the leadoff spot moving forward.

Duran will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Guardians.

Duran closed the first half with four straight starts and started Friday's game as well, but he'll hit the bench Saturday with Mitch Garver taking over as the designated hitter. Duran should continue featuring regularly going forward, as he's broken out to the tune of a .303/.338/.518 slash line this season.

Smith (back) is slated to begin a swing progression Saturday, MLB.com reports.

Smith has been sidelined since June 17 with a back strain, and the fact he's finally ready to pick up a bat again nearly a month later underscores the severity of the original injury. Now that the 27-year-old appears to finally be making some progress, it remains to be seen how quickly he'll be deemed ready to begin what would project to be a fairly lengthy rehab assignment.