MLB Player News

Witt went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Reds.

The 412-foot blast in the third inning was the 11th on the season for Witt and his first long ball since May 29. The star shortstop continues to put up solid counting stats despite underwhelming ratios. Witt is the only player in the American League with at least 10 home runs and 20 steals, which he's accomplished despite an uneven .237/.276/.422 slash line.

Velazquez was reinstated from the 7-day injured list Tuesday.

Velazquez will return to Triple-A Salt Lake after missing over a month of action while on the 7-day IL with an unspecified injury. The 28-year-old has struggled to a .182 average with two homers, six RBI, 11 runs scored and five stolen bases over 66 at-bats in 21 games with Salt Lake this season. With David Fletcher (personal) being placed on the bereavement list and Taylor Jones (undisclosed) heading to the 7-day IL on Tuesday, no additional transaction was required to open a spot for Velazquez on the Triple-A roster.

Fletcher (personal) was placed on the minor-league bereavement list Tuesday.

Fletcher will be away from the team for up to a week as he deals with a family matter. The 29-year-old has impressed with Triple-A Salt Lake in 2023, recording a .365 average with nine extra-base hits, including a homer, over 156 at-bats in 38 contests. Andrew Velazquez (undisclosed) was activated from the 7-day injured list Tuesday, which will help help cushion Fletcher's absence in Salt Lake's lineup.

Mondesi (knee) was shut down from all baseball activity Tuesday, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Mondesi has been on the 60-day injured list since the beginning of the season due to the ACL tear he suffered last season. His rehab process has been slow, and although Mondesi has been without a return timeline all season, pausing all baseball activities will likely push back his season debut even further.

Smith is not in the starting lineup Tuesday versus the Rays.

Smith will take a seat after he went 2-for-6 with a solo homer, two runs scored and two strikeouts while starting the last two contests. Aledmys Diaz will take over at shortstop and bat seventh against Tampa Bay.

Pena is absent from the Astros' lineup for the second game in a row Tuesday due to illness, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Pena wasn't feeling well Sunday and apparently still isn't 100 percent following Monday's off day. Mauricio Dubon will fill in at shortstop against Patrick Corbin and the Nationals.

Witt went 0-for-2 with three walks, a stolen base and a run scored in Monday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Reds.

Witt had gone 20 games without drawing a walk prior to Monday, though he was able to limit himself to 17 strikeouts over that span. He's striking out at a 20.9 percent rate while walking at a 5.0 percent clip in 2023, making marginal improvements in both areas over his 2022 numbers. The shortstop is also slashing .237/.277/.414 with 10 home runs, 21 steals, 28 RBI and 38 runs scored over 65 contests.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said in an interview on the Talkin' Yanks podcast Tuesday that demoting Volpe to the minor leagues is not something the team has talked about.

"What I'm seeing is in my opinion a guy that is still helping us win games but I'm confident will continue to be in the middle of helping us win games," Boone said. The manager's statement isn't surprising, as you wouldn't really expect him to acknowledge that sending Volpe down was being considered even if it were the case. Perhaps, though, it serves as a much-needed vote of confidence for the rookie following a dreadful start to June, which has dropped his season batting line down to .186/.260/.345. For what it's worth, Volpe's potential replacement, Oswald Peraza, is hitting .311/.384/.597 with 10 homers and seven steals in 28 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Crawford went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs in a win over the Marlins on Monday.

The hot-hitting leadoff man set the table for both Teoscar Hernandez and Ty France, coming home on their first-inning double and second-inning home run, respectively. Crawford is now on a three-game tear that's seen him go 7-for-13 and quickly boost his average 18 points to .253. He also continues to help his cause by drawing walks at what is now a 13.4 percent clip, his highest rate since his rookie 2017 season in Philadelphia.

Duran went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Monday's 9-6 extra-innings loss to the Angels.

Duran's second-inning blast gave the Rangers an early 3-0 lead that eventually expanded to 5-0, but Texas pitching couldn't hold it, and the offense went silent. It was Duran's first homer since returning from the injured list earlier this month. The layoff didn't hurt his plate production. Duran, who's started seven of nine games since being activated, is 8-for-22 (.364) with two doubles, a homer, five RBI and six runs scored over that span.