MLB Player News

Allen will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Allen is making his third straight start and appears to be picking up more playing time at the expense of Vimael Machin, who is on the bench for the second time in three contests. If Jonah Bride re-emerges as the Athletics' primary third baseman, Allen would face less competition for reps out of the middle infield.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

According to Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, manager Dusty Baker said Diaz was initially penciled in to start Sunday, but the Astros opted to withhold the 31-year-old from the lineup to give him a chance to rest his legs. Chas McCormick will draw the start in left field in place of Diaz, who had been included in the starting nine in six of the previous seven contests.

Diaz went 3-for-3 with a solo home run, an RBI single and a walk in a 5-4 loss to the Mariners on Saturday.

Diaz homered off Chris Flexen in the bottom of the fifth inning for his third home run over the last two games. Diaz has put together an impressive July, slashing .286/.351/.600 in 70 at-bats. The utility player now has nine home runs and 25 RBI on the season and is producing out of the bottom third of the lineup. It is worth monitoring to see if he can build on his momentum in August.

Seager (lower leg) could require a stint on the injured list, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.

Seager exited Thursday's game after fouling a ball off his leg, though the team downplayed the nature of the injury. However, he hasn't been in the lineup since, and on Saturday manager Chris Woodward said that Seager's availability is "hour by hour." Ezequiel Duran and Charlie Culberson have picked up playing time in Seager's absence.

Anderson is appealing a three-game suspension for making contact with the home plate umpire during Friday's game against the Athletics, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The 29-year-old was ejected from Friday's matchup after exchanging words with the home plate umpire, and his helmet made contact with the umpire's head. Anderson will be available while appealing his suspension, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him miss at least a few games in the near future since he was also suspended for a similar incident in 2021.

Seager (lower leg) isn't starting Saturday against the Angels.

Seager fouled a ball off his right leg Thursday and will be out of the lineup for a second consecutive game as he continues to deal with a contusion. Marcus Semien is shifting to shortstop while Ezequiel Duran starts at second base.

Fletcher isn't starting Saturday against the Rangers, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Fletcher started the last two games and went 2-for-7 with a double and a strikeout. Luis Rengifo is shifting to second base while Andrew Velazquez starts at shortstop.

Mateo isn't starting Saturday against the Reds, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Mateo started the last four games and went 4-for-14 with a home run, a triple, a double, two runs, a steal and seven strikeouts. Ramon Urias will shift to shortstop while Tyler Nevin starts at third base.

Story has been diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his wrist, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Story was initially diagnosed with a bruised right hand when he landed on the injured list July 16, but he continued to experience discomfort and received a second opinion Saturday. The 29-year-old will be shut down from swinging for 10-14 days following his diagnosis, so he'll likely be unable to return to game action until at least mid-to-late August. Christian Arroyo should serve as the primary second baseman until Story is cleared to return.

Downs was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Saturday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Downs started just one of the last five games and will lose his spot on the active roster after Christian Arroyo (groin) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Saturday. Downs was called up by the Red Sox in early July and hit .171 with a homer, a double, four runs and four RBI over 13 games since then.