MLB Player News

Diaz (groin) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

He'll presumably stick with Sugar Land through the weekend and get exposure to a few different positions before the Astros potentially activate him from the 10-day injured list early next week. Prior to being shut down with the left groin injury, Diaz had been serving as Houston's primary starter in left field, but it's unclear if he'll immediately recapture a regular role once reinstated. Trey Mancini would represent Diaz's top threat for playing time.

Bogaerts (back) isn't starting Wednesday against the Orioles, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Bogaerts exited Tuesday's loss to the Rays due to back spasms and was expected to sit for Wednesday's series finale. He'll officially be out of the lineup while Enrique Hernandez starts at shortstop and leads off.

Velazquez (undisclosed) is starting Wednesday against the Tigers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Velazquez was scratched from Tuesday's lineup but will start at shortstop and bat ninth a day later. Over his last four games, he's gone 0-for-9 with a run, a stolen base, a walk and four strikeouts.

Bichette went 4-for-5 with a double, a two-run home run and four total runs scored in Tuesday's 9-6 loss to the Orioles.

One day after he launched three homers in the nightcap of Monday's doubleheader, Bichette continued to punish the baseball. The 24-year-old might be the hottest hitter in the league right now with five multi-hit efforts in his last six games, a stretch in which he's batting .593 (16-for-27) with three doubles, five homers and 14 RBI.

Chang went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Chang continues to occupy primarily a small-side platoon role for the Rays, as eight of his 10 starts since Aug. 20 have come with southpaws on the mound. However, it was righty Eduard Bazardo that Chang took yard in the sixth inning to record his fourth homer of the season. He owns a .216/.280/.324 line across 164 plate appearances on the season.

Duran went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Tuesday's 4-3 win over Houston.

Duran snapped a six-game streak without an RBI when he doubled home a pair of runs in the second inning. The rookie infielder has 25 RBI over 57 games.

Pena went 2-for-4 with two steals in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers.

Pena and the Astros had the green light all night on the basepaths, as the Astros stole five bases. Two of those came from Pena, as he now has nine on the season. With his two hits, Pena is also riding a modest seven-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .355 (11-for-35).

Bogaerts was removed from Tuesday's loss to the Rays with back spasms and will be held out of Wednesday's series finale, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Bogaerts went 0-for-3 before being replaced in the field for the bottom of the seventh inning, and he'll sit out Wednesday due to the back spasms. The hitless performance ended a nine-game hit streak for the 29-year-old, and he batted .541 with one home run, 10 RBI and eight runs during that stretch.

Velazquez was scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Tigers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Velazquez was originally slated to start Tuesday at shortstop, but he was pulled in favor of Luis Rengifo, who will come in to play second base and bat fourth. David Fletcher will slide over to cover short.

Franco (wrist) got treatment and took 40-to-50 swings during Tuesday's off-day at Triple-A Durham and is expected to play for the affiliate Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The news is a welcome development for the Rays and Franco's fantasy investors after he tweaked his wrist in Monday's rehab game and exited earlier than previously planned. Franco will likely need at least a couple more rehab games before rejoining the big-league club.