MLB Player News

Mateo is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

A 2-for-18 skid over his last eight games has brought Mateo's season line down to .196/.248/.329. He has 19 stolen bases and will make highlight plays at shortstop on occasion, but his struggles at the dish may finally start affecting his playing time. Richie Martin starts at shortstop in Mateo's absence.

Pena went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts Saturday against the Angels.

Pena started his second consecutive game after clearing concussion protocol Friday. He has gone only 1-for-10 in that span while striking out five times. Pena has also struck out at a 43.5 percent clip since returning from the injured list June 26, which has limited him just a .174 average with four runs scored across five games.

Smith batted leadoff and went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and was caught stealing in Saturday's 7-3 win over the Mets.

Smith was back in the leadoff spot against a right-hander after being dropped to ninth against a lefty the day prior. The rookie infielder has a 17.4 BB% and has reached base safely in 11 of 12 starts while sporting a .449 on-base percentage overall.

Franco went 2-for-8 with two walks, a solo home run and three total runs scored while starting both games of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays.

After starting at shortstop in the matinee, Franco served as the designated hitter for the evening game. The homer in Game 1 was Franco's first since April 26. The 21-year-old just returned last weekend from a quad injury that cost him close to a month, and with better health, Franco's numbers should improve in the second half.

Smith batted ninth and went 1-for-3 in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Mets.

Smith made his third straight start at third base. Unlike the previous two, when he batted leadoff against righties, Smith was dropped to ninth against a lefty. That Charlie Culberson didn't get the start, as was the case the last time Texas faced a southpaw, is a signal the Rangers are going to get Smith into the lineup in more than a platoon role. Since coming off the injured list June 21, the rookie is 4-for-22 (.182) with five walks and three runs.

Pena cleared the concussion protocol and is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena suffered a mouth laceration in a collision with teammate Yordan Alvarez (head) on Wednesday, but Pena has been cleared of a concussion and will return to face Michael Lorenzen. Alvarez's status is unclear.

Allen went 2-for-3 with a run in a loss to the Mariners on Thursday.

Allen extended his on-base streak to nine games with his multi-hit effort, a span that encompasses the entirety of his current big-league stint after he was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 21. The 23-year-old's surge has boosted his slash line to .250/.339/.385 across his first 59 plate appearances at the big-league level.

Crawford will begin serving his suspension Thursday after it was reduced from five to four games, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Crawford's suspension results from his role in a brawl that occurred during Sunday's game against the Angels, but he managed to get his sentence reduced by a game. The 27-year-old will be unavailable for the team's weekend series against the Athletics but will be able to use the Mariners' facilities to work out.

Crawford isn't starting Thursday's game against the Athletics.

Crawford started in the last three games and went 2-for-12 with two RBI, a run and two strikeouts. Dylan Moore is starting at shortstop and batting eighth.

Crawford went 1-for-4 with a run-scoring infield single and a sacrifice fly in a win over the Orioles on Wednesday.

With his appeal of a five-game suspension still pending, Crawford was in the lineup once again and mustered his second multi-RBI effort in the last eight games. The veteran shortstop has been scuffling badly at the plate for the last two-plus weeks, producing a .125/.162/.172 slash line across his past 17 games.