MLB Player News

Fletcher (hip) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

Fletcher has already spent 10 days on the injured list due to his strained left hip, but he'll miss at least a bit more time. Given the relatively brief length of his absence, he's unlikely to need a long rehab assignment, though the Angels have yet to specify exactly when he's expected to return.

Allen went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a win over the Orioles on Thursday.

The rookie collected his first big-league knock with his seventh-inning two-bagger and subsequently came home on Sheldon Neuse's single. Allen's first two starts have come at second base, as manager Mark Kotsay has kept Elvis Andrus at Allen's primary position, shortstop, in both games.

Lopez is on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Buffalo with an oblique injury, Sam Dykstra of MLB.com reports.

The exact nature of the injury is unclear, but Lopez suffered it in spring training, so he could be back in a week or two. Lopez will provide infield depth this season after making a brief big-league debut in 2021.

Crawford went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in a loss to Texas on Thursday.

Crawford's three-run first-inning blast gave Seattle a five-run lead in what looked like it would be a runaway win, but Texas stormed back to pull out the victory. The homer was the first of the campaign for Crawford, who belted a career-high nine long balls last season. The shortstop is off to a strong start to 2022, slashing .310/.434/.500 with a 7:2 BB:K over 42 plate appearances.

Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

After singling in his previous two at-bats, Bogaerts came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and second and ripped an RBI double down the left-field line. Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano was able to get the next hitter -- Alex Verdugo -- to ground out to the left side, which scored another run and moved Bogaerts to third. However, Bogaerts was stranded to end the game as Romano retired the next two batters via ground balls. Thursday's performance was Bogaerts' fourth three-hit game of the season and his fourth multi-hit game over his last five starts.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base during Thursday's 3-2 win over the Red Sox.

After striking out in his first plate appearance, Bichette ripped an RBI single into right field to give Toronto a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Bichette stole second base after a Vladimir Guerrero sacrifice fly but ended up stranded there. The young shortstop added another single in the seventh to give him his fourth multi-hit game of the season, which raised his batting average to .224.

Witt was dropped to seventh in the order Thursday against the Twins, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

He had not hit lower than third in the order this season, but the results haven't been there. Witt is hitting .128 with zero home runs, one steal and 13:1 K:BB in 10 games. Nicky Lopez was bumped up to leadoff while Whit Merrifield shifts to second in the lineup. It remains to be seen where the righty-hitting Witt will slot in against lefties, as the lefty-hitting Lopez isn't as great of an option atop the order against same-handed pitching.

Story (head) is starting at second base and leading off Thursday against the Blue Jays.

He passed concussion protocols after being hit in the helmet by a pitch Wednesday. Story is still looking for his first home run and first stolen base on the season. He has a 33.3 K% and 6.1 BB% through eight games. This is his first time leading off with the Red Sox.

Story passed the concussion protocols after being hit in the helmet by a pitch during Wednesday's loss to the Blue Jays, and manager Alex Cora expects the infielder to play Thursday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old is also undergoing some testing after the contest, but it appears he's avoided a concussion. Story remained in the game after being hit in the helmet by a 92-mph pitch during the third inning, and he may not end up missing any time despite the dangerous incident.

Baez (thumb) said that he expects to resume swinging a bat off a tee Thursday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

With Baez indicating that the swelling in his right thumb has gone down since being placed on the 10-day injured list last weekend, he appears ready to resume baseball activities. If Baez responds well to hitting off a tee, he could take batting practice Friday and put himself in position to return from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Saturday.