MLB Player News

Anderson went 2-for-5 with a run, an RBI and two stolen bases in Friday's 5-3 loss to Cleveland.

Anderson was a force in the third inning Friday. He singled in a run before swiping second base and coming around to score on a Yoan Moncada base hit. He stole another bag after singling in the fifth, giving him five on the season. The 6-foot-1 shortstop is slashing .313/.343/.478 through 70 plate appearances.

Mondesi (oblique) has progressed to participating in batting practice at the alternate training site, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

The 25-year-old began taking part in some baseball activities a couple weeks ago, but advancing to taking batting practice is a significant step as he returns from an oblique strain. Mondesi figures to be a couple weeks away from rejoining the Royals, and he'll likely take part in minor-league rehab games before returning to the majors.

Franco will open the season with Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 20-year-old phenom has yet to play above High-A and only spent 52 games at that level in 2019, but it's no surprise that the Rays see him as a Triple-A player following a year of development at the team's alternate training site. It would be no surprise if Franco dominates Triple-A pitching, as he has one of the best hit tools for a prospect in recent memory, as evidenced by his .336/.405/.523 slash line and 7.0 percent strikeout rate in 175 career minor-league games. The Rays have yet to offer much clarity on when he's expected to make his big-league debut, but his assignment to the highest level of the minors indicates they don't think he's far off.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-2 loss to the Nationals.

His eighth-inning shot off Daniel Hudson wrapped up the scoring on the night. Bichette snapped an 0-for-15 skid with this performance, and while his counting-stat production (six homers, three steals, 13 RBI and 17 runs through 23 games) is right on course, his .253 batting average is below expectations so far.

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

After recently starting nine times during a 10-game span, Diaz will be on the bench for the third day in a row Wednesday. The return of Jose Altuve from the COVID-19 injured list earlier this week appears to have closed Diaz's window for regular playing time. He'll now transition back into a utility role, which may only afford him a start or two per week when the Astros have their full complement of position players available.

The Royals plan to have Witt begin the minor-league season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Kansas City's decision to send Witt to Double-A rather than Triple-A Omaha shouldn't have much bearing on when the prized prospect gets a big-league call-up, which will likely come at some point this summer. Since Witt has yet to make his debut in affiliated ball, the Royals may just want to see how he fares against high-level minor-league competition for a period of time before summoning him to the majors. Witt has been developed as a shortstop up to this point, but since Adalberto Mondesi (oblique) will have that position locked down once activated from the injured list, the 20-year-old may get some exposure to second base as well as the outfield during his time at Northwest Arkansas.

Wendle is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The lefty-hitting Wendle will get a breather with southpaw Cole Irvin on the bump for Oakland. With Wendle on the bench, Yandy Diaz and Willy Adames will fill out the left side of the infield.

Fletcher went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout in Tuesday's 6-1 loss to Texas.

Fletcher led off the game with a double and singled in the seventh but the Angels' big bats were unable to bring him home. The middle infielder's slash line now sits at .265/.284/.570.

Adames is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Athletics, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Now on the bench for the second time in three days, Adames may be at risk of moving into more of a part-time role in light of his rough start to the season. After an 0-for-3 showing in Monday's 2-1 loss, Adames is now sitting on a .183/.227/.338 slash line and 30.7 percent strikeout rate through 75 plate appearances. Joey Wendle will cover shortstop Tuesday and bat fifth.

Bogaerts went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Sunday's win over the Mariners.

Bogaerts was Boston's designated hitter Sunday and made his presence felt at the plate -- he recorded his eighth double of the campaign and plated his 12th RBI of the campaign. The shortstop has now hit safely in seven straight games and has posted two multi-hit efforts in that stretch.