MLB Player News

Ortiz will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Ortiz will stick in the starting nine for the seventh time in eight games while he's maintained a serviceable .280/.357/.400 slash line thus far in June. With Ortiz's playing time on the upswing, Luis Rengifo has been the odd man out on the left side of the infield.

Rojas said that he's available off the bench for Sunday's game against the White Sox after aggravating a right shin injury Saturday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

The veteran infielder didn't start Saturday but entered the game in the top of the fifth inning as a pinch hitter for Alex Freeland. Rojas noted that he initially hurt his shin during the Dodgers' previous series in Pittsburgh, and he tweaked it again Saturday while grounding out. He was able to stay in the game on defense but got pulled in the top of the seventh after reaching base on a walk. Rojas told Plunkett that he elected to pull himself from the game because he didn't want to be further compromised while Yoshinobu Yamamoto was in the midst of a perfect game. Rojas doesn't expect his shin to be a serious concern.

Mateo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

With Freddy Peralta on the bump for New York, Mateo will head to the bench for a second straight matchup with a right-handed pitcher. Atlanta should still be able to find room for the right-handed hitter against lefties, but Mauricio Dubon and Ha-Seong Kim look to be ahead of Mateo on the shortstop depth chart.

Tovar (calf) will start at shortstop and bat fifth Sunday against the Athletics.

Tovar was held out of the starting nine for the first two games of the series in Las Vegas due to left calf soreness, but the 24-year-old was available off the bench for Saturday's 7-5 loss. Though Tovar ultimately went unused in that contest, he'll settle back in at his usual spot at shortstop in the series finale. Tovar has gotten off to a rough start to June, producing just five hits in 33 at-bats (.152) while posting a 1:15 BB:K over eight games.

Bogaerts (head) is starting at shortstop and batting cleanup Sunday against the Orioles.

The veteran shortstop was hit in the head by a pitch during Saturday's contest and exited the game a short while later, but his presence in the lineup Sunday indicates he has no lingering issues. Bogaerts has struggled at the plate in June with a .148/.303/.185 slash line and 27.3 percent strikeout rate through nine games this month.

Griffin will report to the Pirates' facility in Bradenton on Sunday to continue rehabbing his right forearm strain, Aidan Stepansky of MLB.com reports.

Griffin began playing catch out to 90 feet Wednesday and is expected to gradually increase the distance and intensity of his throwing while he's in Florida. The standout rookie has been on the shelf since May 31 but could return to action before the end of June, depending on how quickly he's able to resume full baseball activities.

Swanson went 0-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three strikeouts in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Giants.

While Swanson salvaged some fantasy value by drawing a walk and coming around to score, he still had a rough day. The shortstop is just 1-for-12 over his last four games and is batting a paltry .133 this month, which has lowered his batting average on the season to .176. The Cubs don't have an obvious replacement for Swanson on their roster, however, unless they wanted to try Nico Hoerner at short on a more regular basis and open up second base for the likes of Matt Shaw or Pedro Ramirez.

Turner went 1-for-6 in Saturday's 9-8 win over the Brewers.

Turner remains mired in a frigid cold spell at the plate. Over his last 61 plate appearances (14 games), the speedy shortstop is slashing a woeful .207/.246/.241 with no home runs, two RBI, three stolen bases and seven runs scored. Turner's numbers on the season aren't much better, as he is slashing just .222/.272/.335 with seven home runs, 21 RBI, 14 steals and 41 runs scored across 305 plate appearances.

Betts went 3-for-5 three runs scored against the White Sox in a 7-1 win Saturday.

Betts' most-remembered moment Saturday will likely be the error he committed at shortstop in the eighth inning to end Yoshinobu Yamamoto's bid for a perfect game, but the veteran infielder also had a nice performance at the plate. He scored three of Los Angeles' seven runs and recorded his third three-hit game of the campaign. It's been a rough season at the plate for Betts, and he's still trying to claw his way back up to the Mendoza Line, as he's currently slashing just .196/.261/.350. However, despite Saturday's fielding miscue, he's committed just two errors through 36 contests and hasn't struggled making contact, striking out just 19 times across 157 plate appearances.

Bogaerts was hit in the head by a pitch during Saturday's win over the Orioles and ultimately left the game, Byron Kerr of MLB.com reports.

Bogaerts took a 93.5-mph sinker from Trey Gibson off his helmet in the top of the fifth inning and subsequently went down on his hands and knees. He was able to stay in the game and eventually came around to score on a sacrifice fly, but the veteran shortstop was then switched out on defense in the bottom of the sixth frame. Manager Craig Stammen said after the victory that Bogaerts was initially feeling fine but then "started not feeling as good" before he was pulled, per 97.3 The Fan. Stammen added that the team will evaluate Bogaerts throughout the remainder of the day and night, which will help determine if he'll be able to play Sunday.