MLB Player News

Marcano is starting at shortstop and batting leadoff Thursday against the Rays, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

This is Marcano's second turn at leadoff in the last week. Ke'Bryan Hayes, who continues to struggle offensively, is hitting seventh for Pittsburgh in Thursday's matinee. Rodolfo Castro is on the bench.

Lindor went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in a loss to the Tigers during the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

His fifth-inning shot deep to left field off Joey Wentz gave the Mets a 5-4 lead, but Adam Ottavino coughed it up in the eighth. Lindor snapped a 13-game homer drought with the blast during which he hit just .180 (9-for-50), so his bat may be emerging from its slumber. After a 1-for-4 performance in the nightcap, the shortstop is slashing .217/.321/.443 through 31 contests with five homers, four steals, 21 runs and 24 RBI.

DeJong is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Angels.

DeJong has been a fairly regular presence at shortstop for the Cardinals since his April 23 return from the injured list, but he'll take a seat Tuesday versus the Angels and Shohei Ohtani. Tommy Edman is playing short and batting ninth. Brendan Donovan is at second base and hitting eighth.

The Nationals optioned Downs to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.

Utility man Ildemaro Vargas (shoulder) was activated from the 10-day injured list in the corresponding transaction. Though he had been up with the big club since April 11, Downs appeared in just one game during his time with the Nationals and logged two plate appearances. He'll get a chance to play regularly again once he's back with Rochester.

Perdomo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

The Diamondbacks regularly withhold the switch-hitting Perdomo from the lineup versus southpaws, so his absence Wednesday comes as little surprise with lefty Andrew Heaney on the hill for Texas. Nick Ahmed will fill in for Perdomo at shortstop.

Rojas is not in the starting lineup against the Phillies on Wednesday, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Rojas is sitting for the second time in three games after being activated off the injured list. Chris Taylor will handle shortstop duties and hit ninth against the Phillies on Wednesday.

Abrams went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Cubs.

The 22-year-old shortstop has been flirting with the Mendoza Line most of the season, but Abrams appears to have a found a groove at the plate. Over his last 15 games, he's slashing .275/.315/.431 with two doubles, two homers, seven runs and nine RBI, solid production from a player who routinely hits near the bottom of one of baseball's weakest lineups.

Turner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 13-1 loss to the Dodgers.

The Phillies mustered only two hits Tuesday, with Turner's blast off Julio Urias accounting for the visitors' lone run. After hitting .298 with an .809 OPS with the Dodgers last year, Turner's Phillies career is off to a slower start. He's slashed .262/.304/.392 with three homers, eight RBI, 18 runs scored and four stolen bases over 138 plate appearances, but he's also striking out at a 24.6 percent rate. He's shown signs of turning things around by hitting safely in each of the last four games.

Tovar went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Brewers.

Tovar cranked a Freddy Peralta fastball 460 feet in the third inning to start the scoring. It was the shortstop's first home run of the season and second of his career. The 21-year-old is off to a slow start, slashing .217/.265/.337. Adding to the disappointment, Tovar has yet to pick up his first career big-league steal after swiping 74 bags across four seasons in the minors.

Bogaerts is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Reds.

This appears to be a planned day of rest for Bogaerts, who singled and scored a run in Monday's series opener versus Cincinnati and carries a .304/.392/.500 slash line through his first 130 plate appearances with the Padres. Ha-Seong Kim is playing shortstop Tuesday and batting seventh.