MLB Player News

Abrams is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

The lefty-hitting Abrams will sit for the second game in a row with the Dodgers bringing another lefty (Clayton Kershaw) to the hill. Before the back-to-back absences, Abrams started in 11 consecutive games, slashing .231/.250/.282 over that stretch. However, Manny Machado missed 10 of those contests with an ankle injury, and now that he's being reinstalled as the Padres' everyday third baseman, Abrams will have to battle Ha-Seong Kim for playing time at shortstop. Though Kim bats from the right side of the plate, he may not have to settle for the short side of platoon since he's outperformed Abrams at the dish during their respective time in the big leagues this season.

Marcano will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Brewers.

The lefty-hitting Marcano will pick up his third start in as many games since being reinstated from the COVID-19-related injured list, which included an assignment against a lefty (Aaron Ashby) in Saturday's 7-4 win. Marcano has gone 0-for-6 with four strikeouts in his first two games back in action, but the Pirates appear to be viewing him as a higher priority than fellow left-handed-hitters Josh VanMeter and Hoy Park, both of whom remain on the bench Sunday for the second and third games in a row, respectively.

Rojas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Rojas looks to be receiving a routine maintenance day after he went 7-for-23 with a home run, three doubles, a walk, a stolen base, three RBI and three runs while starting in each of the past seven games. Joey Wendle will fill in for Rojas at shortstop.

Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Saturday against the Brewers.

Cruz took Aaron Ashby yard in the fourth inning to tally his third homer of the season. He's striking out at a 32.7 percent clip but has still managed 12 RBI and seven runs scored across 13 games since being recalled. Cruz has also flashed his power regularly, with seven of his 11 hits going for extra bases.

Preciado was recently placed on the injured list with a knee injury, Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation reports.

Single-A Myrtle Beach added Preciado to the IL on June 15. The nature of the injury is not known, but North Side Bound posted a photograph of the infielder with a brace on his left leg.

Swanson went 3-for-5 with one run scored and one stolen base in Saturday's win over the Reds.

This heater Swanson is on may reach legendary status in fantasy circles -- he's been a top-10 roto hitter to date. Swanson hit .330/.390/.563 with seven homers and three steals in the month of June, and he's off to a 7-for-10 start to July, with two doubles, a homer and now a steal. The 28-year-old will be eligible for free agency this winter.

Abrams isn't starting Saturday against the Dodgers.

Abrams will get a breather after drawing 11 consecutive starts. During that time, he hit .231 with two doubles, three runs and three RBI. Ha-Seong Kim is taking over at shortstop and batting seventh Saturday.

Rojas (neck) is in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Nationals.

Rojas was involved in a collision in the infield Friday and eventually left the game with what manager Don Mattingly described as "almost like a little stinger." The issue won't end up costing Rojas a start. He has quietly been on a nice run, batting .290/.337/.430 with three homers and four steals since the start of June.

Swanson went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a three-run home run in Friday's 9-1 win over the Reds.

The shortstop needed a triple in his final at-bat to record his first career cycle and nearly got it, but Tommy Pham just managed to cut off a ball in the gap before it reached the fence and Swanson had to settle for another two-bagger. The performance snapped a brief 0-for-12 mini-slump, but Swanson still boasts a stunning .350/.406/.615 slash line since the beginning of June, a 28-game stretch that features eight homers, three steals, 22 RBI and 23 runs.

Perdomo went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Friday's 9-3 win over the Rockies.

Perdomo has hits in two straight contests after experiencing a nasty nine-game slump during which the rookie was hitless over 27 at-bats. He also endured a 1-for-22 start to the season. Arizona coaches are not surprised by Perdomo's struggles against MLB pitching and have been working on the finer points of hitting when time permits, Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic reports. However, with Perdomo the everyday shortstop while Nick Ahmed (shoulder) is done for the season, he won't get a lot of downtime.