MLB Player News

DeJong went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Cubs.

The shortstop capped off St. Louis' five-run fifth inning with his blast off Cubs reliever Dan Winkler. DeJong has now homered in back-to-back games, giving him 12 on the year. The 27-year-old still carries a disappointing .185/.286/.385 slash line with 28 RBI, 26 runs scored and three stolen bases through 234 plate appearances, but he's hit safely in six of the nine games he's played in July.

Manager David Ross said following Saturday's loss to the Cardinals that Baez was removed in the ninth inning as a precaution after the shortstop jammed his thumb earlier in the contest, Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

Baez went 2-for-3 prior to exiting. Ross sounded more than optimistic that the shortstop will be good to go Sunday, but it might be worth monitoring his status prior to the series finale.

Story was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Padres due to soreness from being hit by a pitch Friday, Danielle Allentuck of The Denver Gazette reports.

Both Story and Brendan Rodgers (illness) were late removals from Saturday's starting nine. It doesn't sound like Story will miss extended time, but he should be considered questionable for Sunday's series finale.

Crawford went 3-for-3 with a solo homer, three RBI and a pair of runs scored Saturday against the Nationals.

Crawford drove in his first of three runs with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then he added an RBI single in the third and a solo homer in the sixth. Crawford, who is hitting a scorching-hot .571 (16-28) over his last seven contests, will go into the final game of the first half with 18 homers and 58 RBI while slashing .282/.359/.553 in 298 plate appearances. He owns a robust .912 OPS after having never topped .800 in any of his 10 previous major-league campaigns.

Edman will be on the bench Saturday against the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Edman finds himself on the bench after going hitless in three straight games. Matt Carpenter will be the second baseman in his absence.

Ahmed went 0-for-5 with a run, walk, two stolen bases and a strikeout as the Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers, 5-2 on Friday.

Ahmed reached on an error, stole third and scored in the fifth, and walked and stole second in the eighth. The Gold Glove shortstop isn't a huge threat on the bases but now has five steals in 77 games as he looks to surpass a career-high eight thefts from 2019.

Lindor went 1-for-3 with a grand slam, a walk and two total runs scored in Friday's 13-4 win over Pittsburgh.

The shortstop put an exclamation point on the Mets' 10-run sixth inning with his grand slam. Lindor is up to 10 home runs, 34 RBI, 47 runs scored and eight stolen bases through 84 games this year. Despite reasonable counting stats, he's posted a disappointing .221/.320/.366 slash line. His homer Friday was his first since June 23, a span of 14 games.

Luciano is hitting .266/.359/.547 with 14 home runs and a 27:48 BB:K across his first 53 games with Low-A San Jose.

Still just 19 years old, Luciano shot up the prospect rankings after an electric stateside debut in rookie ball in 2019, and despite last year's minor-league season having been lost to COVID-19, he's pretty much picked up right where he left off. He leads all of Low-A in homers, and a somewhat unlucky BABIP is largely to blame for his unremarkable batting average. There are only two knocks on Luciano from a fantasy perspective: that he's not widely expected to stick at shortstop and that he's still a couple years away from the big leagues. Considering the stats he appears capable of putting up once he reaches the majors, it'll be worth the wait.

Berti is not starting Friday's series opener against Atlanta, Jordan Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

The 31-year-old started consecutive games Wednesday and Thursday but went hitless in seven at-bats, reaching base just once via a walk. Berti has gone just 2-for-21 with eight strikeouts since Joe Panik, who is starting at third base Friday, joined the Marlins.

Arcia is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Marlins.

Arcia went 5-for-15 with a homer and four RBI while starting all four games in left field since being recalled July 4. He'll get a rest Friday as Abraham Almonte starts in left field and bats fifth.