MLB Player News

DeJong is starting at shortstop and batting seventh Wednesday at San Francisco, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The 27-year-old wasn't included in the Cardinals' initial starting nine for Wednesday's series finale, but he'll join the lineup with Tyler O'Neill (illness) sitting out. DeJong is hitting .164/.274/.301 with three homers, seven RBI and six runs in 24 games since returning from the injured list in mid-June.

DeJong is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Giants, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

DeJong is 4-for-22 over his past seven games and will take a seat for the second time in the past three days. Edmundo Sosa will work at shortstop for the Cardinals as DeJong continues to struggle offensively in 2021.

Baez was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the Phillies with a sprained right thumb.

Baez hit a pair of homers Tuesday and has two hits in each of the past three games, and it's unclear when he sustained the thumb injury. He should be considered day-to-day while Sergio Alcantara receives the start at shortstop Wednesday.

Strange-Gordon signed a minor-league contract with the Pirates on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Strange-Gordon opted out of his deal with the Cubs on Tuesday, but he'll land another minor-league contract a day later. While the 33-year-old has been assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis for now, he could serve as an option for the major-league club in the near future with Erik Gonzalez (side) unavailable and Adam Frazier included in trade rumors. Strange-Gordon has hit .259 with two home runs, 23 runs, 11 RBI and five stolen bases across 37 Triple-A games to begin the year.

Cruz has been diagnosed with a forearm strain, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Cruz was placed on the 7-day minor-league injured list Tuesday after he had experienced forearm soreness recently. However, Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that he doesn't believe the injury is particularly serious, and the right-hander could return after 2-to-3 weeks.

Crawford went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI in Tuesday's loss to St. Louis.

The shortstop racked up four hits for the first time this season and plated over half of the Giants' runs in the game. He knocked in two with a third-inning single and drove home another run with a double in the fifth. Crawford has been scorching at the plate of late, going 11-for-17 with two doubles, a triple, two walks and four RBI over his past four games.

Baez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Tuesday's 15-10 loss to Philadelphia.

Baez went deep in the sixth and seventh innings, and he also had a sacrifice fly in the fourth. The shortstop has gone deep three times in two games against Philadelphia this week. The 28-year-old is up to 21 long balls, 56 RBI, 41 runs scored and 10 stolen bases through 77 games, although his .234 batting average leaves a bit to be desired.

Arcia went 2-for-3 with a solo home run during Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Pirates.

The 26-year-old supplied Atlanta's lone run of the contest with his solo shot during the first inning, and his third-inning single was one of only three other hits from the offense. Arcia is 4-for-11 with a homer, an additional RBI and an additional run in three games since joining the big-league roster over the weekend.

Cruz (forearm) was placed on the 7-day minor-league injured list Tuesday, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz hasn't appeared in a game since June 30 due to a sore forearm, and the injury is apparently bad enough to warrant a trip to the injured list. General manager Ben Cherington recently said that he doesn't believe the injury is serious, but it's not yet clear when the 22-year-old will be able to return. Prior to getting hurt, Cruz slashed .289/.349/.538 with nine homers, 34 runs, 29 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 43 games at Double-A Altoona.

Ahmed is not starting Tuesday against the Rockies.

Ahmed will get at least the beginning portion of Tuesday's game off as Josh Rojas slides to shortstop and Josh VanMeter takes over at second base.