MLB Player News

Velazquez will start at shortstop and bat ninth Monday against the Royals, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Velazquez appeared to have moved into a utility role following Michael Stefanic's promotion to the big leagues earlier this month, but interim manager Phil Nevin seems to have soured on the slumping rookie coming out of the All-Star break. Stefanic is on the bench Monday for the third time in five second-half contests, while Velazquez has now picked up four starts over that same stretch. Aside from providing some useful speed (12-for-12 on stolen-base attempts), Velazquez has been a black hole of fantasy production this season. He enters Monday's contest with a .170/.210/.262 slash line to go with five home runs, 23 runs and 21 RBI across 246 plate appearances.

Abrams (biceps) isn't starting Monday's game against the Tigers.

Abrams will sit out for a third consecutive game after he was scratched from Saturday's lineup due to right biceps soreness. Ha-Seong Kim is starting at shortstop and batting ninth.

Wendle isn't starting Monday's game against Cincinnati, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Wendle started the first four games after the All-Star break and went 7-for-18 with a double, two RBI, a run, two stolen bases and a strikeout. Willians Astudillo is starting at second base while Luke Williams takes over at the hot corner Monday.

Downs is not in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the Guardians, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Downs will get a breather after he went 0-for-11 with eight strikeouts in the weekend series versus the Blue Jays. Bobby Dalbec will take over at third base and bat seventh versus Cleveland.

Witt (hamstring) is not in the starting lineup Monday versus the Angels.

Witt tweaked his hamstring Sunday and will now be unavailable for Monday's series opener. The exact nature of his injury remains to be seen and he is considered day-to-day for the time being. Nicky Lopez will slide over to shortstop while Emmanuel Rivera takes over at third base and bats sixth against Los Angeles.

Baez (arm) is starting at shortstop and batting second Monday versus the Padres, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

After he left Sunday's game early with an arm injury, Baez was considered day-to-day, but he's ready to go for Monday's series opener. The shortstop has gone 4-for-12 with an RBI and four runs scored over four games since the All-Star break.

Mateo will sit Monday against the Rays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Mateo will get a day off after he went 4-for-12 with a double, two RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in the three game series with the Yankees. The shortstop has secured at least one hit in eight of his past nine contests, batting .343 over that stretch. Jonathan Arauz will replace him at shortstop and bat ninth Monday against Tampa Bay.

Cruz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss against Miami.

Cruz led off the scoring with a solo home run off Sandy Alcantara in the third inning. It was his fifth home run since being called up on June 20. Cruz has started to heat up as he is on a four-game hit streak. One major issue for the young star is that he also has eight strikeouts in those four games and has a 36.6% strikeout rate for the season. He is slashing .208/.241/.415 for Pittsburgh in 28 games this year.

Martinez went 3-for-4 with two homers, four RBI and an additional run scored for Double-A New Hampshire on Sunday.

The 20-year-old has six hits in the last two days, including a double and three homers, to snap a 1-for-34 slump over his prior nine contests. Martinez has slugged 22 home runs in 78 games for the Fisher Cats this season, but that power comes with a .214 batting average, a 6.0 percent walk rate and a 29.9 percent strikeout rate. Until he learns to control the strike zone better, it's hard to project that Martinez will be a consistent offensive force in the majors. His age does offer some optimism that he can make the necessary adjustments and reach his impressive ceiling, however.

Story (hand) swung a bat Sunday for the first time since sustaining a hand injury that landed him on the injured list, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Story is eligible to return from the injured list, but he's not yet ready to play in a game. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said they'll see how the infielder responds Monday and hopefully activate him at some point during the week. Cora added that a rehab assignment is being discussed but no firm decision has been made.