MLB Player News

Velazquez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's victory over Toronto.

Velazquez provided the Angels' insurance run by homering in his second straight game off righty reliever Anthony Bass with two outs in the ninth. The shortstop has carried a hot bat in his last seven games with a .409 average and .727 slugging percentage in 22 at-bats; however, the 28-year-old has recorded only four RBI in 50 at-bats over his last 23 games.

Berti went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a stolen base in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Dodgers.

Berti scored the Marlins' first run when he singled, stole second base and came around to cross the plate on a Brian Anderson single in the fourth inning. The speedster also helped generate the game-winning run in the sixth, beating out an infield single to move Joey Wendle -- who would go on to score the decisive tally -- to second base. Since returning from a stint on the injured list Aug. 12, Berti is batting .234 with six walks and three stolen bases over 13 games. He leads the majors with 31 thefts on the campaign.

DeJong will be on the bench Saturday against Atlanta, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

DeJong has now sat for four of the last five games, a move that's likely linked to his .054/.167/.135 slash line over his last 13 games. He's struck out at a 45.2 percent clip during that slump. Tommy Edman will again handle shortstop in his absence.

Baez is starting Saturday against the Rangers.

Baez returned to the lineup Friday against Texas and went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. He'll start at shortstop and bat third Saturday.

Pena will be on the bench Saturday against the Orioles.

Pena will get a rest after going 1-for-10 over his last three games. David Hensley will make his MLB debut at shortstop in his place.

Story (wrist) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Saturday, Julian McWilliams of The Boston Globe reports.

Story's activation was expected Saturday, and he'll officially be in the lineup for Boston's matchup against Tampa Bay. The 29-year-old appeared in two rehab games at Double-A Portland this week and went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, three runs, three RBI, a walk and a strikeout.

Velazquez went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored against Toronto in a 12-0 win Friday.

Velazquez hit the first of four homers by the Angels in the contest, swatting a two-run shot to right field in the third inning. He's racked up four multi-hit games over his past nine contests following a stretch of 24 straight games without such an effort. Velazquez is batting .440 over the aforementioned nine-game span, lifting his season average to .200.

Fletcher went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 12-0 victory versus the Blue Jays.

Fletcher hit atop the order for the Angels and sparked the offense from the onset, singling and stealing third base in the first inning. He was stranded without crossing the plate, but Fletcher doubled in two runs in the following frame and subsequently came around to score. The infielder finished with his first three-hit effort of the campaign, lifting his season batting average to .278. He's slashing .326/.366/.442 since returning from a lengthy stay on the IL on July 28.

Arcia (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday.

Arcia has been on the injured list since Aug. 10, and the club has been targeting a September return. The 28-year-old's rehab assignment should be the final step in his recovery process, but he'll likely need to appear in several minor-league games prior to rejoining the big-league club. If he feels good following his rehab games, he'll likely be in the mix to return from the injured list sometime next week.

Wendle went 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored and three RBI in Friday's extra-inning loss to the Dodgers.

The utility infielder had gone 10 straight games without an RBI heading into Friday, but Wendle broke out with a two-run double in the sixth inning and an RBI single in the seventh. The 32-year-old is having a tough August in general, slashing .179/.210/.244 over 22 games with a 2:15 BB:K, zero homers, three steals, three runs scored and six RBI.