MLB Player News

Diaz is not in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Rangers.

Diaz will get a day off after he went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Tuesday's win. Chas McCormick will take over in left field and bat seventh versus Texas.

Fletcher will start at second base and bat leadoff in Wednesday's game against the Athletics.

Fletcher will stick atop the lineup for the third consecutive contest, with the Angels facing off against one right-hander (James Kaprielian) and two lefties (Cole Irvin and JP Sears) during that stretch. Though he'll be occupying second base Wednesday, Fletcher looks like he could see more playing time down the stretch at shortstop, a position in which the Angels have struggled to extract production from Andrew Velazquez. Fletcher could be a decent source of batting average, runs and steals if he ends up getting an extended run as the Angels' table setter.

Crawford will sit Wednesday versus the Padres.

Crawford will get a day off after he went 4-for-15 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored over four games since returning from the 10-day injured list Aug. 6. Thairo Estrada will shift to shortstop while Wilmer Flores enters the lineup at second base and bats second in the series finale.

Crawford isn't starting Wednesday against the Yankees.

Crawford is out of the lineup for the first time since July 15 after he went 2-for-18 with an RBI, two walks and a strikeout over the last five games. Dylan Moore will start at shortstop and bat seventh after he was reinstated from the injured list Wednesday.

Franco (wrist) could be ready to resume taking live batting practice as soon as Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Just under a month after getting surgery to repair a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist, Franco appears to be roughly in line with where the Rays had hoped he would be up to this point in his recovery. He'll likely hit off a tee or take dry swings over the next few days as the Rays look to gauge whether he's fit to face live pitching this weekend. If Franco does get the green light to take BP, he could be cleared to start throwing and taking part in fielding work next week. Franco was expected to be sidelined for 5-to-8 weeks at the time of his surgery, so he would seemingly have a shot at being ready to return from the IL by the end of August.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Tuesday's 7-5 win over the Rangers.

Diaz's fourth-inning blast off Martin Perez was his second grand slam of the season and helped the Astros dig out of an early 4-0 hole. The 32-year-old was making his third consecutive start at a different position Wednesday, but he'll likely see the bulk of his opportunities in left field moving forward. Chas McCormick looks to be the primary threat to Diaz's playing time, though the Astros could soon give trade-deadline pickup Trey Mancini some exposure to the corner outfield.

The Nationals released Urena on Tuesday.

Urena, who signed a minor-league deal with the Nationals over the winter, slashed .231/.268/.321 in 142 plate appearances at Triple-A Rochester this season. The 26-year-old infielder hasn't appeared in the majors since 2019, when he saw action in 30 games with the Blue Jays.

Arcia (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday.

Arcia sustained a left hamstring strain Tuesday against the Red Sox and will be forced to miss at least a week and a half. It's not yet clear how much time the 28-year-old is expected to miss, but Atlanta called up Vaughn Grissom from Double-A Mississippi on Wednesday, and the prospect should have a chance to carve out playing time at second base while Arcia and Ozzie Albies (foot) are sidelined.

Atlanta selected Grissom's contract from Double-A Mississippi on Wednesday. He'll start at second base and bat ninth in his MLB debut in Atlanta's series finale in Boston.

Grissom's promotion is an unexpectedly aggressive one, as he had appeared in just 22 games at Mississippi since being called up from High-A Rome on July 12. Due to his positional flexibility, Grissom will have ample opportunities to crack the starting lineup, though he will likely be most utilized at the keystone with Orlando Arcia (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list and with Ozzie Albies (foot) on the 60-day IL. Grissom showcased an intriguing blend of power, speed and contact skills between his two minor-league stops this season, slashing .315/.405/.494 with 36 extra-base hits and 27 steals in 442 plate appearances.

Seager went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-5 loss to Houston.

The muscle at the top of the batting order gave the Rangers an early lead. In addition to Seager's third-inning blast, Marcus Semien (first inning) and Adolis Garcia (fifth inning) homered off Jose Urquidy, but Martin Perez could not hold the lead. The homer was the 25th for Seager, who upped his line to .250/.329/.475 over 103 games.