MLB Player News

Franco (wrist) will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair his fractured hamate bone and is expected to require 5-to-8 weeks of recovery time, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with a hamate injury in his right wrist over the weekend, but the Rays didn't immediately announce whether or not he would require a procedure. With surgery now having been deemed necessary, Franco won't be in line to rejoin the Rays until at least mid-August. Taylor Walls should serve as the Rays' primary shortstop while Franco is sidelined.

Cruz isn't starting Monday's game against the Marlins, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Cruz started in the last four games and went 4-for-15 with a homer, a double, three runs, two RBI and a stolen base. Kevin Newman will shift to shortstop while Josh VanMeter starts at second base Monday.

Story went 2-for-4 with a double, three runs and three RBI in Sunday's 11-6 win over the Yankees.

The three RBI matched Story's total from his previous 10 contests combined. Story had gotten on base at a poor .222 clip over those 10 games, and even after Sunday's big effort, his slash line sits at a disappointing .225/.294/.430 for the season. Per Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic, Story will stick in the lineup as Boston's No. 6 hitter in Monday's series opener with the Rays, and he's unlikely to be moved up in the order until he finds sustained success at the plate over an extended period.

Arcia is not in the starting lineup for Monday's contest against the Mets.

Arcia will head to the bench Monday as Robinson Cano will make his debut with the team and take over the starting spot a second base. The 27-year-old is expected to shift into more of a platoon role after the addition of Cano, making his absence from the lineup Monday something that could be common moving forward.

Berti is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Pirates, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

The majors' leader with 27 stolen bases, Berti has been seeing more time in left field of late with Joey Wendle having found a home at the keystone in his return from the injured list while Jazz Chisholm (back) remains on the shelf. Bryan De La Cruz will pick up a start in left field in place of Berti, but the 32-year-old speedster should continue to play regularly in the absence of both Chisholm and Jorge Soler (pelvis), who also appears unlikely to make it back from the IL before the All-Star break.

Rojas (neck) is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Monday against the Pirates, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

After exiting Sunday's game early with neck tightness, Rojas is ready to go ahead the team's four game series against the Pirates. Since June 26, the 33-year-old has produced a .302 average with one home run, five doubles, three RBI, four runs and a stolen base over 43 at-bats in 14 games.

Cruz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored Sunday against the Brewers.

Cruz took Trevor Gott yard in the sixth inning to record his fourth home run of the season. He has shown the expected pop in his bat since being promoted June 20, as nine of his 16 hits have gone for extra bases. On the other hand, Cruz has a 34.2 percent strikeout rate which has deflated to his batting average to .213 across 79 plate appearances.

Watson hasn't played for Single-A Jupiter since July 1 due to a disciplinary reason that's being handled internally by the Marlins, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

It's been a frustrating first full pro season for the 19-year-old, who had a hot start but has seen his slash line sink to .221/.274/.372 due to significant contact issues (39.3 percent strikeout rate). There was an incident a couple weeks ago where Watson struck out and aimed his bat like a gun at the first base umpire who ruled that he went around on a check swing. Given his athletic tools and young age, there's still plenty of time for him to put things together, but how Watson responds upon his return will give some insight into his current makeup and maturity.

Swanson went 3-for-6 with a double and two runs scored in Sunday's extra-innings win over the Nationals.

He crossed the plate with the winning run as the phantom runner in the 12th inning on an Austin Riley single. Swanson has recorded three or more hits in four of the last 10 games, and the hot streak has boosted the All-Star's slash line on the season to .302/.357/.491 with 14 homers, 14 steals, 50 RBI and 54 runs through 87 contests.

Arcia is expected to move into a short-side platoon role with Atlanta on track to promote Robinson Cano from Triple-A Gwinnett prior to Monday's game against the Mets, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.

When Ozzie Albies fractured his foot June 13 and underwent surgery two days later, Arcia was installed as the team's everyday second baseman. After generating seven hits in his first three starts in place of Albies, Arcia has proceeded to hit .145/.232/.145 over his subsequent 18 games. Atlanta apparently prefers to keep Arcia's top backup at second base, Phil Gosselin, in a utility role, so the lefty-hitting Cano looks as though he'll get a look as the primary option at the keystone as the team aims to extract more production from that position. Arcia, meanwhile, should replace Cano in the lineup versus left-handed pitching and will likely represent Atlanta's top pinch-running option off the bench on days he doesn't start.