MLB Player News

Velazquez went 1-for-4 with a solo homer, the first of his career, in Saturday's win over the Twins.

The homer had minimal impact on the game, as it stretched the Yankees' lead from five to six runs, but it was a nice moment for the Bronx native, who's been crashing on his parents' couch during his brief time in the big leagues. While Velazquez has been a fun story, he remains largely uninteresting for fantasy purposes, as he's a 27-year-old utility man with a lifetime .178 batting average in 147 career trips to the plate.

Franco went 3-for-9 with an RBI single, a run-scoring double and three runs in Friday's and Saturday's games against the White Sox.

The hot-hitting shortstop recorded an RBI infield single in Friday's extra-innings loss before coming through with a timely two-bagger in Saturday's win that plated Nelson Cruz with Tampa Bay's first run of the day. The productive pair of outings is par for the course for Franco in August, a month in which he's knocked in 14 runs over 17 games with the aid of seven extra-base hits (four doubles, three home runs).

Mateo isn't starting Saturday's game against Atlanta.

Mateo has been hot at the plate recently, as he's hit .357 with five doubles, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base during his current 11-game hitting streak. Ramon Urias will shift to second base while Richie Martin takes over at shortstop.

DeJong is not starting Saturday's game against the Pirates.

DeJong snapped out of a three-game hitless streak with two singles Friday, and he's now hitting .250 with four extra-base hits and seven RBI in his last 10 contests. Edmundo Sosa is playing shortstop and batting seventh Saturday.

Manager Luis Rojas said Baez (back) could return from the injured list Sunday, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Once activated, Baez is expected to be the Mets' everyday second baseman, unless of course he returns before shortstop Francisco Lindor (oblique) does. Before suffering the back injury, Baez went 6-for-36 with two home runs and 14 strikeouts in 10 games with New York.

Manager Luis Rojas said it's possible Lindor (oblique) is activated from the injured list Sunday, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Lindor will take live batting practice Saturday, and if all goes well he could be back in the lineup for Sunday's series finale in Los Angeles. He's been on the IL since July 17 with a right oblique strain.

Adames is not starting Saturday's game against the Nationals.

An 0-for-4, two-strikeout effort Friday lowered Adames' average to .282 in his last 10 games. He's hit three doubles, a home run and driven in four runs during that span. Luis Urias is starting at shortstop and batting sixth Saturday.

Diaz isn't starting Saturday's game against the Mariners, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Diaz will get a rare day off after he went 5-for-10 with two doubles, two RBI and a run across the last two games. Yuli Gurriel will shift to the hot corner while Taylor Jones starts at first base.

Cruz went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI in Double-A Altoona's 11-3 win over Somerset on Friday.

He served as the team's designated hitter in his first game action since June 30. Despite talk of moving him to the outfield, Cruz has played exclusively at shortstop in 2021. Whether the 6-foot-7 prospect sees time in the outfield remains to be seen. He's slashing .298/.356/.551 with nine homers and 10 stolen bases in 195 Double-A plate appearances.

Anderson isn't starting Saturday's game against the Rays.

Anderson tied Friday's game in the ninth inning with a solo home run, but he'll be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games following the extra-innings win. Danny Mendick will take his place at the keystone and bat eighth.