MLB Player News

Crawford (oblique) resumed baseball activities Saturday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford hit the injured list Monday after an MRI revealed a mild oblique strain. He was originally given a return timeline of 10-to-14 days, and the fact that he's working out again within a week of being shut down seemingly backs that up.

Arcia is not starting Saturday's game against the Phillies.

The shortstop-turned-outfielder is omitted from the lineup for a second straight day after going 2-for-19 in his first five games out of the break. Abraham Almonte will start in left field and bat seventh Saturday.

Seager (hand) has been swinging and moving around, but manager Dave Roberts indicated Friday that he has no update on when the shortstop may be activated or whether he'll go on a rehab assignment, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

There were whispers early this week that Seager could rejoin the Dodgers as soon as Wednesday, but that proved to be an inaccurate estimate. Seager continues to take part in baseball activities and doesn't appear to have suffered a setback, so it's unclear why his return date remains a mystery. The 2020 World Series MVP still seems likely to return to game action soon, but it's uncertain whether he'll jump right back into fold with the Dodgers or head out on a rehab assignment first.

Preciado has hit .379/.463/.534 with two homers, four steals, 10 RBI and 13 runs across his first 15 games for the rookie-level ACL Cubs.

The 18-year-old's first taste of affiliated ball could hardly be going better, and his prospect star is on the rise now that his promising scouting reports have turned into promising results at the dish. Preciado doesn't play a very sharp shortstop, but he's looked fine at third base so far, and that's probably his eventual landing spot. The Panamanian is several years from the majors, but he looks like one of the most promising young players in the low minors.

Story went 2-for-5 with a solo homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 9-6 win over the Dodgers.

Story came alive in the sixth with a solo blast to left field to make it a 4-2 ballgame. The game would end up going to extras and he led off the top of the 10th with an RBI single and later scored on Charlie Blackmon's two-run homer. Story hadn't hit a home run since the beginning of July and now sits at 12 for the year. He's slashing .245/.317/.432 with 32 extra-base hits, 45 RBI, 45 runs scored, 31:83 BB:K and is one of the top base stealers in the league with 17.

Diaz (hand) could be reinstated from the 10-day injured list in time for Houston's three-city road trip that begins next week, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Following the team's three-game home series with the Rangers this weekend, the Astros embark Monday on a three-city tour of Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles (Dodgers). Diaz, who's been out since fracturing his left hand June 6, has appeared in five rehab games, including the last three at Double-A Corpus Christi.

Anderson was ejected from Friday's 7-1 loss to the Brewers.

Anderson and the rest of the White Sox were vocal about umpire John Libka's strike zone all night. Manager Tony La Russa was given the heave-ho in the bottom of the seventh inning followed by Anderson a half-inning later. Danny Mendick replaced Anderson at shortstop.

Ahmed went 1-for-4 in Friday's 8-3 loss to the Cubs.

Ahmed, who is batting just .225 with a .615 OPS, manned his usual spot at shortstop and could be doing that for a while. Arizona's primary backup at short is Josh Rojas, who is expected to hit the injured list with a fractured left pinky finger. Per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, manager Torey Lovullo named Andrew Young and Eduardo Escobar as Ahmed's backups, but neither has much recent experience there. Scouts don't see Young as an average defender at second base, let alone shortstop, and Escobar has played just two innings there since joining the Diamondbacks three years ago. In short, it may not matter if Ahmed continues to hit. Since returning from the All-Star break, he's batting .409 with a .980 OPS over seven games.

Franco went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored in Friday's win over Cleveland.

Franco now has back-to-back multi-hit games for the first time this season, but the star prospect has struggled at the dish at times and is only hitting .233 with a .664 OPS through his first 98 big-league plate appearances. He has time on his side to get better and should eventually adjust to handle MLB-caliber pitching, but it's been a slow start to his life at the MLB level.

Baez went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, a double and two runs in Friday's 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Baez has now recorded hits in nine of his last 10 appearances, and he blasted his first homer since July 6 during Friday's win. The 28-year-old has slashed .345/.381/.603 with four home runs, 15 RBI, 10 runs and four stolen bases across his last 15 games, and he could be involved in trade talks ahead of the July 30 deadline.