MLB Player News

Edman will be on the bench Saturday against the Cubs, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Edman finds himself on the bench after going hitless in three straight games. Matt Carpenter will be the second baseman in his absence.

Correa (COVID-19) is unlikely to rejoin the Astros for Sunday's series finale against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager Dusty Baker said Saturday that Correa is still feeling sick. With the All-Star break looming, the shortstop will have some extra recovery time before the Astros begin their series in Chicago next Friday.

Crawford went 1-for-3 with a double, two walks and two runs in a win over the Angels on Friday.

Crawford turned in a prototypical leadoff effort in the victory, serving as a constant thorn in the side of Angels pitchers and coming home with the game-tying run on a Ty France single in the seventh. The shortstop's productive night snapped a rare 0-for-12, three-game skid and pushed his season average and on-base percentage to impressive .280 and .343 marks, respectively.

Franco is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

An 0-for-5, four-strikeout performance Friday dropped Franco's average to .211 in 57 big-league at-bats. Despite his struggles at the plate, the Rays figure to be patient with their top prospect as he adjusts to MLB pitching. Taylor Walls will start at shortstop and bat sixth Saturday.

Fletcher went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in a loss to the Mariners on Friday.

Fletcher didn't waste any time making sure his torrid streak would continue another day, as he led off the contest with a solo shot to left field. He went on to collect two more base knocks, making it four straight games in which he has collected multiple hits. Fletcher's current 22-game overall hitting streak is the longest in the majors this season and the longest by an Angel since Garret Anderson's 23-game streak in 2008, per MLB Stats. Over the course of his streak, Fletcher is batting .427 with 17 runs and 11 RBI.

Ahmed went 0-for-5 with a run, walk, two stolen bases and a strikeout as the Diamondbacks defeated the Dodgers, 5-2 on Friday.

Ahmed reached on an error, stole third and scored in the fifth, and walked and stole second in the eighth. The Gold Glove shortstop isn't a huge threat on the bases but now has five steals in 77 games as he looks to surpass a career-high eight thefts from 2019.

Anderson went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and three runs in Friday's 12-1 blowout of the Orioles.

In his last five games, the shortstop has gone 13-for-21 with four doubles, three walks and nine runs, raising his batting average from .289 to .312 in the process. Hitting before Yoan Moncada and Jose Abreu would be an enviable spot for any player, but Anderson would probably be having a phenomenal stretch offensively even without their help from the second and third spots of Chicago's lineup. His situation only figures to improve once Eloy Jimenez (pectoral) returns in a month or so.

Lindor went 1-for-3 with a grand slam, a walk and two total runs scored in Friday's 13-4 win over Pittsburgh.

The shortstop put an exclamation point on the Mets' 10-run sixth inning with his grand slam. Lindor is up to 10 home runs, 34 RBI, 47 runs scored and eight stolen bases through 84 games this year. Despite reasonable counting stats, he's posted a disappointing .221/.320/.366 slash line. His homer Friday was his first since June 23, a span of 14 games.

Luciano is hitting .266/.359/.547 with 14 home runs and a 27:48 BB:K across his first 53 games with Low-A San Jose.

Still just 19 years old, Luciano shot up the prospect rankings after an electric stateside debut in rookie ball in 2019, and despite last year's minor-league season having been lost to COVID-19, he's pretty much picked up right where he left off. He leads all of Low-A in homers, and a somewhat unlucky BABIP is largely to blame for his unremarkable batting average. There are only two knocks on Luciano from a fantasy perspective: that he's not widely expected to stick at shortstop and that he's still a couple years away from the big leagues. Considering the stats he appears capable of putting up once he reaches the majors, it'll be worth the wait.

Correa (illness) was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday due to health and safety protocols, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

At this point the transaction appears to be a precautionary measure with Correa feeling under the weather Friday. The shortstop should remain questionable for Saturday's game against the Yankees, at least until Houston provides an additional update. Taylor Jones was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move.