MLB Player News

Fletcher went 4-for-5 with a double and one RBI in Monday's 8-5 loss to Oakland.

Fletcher collected four of the Angels' 14 hits in Monday's loss, including an RBI single in the seventh inning. It was his second straight multi-hit game and fourth in the last nine games. The 5-foot-9 utilityman improved his OPS to .619 with 20 RBI this season.

Crawford went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI in Monday's 5-2 win over Arizona.

Crawford broke a 1-1 tie with his two-run shot in the fifth inning and later brought in an insurance run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. The veteran shortstop entered Monday's game in a 1-for-16 but broke out of it with his fourth multi-hit game of the month. He's slashing .257/.341/.545 with 24 extra-base hits and 44 RBI this season.

Bichette went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Monday's loss to the Red Sox.

Bichette reached base in the fourth inning on a single to center and managed to reach scoring position after swiping his ninth bag of the season, but Toronto failed to drive him in. The shortstop has hit safely in 11 of 12 contests in June, going 18-for-51 with two homers, seven RBI and two stolen bases over that stretch.

Baez (thumb) expects to be available off the bench Monday against the Mets and hopes to return to the lineup Tuesday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Baez battled thumb soreness throughout last week, missing a total of four games. He'll miss another one to start this week, but the issue doesn't appear to be particularly serious and a trip to the injured list doesn't seem to be on the cards.

Manager Don Mattingly said the Marlins hope Rojas (finger) will be activated this weekend during the three-game series against the Cubs, Craig Mish of SportsGrid.com reports.

The veteran shortstop began a rehab assignment Sunday at Triple-A Jacksonville, so a weekend return would provide him a few games in the minors before being activated. Rojas landed on the shelf with a dislocated and fractured left index finger May 28 and it appears he's set to be activated after missing about three weeks.

Baez (thumb) remains out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.

Thumb soreness cost Baez the first three games of last week and sent him back to the bench for Sunday's game. His latest absence will last at least two games, with the Cubs yet to specific exactly when he'll return to the lineup. Sergio Alcantara starts at shortstop in his absence.

Vincej signed a minor-league contract with the Mariners on June 3 and was assigned to the organization's rookie-level Arizona League affiliate.

After electing free agency following the 2019 season, Vincej appeared to be transitioning into a post-playing career, as he had accepted a coaching position at Pepperdine, his alma mater. The 30-year-old infielder has apparently since reconsidered his stance, and he'll attempt to reboot his career with Seattle, the organization in which he spent the 2018 campaign. Vincej enjoyed cups of coffee in the big leagues with both Cincinnati and Seattle in 2017 and 2018, respectively, appearing in 10 games between the two clubs.

Schmitt was named the Low-A West Player of the Week on Monday after he went 9-for-20 with four home runs, three walks, five runs and 10 RBI over his last five games for Low-A San Jose.

Schmitt endured a brutal start to the 2021 campaign, but he lifted his batting average 60 points on the heels of a huge week. The 22-year-old third baseman has still been a below-average player for the balance of the season, with his .208/.277/.455 slash line equating to a 92 wRC+. Better days should be in the forecast for Schmitt, who is striking out at a more-than-acceptable 16.1 percent rate but has been victimized by an unsustainably low .171 BABIP.

Fletcher went 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

Fletcher kicked off a four-run second inning with a sacrifice bunt that scored Taylor Ward and ended up scoring from first on a single that was mishandled in the outfield by Ketel Marte. He would later have an RBI double in the sixth and then scored once again in the eighth on a two-run blast from Jared Walsh. The 27-year-old is now slashing .261/.292/.303 with nine extra-base hits, 19 RBI, 35 runs scored and three stolen bases on the year. There is definitely room for improvement as those averages are currently on pace to be the lowest in his impressive four-year career.

Crawford went 3-for-5 with an RBI in Sunday's win over Cleveland.

Crawford has hit safely in eight of the Mariners' last 10 games and has seven RBI, six runs scored and an 8:8 BB:K during that span, so the shortstop has been doing a good job at the top of the order. Crawford also has a decent .342 on-base percentage, a figure that would represent his best mark in that category since his rookie year in 2017.