MLB Player News

Arcia is in the Brewers' lineup for Thursday's game against the Giants, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Brewers have not announced a roster move to add Arcia back to the roster, but he is listed as the team's starting shortstop Thursday, so it appears he will be rejoining the big club imminently.

Featherston signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Wednesday.

Featherston had been playing for the independent Kansas City T-Bones before the club sold his rights to the Reds after Cincinnati expressed interest in bringing him into the organization. The 28-year-old, who owns a .160/.221/.256 batting line over 244 career plate appearances, will report to Double-A Pensacola.

Crawford (hand) took batting practice for the first time Thursday with High-A Clearwater, Meghan Montemurro of The Athletic Philadelphia reports.

He had already resumed fielding activities, but this marked a big step in his recovery from breaking his left hand. Crawford has been out since June 19, and could soon progress to a rehab assignment.

Rojas (back) is starting at shortstop and hitting seventh Thursday against the Nationals, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

He dealt with back spasms in Monday's game, but it was a minor issue, as he appeared off the bench the following day. Rojas won't play every day going forward, but his defense should earn him three or four starts per week, sharing time with JT Riddle and Martin Prado.

Swanson is out of Thursday's lineup against the Dodgers.

Ozzie Albies (hamstring) returns to action, but the Braves weren't quite ready to send Charlie Culberson to the bench, so he will slide over to shortstop, hitting sixth. Swanson is hitting .241/.323/.328 with one home run and two steals in 58 at-bats this month.

Wendle went 2-for-3 in a win over the Yankees on Wednesday.

Wendle has put together a well-rounded offensive effort in July, as his .367/.433/.617 line over 67 plate appearances is partly comprised of four doubles, a triple and three home runs. The 28-year-old has supplemented his solid offensive contributions with plenty of defensive versatility, logging time at second base, third base, shortstop and left field thus far in 2018.

Baez (upper leg) is not in the lineup against Arizona on Thursday.

Baez will remain out of the starting nine for the second straight day as he continues to recover from a bruise above his knee. He was able to join Wednesday's game as a pinch hitter and picked up a single before being replaced by a pinch runner. Manager Joe Maddon failed to comment whether he was just being precautious or if Baez suffered any sort of setback, but either way, the second baseman will take a seat for the series finale. In his place, David Bote will man Baez's position and bat ninth.

Owings started at third base and finished 1-for-3 with a stolen base in the Diamondbacks' 2-1 loss to the Cubs on Wednesday.

Owings drew the rare start at the hot corner with top option Jake Lamb moving to the bench due to a lefty (Jon Lester) starting for the Cubs. The utility man was able to contribute in the run game and has now notched nine steals in 12 attempts on the season, but that's about the only positive achievement in his profile from a fantasy perspective. Owings is under the Mendoza Line for the campaign and maintains a .547 OPS, his worst mark since breaking into the big leagues in 2013.

Fletcher went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored in Wednesday's 11-3 win over the White Sox.

Fletcher got a rare start at second base while Ian Kinsler received a day of rest. The rookie has started 11 consecutive games for the Halos, but a good chunk of those starts was due to Albert Pujols' stay on the disabled list. With the latter back in action, Fletcher will have to outplay Luis Valbuena at the hot corner in order to continue his recent run of playing time.

Crawford went 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to Seattle.

Crawford's production has really tailed off after his stellar month of June, as he is slashing a meager .162/.269/.206 with just three extra-base hits in 76 July plate appearances. The shortstop currently sports a career-high .338 BABIP, so a dip in batting average was to be expected. Crawford still owns a healthy .284/.354/.447 slash line on the year, so his fantasy owners are hoping that Wednesday's extra-base hit ignites his hibernating bat.