MLB Player News

The Royals placed Mondesi on the Family Medical Emergency List on Friday.

Mondesi will be away from the team for the entirety of this weekend's series against Minnesota, as he will miss a minimum of three games. He will be eligible to return Monday versus the Tigers but could be away from the team for up to seven days. In a corresponding move, Ramon Torres was called up from the minors. Expect to see Alcides Escobar man the shortstop position in Mondesi's absence.

Baez is out of the lineup against the Cardinals on Thursday.

Baez will take a seat to begin the second half of the 2018 campaign after participating in the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game earlier in the week. In his place, Ben Zobrist will man second base and bat out of the cleanup spot. Look for Baez to return to the starting nine Friday.

Bichette went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a stolen base Wednesday in Double-A New Hampshire's 3-2 win over Trenton.

The steal was Bichette's Eastern League-leading 27th of the season, giving him a five-bag edge over his nearest competitor. Despite his quality performance Wednesday, Bichette's productivity has been on the downturn of late, with the 20-year-old hitting just .209 over his last 10 games.

Arcia went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored during Tuesday's Triple-A outing against Round Rock.

Arcia has hit .316/.458/.526 with two home runs and six RBI over 11 games since being optioned to Colorado Springs in early July. The shortstop was sent down in order to work on his swing, as he was hitting just .197 with a .482 OPS over 66 games with the Brewers at the time of his demotion. Though Arcia is starting to show signs of progress at the Triple-A level, Tyler Saladino has seemingly captured the role of everyday shortstop for Milwaukee, picking up multiple hits in four of the past five games heading into the All-Star break.

Correa (back) has continued to rehab in Houston during the All-Star break, but it's uncertain if he'll be available for the Astros' six-game road trip that begins Friday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic Houston reports. "I certainly can't rule him in," manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday, regarding Correa's status for the road trip. "I'm not going to rule him out."

Correa's availability for the three-game sets in Anaheim and Colorado would be based on his completion of a minor-league rehab assignment, which Hinch suggested the shortstop would require before being activated. While it's an encouraging sign that Correa is still incorporating baseball activities into his regimen and hasn't been shut down, he'll need to take another step forward in his recovery before a return from the disabled list can be considered imminent. Correa has been sidelined since June 25 with lower-back soreness.

Mondesi went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a double Sunday in the Royals' 10-1 loss to the White Sox.

Mondesi provided six of the Royals' 13 total bases on the afternoon, highlighted by a 414-foot blast off Jeanmar Gomez in the eighth inning. The 22-year-old has supplied an .829 OPS through 10 contests in July while chipping in two steals, making him someone worth keeping an eye on heading into the second half. His fantasy value would benefit from a move up in the lineup, as the Royals have largely confined him to a lower-third spot in the order since he was promoted from Triple-A Omaha on June 17.

The Royals activated Herrera (personal) from the paternity list Monday.

To clear a spot on the active roster for Herrera, the Royals designated outfielder Abraham Almonte for assignment. Now back with the team following a three-game absence, Herrera could still be in store for steady at-bats in the second half, despite posting an underwhelming .267/.291/.373 batting line since being recalled from Triple-A Omaha on June 17.

Gordon went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in a loss to the Rockies on Sunday.

Gordon closed out the first half with yet another solid offensive performance, his fourth multi-hit effort in the last 10 games. The veteran speedster is slashing .283/.301/.346 across 382 plate appearances, numbers that are all below those of his stellar 2017 campaign in Miami. However, Gordon has been timelier with his hits during his first Seattle campaign, as he's just 11 RBI short of the 33 he compiled last season in 312 additional plate appearances.

Wendle went 2-for-5 with two RBI from a single and a double in an extra-inning loss to the Twins on Sunday.

Wendle closed out the first half in strong fashion, generating three straight two-hit, two-RBI efforts. He wielded an especially clutch bat Sunday, as it was his ninth-inning, two-out single that plated Daniel Robertson and knotted the game at 7-7. The 28-year-old is hitting a smoldering .405 over 47 plate appearances in July, an especially welcome departure from a month of June in which he hit just .192. Wendle's offensive numbers have naturally seen considerable boosts in the process, as he heads into the All-Star break slashing .283/.331/394 after entering the month with a .260/.302/.344 line.

Story went 1-for-4 with a walkoff solo home run to send the Rockies to a 4-3 victory over the Mariners on Sunday.

Story continued his recent home-run barrage in dramatic fashion with this game-ending blast off Nick Vincent. That gives him four long balls in his last seven games and 20 on the season in what has been a phenomenal first half for the 25-year-old All-Star, who is now slashing a robust .292/.353/.557 through 366 at-bats.