MLB Player News

Updating an earlier report, DeJong (hand) will join the Cardinals in San Francisco on Thursday but will not be activated until Friday at the earliest, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

DeJong was thought to have a chance of being activated before the series opener Thursday, but manager Mike Matheny confirmed otherwise Wednesday. However, it appears highly likely he'll make his return at some point during the series versus the Giants and slot back into his everyday role at shortstop.

Ahmed is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals.

Arizona skipper Torey Lovullo tabbed Daniel Descalso and Ketel Marte for starts in the middle infield in the series finale, leaving no room in the lineup for Ahmed. The shortstop had started seven of the past eight games for the Diamondbacks, going 8-for-28 (.286 average) with three extra-base hits and a pair of walks.

Crawford will get the day off Wednesday against the Rockies, Kerry Crowley of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Crawford is hitting .351 with a 1.115 OPS over his last 10 games, part of a career year at the plate in which he's hitting .311/.374/.498 overall. Each portion of that slash line easily represents a career high. Alen Hanson will get the start at shortstop in his absence.

Mondesi is out of the lineup against the Indians on Wednesday, Maria Torres of the Kansas City Star reports.

Mondesi will hit the bench after going 2-for-4 with one run during Tuesday's contest. In his place, Alcides Escobar will man shortstop and bat eighth in the order.

DeJong (hand) went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run, a walk and two runs in Triple-A Memphis' win over Iowa on Tuesday. He remains on track to be activated prior to Thursday's series opener against the Giants, Jack Magruder of MLB.com reports.

DeJong bounced back nicely after striking out twice in Monday's contest against Iowa. The 24-year-old was able to make solid progress over the last few weeks, with manager Mike Matheny coming away impressed while watching DeJong take batting practice recently in Milwaukee when the shortstop joined the team on a road trip. DeJong has gone through an extensive battery of tests as part of his rehab as well, which has included measuring his grip strength to make sure it's back to pre-injury levels. If DeJong is indeed activated Thursday, he'll have missed a total of 44 games with his injury.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Correa (back) is still not participating in baseball activities, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Back stiffness forced Correa to the disabled list last Friday and he remains effectively shut down, meaning a return this weekend when first eligible is pretty much out of the question. At this point, a return before the All-Star break may be a stretch. Hopefully this extended rest allows Correa to get back to the level of performance we're accustomed to seeing from him. He was slashing .268/.352/.480 before hitting the DL, down from .315/.391/.550 last season.

Rojas is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.

Rojas will get a well-deserved rest after playing all 16 innings at third base and finishing 2-for-5 with a pair of walks across seven plate appearances in the Marlins' 9-6 loss Tuesday. Yadiel Rivera will step in at third base in Rojas' stead and hit seventh in the series finale.

Anderson went 2-for-6 with a stolen base and two runs scored in Tuesday's 12-8 extra-innings win over the Reds.

Anderson's batting average and on-base percentage remain mediocre, but he's delivered value in other areas. The stolen base was his team-high 18th, and he also leads the team with 47 runs scored. Until a couple of weeks ago, we couldn't even describe his average as mediocre -- he was hitting .230 on June 20 -- but Anderson's hit safely in 11 of last 12 games, going 18-for-49 (.367) with 11 runs, two home runs and seven RBI.

Bogaerts is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Nationals.

Bogaerts moves to the bench following a stretch of nine straight starts that concluded Tuesday, when he went 2-for-3 with a home run, two walks and three RBI. Brock Holt receives the starting nod at shortstop in the series finale and will bat second.

Fletcher led off and went 1-for-4 in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Mariners.

Fletcher has recently taken over as the Halos' primary option at the hot corner, starting six of the club's last seven contests. Designated hitter Shohei Ohtani's return from the disabled list could complicate that situation, pushing Albert Pujols back to first base and creating a platoon at third with Luis Valbuena and Fletcher. The rookie has performed adequately through his first 44 games (.317/.364/.390), so there is a chance that he has done enough to avoid falling on the short side of a platoon. The Angels are scheduled to take on three right-handed starters over their next four games, and the lineups for those games will provide a clearer picture regarding Fletcher's role moving forward.