MLB Player News

The Diamondbacks reinstated Lawlar (wrist) from the 60-day injured list, and he is starting in center field and batting seventh Friday against the Reds.

The 23-year-old landed on the injured list in early April due to a fractured wrist, but he's back with Arizona after posting a .736 OPS over an eight-game rehab assignment. Lawlar had a hot start to the year prior to the injury, going 6-for-20 with a homer, a double and a stolen base, and will look to pick up where he left off two months later.

Reds manager Terry Francona said Friday that an MRI showed De La Cruz's right hamstring strain to be 90 percent healed, Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati reports.

The Reds will make a decision Sunday on the next steps for De La Cruz, who could need a brief rehab assignment before returning to the active roster. De La Cruz has been sidelined for all of June with his hamstring injury, but fantasy managers could get him back at some point next week.

The Padres reinstated Bogaerts (personal) from the paternity list Friday.

The veteran shortstop was placed on the paternity list Tuesday and is now back with the Padres after spending a few days with his family. Bogaerts had a .659 OPS through 63 games this season and has especially struggled early in June, going 3-for-23 with eight strikeouts through the first seven games of the month.

Bichette went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Cardinals.

After going 0-for-8 over the first two games of the series, Bichette put the Mets ahead 2-1 with his first-inning blast off Hunter Dobbins, his sixth homer of the year. Bichette has shown signs of progress at the plate, going 10-for-29 (.345) with a .920 OPS over his last seven games. He's still slashing just .227/.277/.330 with 34 RBI and 31 runs scored across 296 plate appearances this season.

Seager went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a 4-2 win against the Royals on Thursday.

Seager registered the only long ball in the game with his 391-foot solo blast in the third inning. It was his second homer over five contests since coming off the injured list June 5, a span in which he's batting .238 (5-for-21) with four RBI. Seager still has a long way to go to get his production up to his usual level, as he's slashing .186/.284/.373 through 204 plate appearances on the campaign.

Lopez went 2-for-4 with a run and two stolen bases against Arizona in a 2-0 win Thursday.

Lopez was the only batter on either team to record multiple hits in the low-scoring affair. He manufactured a run in the first inning by knocking a single, reaching second base on a disengagement violation, stealing third and then coming home on a sacrifice fly. The speedy infielder added another theft later in the game for his third multi-steal performance of the campaign. Lopez is in the midst of the best season of his career, as he leads qualified MLB hitters with a .344 batting average while adding five homers, 18 doubles (tied for fifth most), three triples, 30 RBI, 42 runs and 13 steals through 68 games.

The Diamondbacks will reinstate Lawlar (wrist) from the 60-day injured list ahead of Friday's game against the Reds, John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM reports.

Lawlar has been on the shelf since early April due to a fractured right wrist. He was cleared to begin a rehab assignment May 30 and has since gone 6-for-28 with four walks, two RBI and five runs scored over eight games. Once activated, he'll be a candidate to start in the outfield until Lourdes Gurriel (hamstring) returns from the IL.

Montgomery (back) will start at third base and bat cleanup in Thursday's game against Atlanta.

The 24-year-old infielder will step back into the starting nine after a tight back kept him from playing the past two days. Over his first six games of June, Montgomery has gone 3-for-23 (.130 average) with a home run, three runs and two RBI while striking out at a 44.4 percent clip.

The Tigers transferred Baez (ankle) to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for waiver claim James Outman. Baez encountered a setback earlier this month with his right high-ankle sprain and remains shut down from baseball activities. He's now ineligible for activation until late June, but it seems unlikely Baez will be ready by then, anyway. A timeline for his return won't become clearer until he is able to ramp up activities again and eventually go out on a rehab assignment.

Smith (glute/wrist/illness) recently moved his rehab from Double-A Frisco to Triple-A Round Rock.

Smith started his rehab assignment, playing two games for Frisco before spending the last two contests with the Express. He's 3-for-12 with two walks, a home run, three RBI and three additional runs scored across the four appearances. Smith played back-to-back days in Triple-A on Tuesday and Wednesday. He played all nine innings in each game, logging a start apiece at first base and third base.