MLB Player News

The Guardians transferred Arias (hamstring) to the 60-day injured list Friday, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for Stuart Fairchild, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move. Arias has been sidelined since April 6 due to a hamstring strain that he aggravated last week, but he has been able to resume baseball activities and could still rejoin the Guardians some time in June.

The Rays optioned Williams to Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With Ben Williamson (back) returning from the injured list, Williams will head back to the minors. The 22-year-old has really struggled at the plate across his first 139 big-league trips to the dish, slashing a paltry .155/.204/.302 with five homers, 15 RBI, 17 runs scored, two stolen bases and an 8:55 BB:K. He's hit .100 with a .290 OPS across 33 plate appearances this season.

Mateo went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, a run scored and an RBI in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.

Getting the start at shortstop and batting seventh, Mateo put together his second straight multi-hit performance. The veteran utility player has seen his usage shrink since Ha-Seong Kim came off the IL in mid-May, but he's been surprisingly productive when given the opportunity. Through 41 plate appearances this month, Mateo is slashing .368/.415/.526 with three doubles, a homer, four steals, four RBI and nine runs.

Gimenez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout in Thursday's win over the Orioles.

Gimenez went deep in the top of the third inning and now has six homers on the year. This was the first time he'd left the yard since a two-HR performance against the Rays on May 11. He's hitting just .165 with a .512 OPS in 25 games since the beginning of the month.

Pena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Rangers.

Pena led off the contest with a 424-foot blast off Nathan Eovaldi, setting the tone for Houston in the victory. After going 17 games without a homer to start the year, a stretch interrupted by a five-week stay on the IL due to a hamstring strain, Pena now has two in his last three games. He's batting .256 with a .689 OPS, 12 runs scored, six RBI and two steals through 90 plate appearances this season.

Smith (illness) rejoined his teammates at Globe Life Field on Thursday, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

The infielder originally landed on the injured list May 3 due to a strained glute before dealing with wrist inflammation and then spending time in the hospital due to a bout of viral meningitis. Smith did some light workouts and jogging Thursday as he begins to ramp up his activity level. Prior to the stay on the IL, Smith had been the Rangers' primary second baseman, but that may not be the case when he's ready to return as both Justin Foscue and Ezequiel Duran have made inroads since then.

Montgomery went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Twins.

Montgomery knocked in a run with a single in the first inning and tallied another base hit two frames later. The effort marked his third straight start with multiple hits, and he's gone 6-for-14 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in that span. Even given that hot stretch, Montgomery is hitting only .209 with a 35.4 percent strikeout rate across his last 11 games.

Griffin is dealing with soreness in his right forearm, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.

Griffin won't be in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, but he will be available off the bench, so it doesn't seem like his forearm issue is anything serious. Jared Triolo will pick up a start at shortstop while Griffin sits.

The Rangers reinstated Freeman (back) from the injured list Thursday and optioned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

Freeman has been sidelined by a lower-back fracture since spring training but began playing in rehab games May 14. Since then, he's slashed .161/.194/.194 with five RBI and eight runs scored over nine games between the Arizona Complex League, Double-A and Triple-A. He'll stay put at Round Rock now that he's been given a clean bill of health, and he'll likely need to turn things around offensively before the Rangers begin to consider adding him to their major-league roster.

Kim is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against Boston.

Jorge Mateo will start at shortstop for Atlanta while Kim will head to the bench. After coming off the IL to make his season debut May 11, Kim has struggled to get it going at the plate, as he has gone 4-for-42 (.095 average) with just four runs and two RBI.