MLB Player News
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Taylor Walls SS | TB
Rays' Taylor Walls: Retreating to bench Wednesday
Walls is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.
Though he'll be on the bench Wednesday, Walls appears to have taken back primary shortstop duties from Jose Caballero. Walls had started in each of the Rays' previous nine games and provided a rare impact at the dish during that stretch, slashing .310/.400/.379 with two doubles, five walks, one steal, five runs and three RBI.
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Josh H. Smith 2B | TEX
Rangers' Josh Smith: Makes return to lineup
Smith (back) will start at shortstop and bat leadoff in Wednesday's game against the Rockies.
Smith had missed the Rangers' last two games while tending to a sore lower back, but the team had labeled him as day-to-day and never expressed much concern that he would require a stint on the injured list. The super-utility man had made his previous two starts at first base before his brief absence, but he'll likely see the bulk of his reps at shortstop for the foreseeable future after the Rangers placed Corey Seager (hamstring) back on the IL on Tuesday. Smith took over as the everyday leadoff man earlier this month and should continue to maintain those duties while he's gotten on base at a .389 clip through his first 36 games of the season.
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Carlos Correa SS | HOU
Twins' Carlos Correa: Rests for second half of twin bill
Correa is out of the lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Orioles.
Correa will receive some routine maintenance after he played nine innings at shortstop and went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the Twins' 6-3 victory in the first game of the day. Brooks Lee will get the nod at shortstop for Game 2.
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J.P. Crawford SS | SEA
Mariners' J.P. Crawford: Scratched from Seattle lineup
Crawford was scratched from Wednesday's lineup versus the Yankees, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.
Crawford is presumably dealing with some sort of injury, but the Mariners should provide a reason for the infielder being scratched soon. Leo Rivas has entered the lineup at shortstop and the No. 9 spot in the lineup, while Miles Mastrobuoni will be elevated to the leadoff spot.
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Alan Trejo SS | COL
Rockies' Alan Trejo: Taking seat Wednesday
Trejo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.
After starting at shortstop in each of the Rockies' previous four games, Trejo will give way to Kyle Farmer in the series finale in Texas. With Ezequiel Tovar (hip) in the midst of a rehab assignment and on track to return from the injured list as soon as this weekend, Trejo is likely to see his playing time take a significant hit in the near future.
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Corey Seager SS | TEX
Rangers' Corey Seager: Could be out longer than 10 days
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said it's possible Seager (hamstring) will require longer than a minimum stay on the 10-day injured list, MLB.com reports.
Seager missed just 10 days of action the first time he strained his right hamstring, but the Rangers figure to be more cautious this time around after he aggravated the injury and had to go back on the IL this week. The shortstop is eligible for activation May 21 during the second game of a six-game road trip, but a return sometime during the Rangers' May 26 to June 1 homestand seems likelier for Seager.
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Joseph Ortiz SS | MIL
Brewers' Joey Ortiz: On bench again Wednesday
Ortiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
Andruw Monasterio will step in at shortstop while Ortiz takes a seat for the second time in three games, with both absences coming against right-handed pitching. Manager Pat Murphy hasn't confirmed a changing of the guard at shortstop, but it's clear that Ortiz has lost job security after struggling to a .173/.228/.223 slash line through the Brewers' first 43 games of the season.
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C.J. Abrams SS | WAS
Nationals' CJ Abrams: Lofts leadoff homer
Abrams went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Atlanta.
The shortstop belted the first pitch he saw from Spencer Schwellenbach over the fence in right-center field, the 10th leadoff homer of Abrams' career. The blast snapped a 19-game power drought for the 24-year-old, but Abrams has mostly been locked in at the plate since returning from a hip injury in late April. Over his last 18 games, he's slashing .351/.415/.514 with eight extra-base hits, four steals, eight RBI and 11 runs.
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Elly De La Cruz SS | CIN
Reds' Elly De La Cruz: Swats timely home run
De La Cruz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the White Sox.
De La Cruz led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run to tie the game. That's now two home runs in the last three games for De La Cruz, who had previously gone 18 straight games without leaving the yard. Tuesday marked just the third time in his last 13 games that De La Cruz did not strike out, as his above-average strikeout tendencies have carried over from prior seasons thus far.
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Bo Bichette 3B | NYM
Blue Jays' Bo Bichette: Plates three runs in loss
Bichette went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double, a walk, three RBI and two runs scored in Tuesday's loss to the Rays.
Bichette got the Blue Jays on the board with a two-run homer in the third for his second long ball in his last three games and third in his last nine after he had none in his first 32 games of the year. It seems as if Bichette's power is slowly starting to return, and he's got four extra-base hits, seven RBI and a 6:4 BB:K in his last six games.