MLB Player News

Crawford will be on the bench for the evening portion of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rockies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored in the afternoon game. The 36-year-old won't be asked to start two games in one day, so it will instead be Paul DeJong who handles shortstop in the nightcap.

Lawlar remains on the bench for Saturday's game against the Cubs.

The Diamondbacks gave Lawlar a chance to prove he can help the team down the stretch, calling up the 2021 sixth-overall pick in early September despite the fact that he'd played in just 16 Triple-A games. He's appeared in only six MLB contests thus far but looks overmatched through his first 18 plate appearances, striking out eight times while recording just two hits, both singles. WIth the Diamondbacks in as tight of a playoff race as possible -- they entered play Saturday tied for the third and final NL Wild Card spot -- it's no surprise to see the unproven Lawlar remain on the bench while Geraldo Perdomo continues to start at shortstop.

Basabe is starting at shortstop and hitting eighth Saturday against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Taylor Walls (personal) will be away from the team for the next couple of games, leaving Basabe as the most likely candidate to stand in at shortstop. Across his first 74 plate appearances in the majors, Basabe has maintained a .221/.284/.324 line with one home run, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored.

Arias is not in Saturday's lineup against the Rangers.

Arias appears to be receiving a routine day of rest, though he's now sat out two of the team's last five games. Jose Tena will take over at shortstop and hit ninth.

Smith will sit for the second straight game Saturday against San Diego.

Smith hasn't done much to stake a claim for regular at-bats during his 42 games at the big-league level this season, slashing .200/.233/.357. Aledmys Diaz will start at third base Saturday, with Nick Allen starting at shortstop.

Reyes will sit Saturday against the Blue Jays, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Reyes started two of Boston's first three games after he returned from an elbow injury earlier this week, but he's now been on the bench for two games in a row. Luis Urias has started at second base on both occasions.

Witt went 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and two stolen bases in Friday's 4-2 win over the Astros.

His fifth-inning homer off Cristian Javier proved to be the winning run, while Witt stole two bags for the second straight game and the third time in the last five contests. The 23-year-old is having a big finish to his second MLB campaign, slashing .306/.357/.490 through 12 September games, and he's set new career highs across the board with 29 homers, 46 steals, 84 runs and 89 RBI this season.

Fletcher went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Friday in a loss to Detroit.

Fletcher got the start at second base in his first game since being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday. The veteran infielder plated one of Los Angeles' two runs with a solo shot to left field in the seventh inning. Fletcher isn't likely to see everyday playing time as the Angels evaluate their younger talent down the stretch of what has become a lost season. He's slashing .235/.264/.373 with two homers, nine RBI and four runs over 53 big-league plate appearances on the campaign.

Baez went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double, four RBI and two runs scored in Friday's win over the Angels.

Baez clocked a solo homer in the fourth inning before ripping a bases-clearing double in the eighth. He snapped a 16-game homerless drought and produced his first multi-RBI game since Aug. 21. Baez has just two home runs in 29 games since the start of August, slashing .195/.263/.287 during that span. For the year, he owns a .586 OPS with 27 extra-base hits through 511 plate appearances.

Arias went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in Friday's 12-3 win over the Rangers.

Arias has picked up steady playing time in September, but he's batting just .231 (12-for-52) over 13 games this month. Most of his playing time is coming at shortstop, and it's a positive sign he's sticking in the lineup when the Guardians are at virtually full health. The infielder is essentially learning on the job, given his .213/.282/.354 slash line with nine home runs, three steals, 21 RBI and 34 runs scored through 115 contests overall.