MLB Player News

Smith is not in the lineup Friday against the Padres.

Jordan Diaz will start at third base and bat sixth as Nick Allen plays shortstop and hits eighth. The 27-year-old Smith has slashed just .200/.233/.357 across 125 major-league plate appearances this year with the Athletics.

Reyes is not in the lineup Friday versus the Blue Jays.

Luis Urias will start at second base and bat ninth against the Jays and right-hander Jose Berrios. Reyes has gone 1-for-6 with two walks and two strikeouts since returning Tuesday from a two-week absence due to elbow inflammation.

De La Cruz is out of the lineup Friday against the Mets.

For the second time in as many matchups with a left-handed pitcher (David Peterson), the switch-hitting De La Cruz will take a seat. Noelvi Marte will fill in at shortstop for De La Cruz, who is stuck in a 1-for-20 funk at the plate over his last seven contests.

Schmitt was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Schmitt loses his roster spot with Michael Conforto (hamstring) returning from the injured list. The rookie infielder has not been able to get things going offensively to this point at the big-league level, putting up just a .553 OPS in 88 contests.

Seager went 3-for-4 with a two-run double, a solo homer, a walk and an additional run scored in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Seager stayed hot Thursday, with a solo shot in the first frame, a two-run double off the wall in the third and a base hit in the fourth. The 29-year-old superstar has now hit safely in five consecutive contests, posting four multi-hit efforts and going 11-for-22 with five doubles, two home runs, six RBI and nine runs during the impressive stretch. Seager improved his AL-leading batting average to .344, and the shortstop is two homers away from tying his career-high mark of 33, which he achieved last season.

De La Cruz started at shortstop and walked twice before being removed for a pinch hitter in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers.

It's the first time since De La Cruz debuted in June that he was removed for a pinch hitter. A second-half downturn and a manager seeking any tactical edge in a playoff hunt has impacted the rookie's usage. He batted seventh against a left-hander Tuesday, was not in the starting lineup Wednesday, then batted eighth against a right-hander Thursday. Despite dropping De La Cruz in the order, Bell said he still has confidence in him, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Elly's going to continue to be a big part of our team, obviously," Bell said. "But where we are right now, every little tiny edge [is important]." Until this week, De La Cruz had been exempt from such tactics, but a .181 batting average and .606 OPS since the All-Star break has changed that.

The Angels selected Fletcher's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

With Luis Rengifo (biceps) headed for the 60-day injured list, Fletcher will return to the active roster after being outrighted to Triple-A in July. The 29-year-old has slashed .213/.245/.298 across 49 plate appearances in the majors this year, and he'll likely serve as infield depth to close out the season.

The Angels optioned Paris to Triple-A Salt Lake on Thursday.

Paris earned a Sept. 1 call-up from Double-A Rocket City, where he had posted an .810 OPS with 14 homers and 44 steals through 113 games this season. He'll now head to the Triple-A level, and maybe finish the year there, after going 3-for-32 (.094) with zero extra-base hits and 12 strikeouts across his first 13 big-league games.

Story isn't in the Red Sox's lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Yankees, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

After going 1-for-4 with a home run and three RBI en route to the team's victory in Game 1, Story will get a breather to conclude the series. Ceddanne Rafaela will fill in at shortstop and bat in the leadoff spot while Story rests.

Clement is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers.

Though he drew the start at shortstop in Wednesday's 10-0 loss to Texas, Clement has moved back into a utility role since Bo Bichette was reinstated from the 10-day injured list last Friday. Clement is now on the bench for the third time in four games and is expected to see few opportunities moving forward now that Toronto has recently welcomed both of its regular starters on the left side of the infield (Bichette and Matt Chapman) back from the IL.