MLB Player News

Story went 0-for-4 in Friday's 13-2 loss to the Royals.

Story continues to slump as the calendar flips to September. The shortstop has one hit in his last 20 at-bats and is 7-for-57 (.123) with a 35.0 K% over the last 14 games. While the Red Sox's playoff chances dim amid a five-game losing streak, the team may want the veteran to get as many at-bats as possible after missing the first four months of the season.

Basabe went 1-for-4 Friday against the Guardians.

Basabe has played an everyday role at shortstop with Wander Franco on administrative leave and has performed fairly well across 16 games, maintaining a .255 average with one home run, nine RBI and 10 runs scored. However, Taylor Walls (oblique) was activated from the injured list Friday and per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, he will serve as the Rays' starting shortstop. Meanwhile, Basabe will shift to a utility role and will almost certainly lose out on playing time.

Witt went 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 13-2 win over the Red Sox.

Witt homered nine times and hit .324 over 27 games in August, and he's not showing any signs of slowing down to begin September. His first-inning blast got the scoring started in a game that the Royals dominated. Witt is slashing .279/.319/.507 with 28 long balls, 38 stolen bases, 84 RBI and 77 runs scored over 133 contests this season, cementing his status as one of the top young players in baseball.

Adames went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Friday's 7-5 win over the Phillies.

Adames took Zack Wheeler deep with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, driving in teammates William Contreras and Carlos Santana. The homer was the shortstop's 22nd of the season and he has been red-hot since Aug. 18, batting .333 with four long balls, 14 RBI and eight runs scored over 48 at-bats in 12 games.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Friday that Bichette (quad) could return from the 10-day injured list when first eligible Sept. 8, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Bichette is traveling with the Blue Jays and did some running, hitting and light fielding work ahead of Friday's series opener at Colorado. The 25-year-old shortstop was just placed on the IL this past Tuesday after being diagnosed with a right quad strain, but the issue is apparently relatively minor. Ernie Clement has been filling in at short for Toronto.

Perdomo is absent from the lineup Friday versus the Orioles.

Nick Ahmed will start at shortstop and bat eighth as the Diamondbacks look for platoon advantages against left-hander Cole Irvin. The switch-hitting Perdomo carries a .633 OPS in 54 plate appearances this year versus southpaws. He's put up a .786 OPS in 353 plate appearances versus righties.

Crawford (forearm) was activated from the 10-day injured list Friday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford will start at shortstop and bat eighth against the Padres following a two-week absence to heal a minor left forearm strain. The 36-year-old has slashed just .194/.264/.318 across 270 plate appearances when healthy this season.

Baez (undisclosed) remains out of the lineup Friday versus the White Sox.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters Thursday that Baez was "beat up a little bit," and now the 30-year-old shortstop is sitting for a third consecutive game. Zack Short will fill in and bat ninth at Chicago.

Williams isn't in the Pirates' lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

The Pirates seem to have fallen into a pattern of rotating between Williams and Liover Peguero at shortstop over the past several days. Friday will mark Peguero's turn to start at short while Ji Hwan Bae starts at second base.

Houston activated Kessinger (illness) from the COVID-19 injured list Friday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Kessinger has been away from the Astros since Aug. 19 due to COVID-like symptoms. The 26-year-old infielder returns to a .194/.293/.333 slash line through his first 41 major-league plate appearances.