MLB Player News

Turner went 4-for-8 with two walks, a double, two RBI and two stolen bases across both games of Saturday's doubleheader sweep of the Padres.

The shortstop posted nearly identical lines in each game of the twin bill, but he swiped both his bags in the matinee before rapping out his 19th double of the season in the nightcap. Turner has picked up the pace since the beginning of June, slashing .270/.335/.414 over his last 37 games with five of his 10 homers and 14 of his 21 steals on the season, and he still has yet to be caught stealing in 2023.

Bogaerts went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Phillies.

After swiping his 10th bag of the year in the matinee, Bogaerts went 1-for-4 in the nightcap, giving the shortstop five hits in three contests coming out of the All-Star break. It's been a bumpy first season in San Diego for the former Boston star, in part due to lingering wrist issues, but Bogaerts has still reached double-digit steals for the first time since 2017 while also mashing 10 homers in 87 games.

Neto went 1-for-6 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 13-12 extra-inning win over the Astros.

Neto sparked one of the Angels' comebacks, going deep in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to four runs. The shortstop went 0-for-5 on Friday in his return from a month-long absence with an oblique injury. He should resume a starting role at shortstop at the expense of Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez's playing time. Neto is slashing .249/.325/.427 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 25 runs scored and five stolen bases through 57 contests. Most interestingly, he's hit leadoff in the last two games and could stick atop the lineup for a while if his bat heats up.

Pena was removed from Saturday's game versus the Angels in the 10th inning with an apparent injury, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena looked to tweak something in the back of his right leg on a swing in the top of the 10th inning. He stayed in the game to finish his plate appearance but was removed for defense prior to the bottom of the frame. The Astros should have more on Pena's condition soon.

Abrams went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 9-6 loss against the Cardinals.

Abrams pegged Steven Matz for a solo shot in the third inning -- his first home run since June 21 -- and turned in his fourth straight multi-hit performance. Over that span, Abrams is 9-for-18 (.500) with six runs scored, two RBI and four stolen bases.

Story (elbow) won't begin a rehab assignment this weekend but will be re-evaluated early next week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Reports from early July indicated that Story had a shot to begin his rehab assignment immediately after the break, but that was never officially confirmed as a definite plan, so the fact that he's not quite ready doesn't necessarily count as a setback. If he's cleared for game action early next week, he'll still have a chance to return sometime in early August.

Schmitt isn't starting Saturday against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Schmitt will get a breather Saturday after going 1-for-4 with a double during Friday's contest. Brett Wisely will take over at the keystone and bat ninth while Schmitt sits.

Neto went 0-for-5 with an RBI in a loss to the Astros on Friday.

Neto returned from a one-month stay on the injured list and batted leadoff for Los Angeles. He wasn't able to reach base but did drive in a run on a second-inning groundout. Neto had been hitting at the bottom of the order prior to getting hurt, so it remains to be seen if he'll stick in the leadoff spot moving forward.

Duran will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Guardians.

Duran closed the first half with four straight starts and started Friday's game as well, but he'll hit the bench Saturday with Mitch Garver taking over as the designated hitter. Duran should continue featuring regularly going forward, as he's broken out to the tune of a .303/.338/.518 slash line this season.

Smith (back) is slated to begin a swing progression Saturday, MLB.com reports.

Smith has been sidelined since June 17 with a back strain, and the fact he's finally ready to pick up a bat again nearly a month later underscores the severity of the original injury. Now that the 27-year-old appears to finally be making some progress, it remains to be seen how quickly he'll be deemed ready to begin what would project to be a fairly lengthy rehab assignment.