MLB Player News

Smith will receive a second opinion on his back injury, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Smith was placed on the 10-day injured list by the A's on June 17 with a back strain, and the infielder remains without a timeline for a return. The second opinion from medical experts will likely go a long way towards determining when Smith is able to get back on the diamond, and there should be an update on his status in the coming days.

Diaz is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Yankees.

Tyler Wade will start at shortstop and bat eighth for the Athletics. Diaz has been getting more playing time with Kevin Smith (back) still sitting on the injured list, but the 32-year-old holds a weak .206/.264/.278 slash line in 197 plate appearances this season.

Chang (wrist) could resume his minor-league rehab assignment later this week, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Chang was pulled out of action at Triple-A Worcester earlier this month due to renewed soreness in his surgically-repaired left wrist, but he's made significant progress in recent days. Sidelined since late April, he could be an option again on the Red Sox infield before the All-Star break.

Marcano isn't starting Tuesday against the Padres, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Marcano is 3-for-11 with an RBI across his last five games and will get a breather Tuesday. Nick Gonzales will instead get the start at shortstop, allowing Ji Hwan Bae to start at second and bat seventh.

Pintar has been on the 60-day injured list with Single-A Visalia due to an ankle injury, Baseball America reports.

He rolled his ankle charging a ball on April 25, and it was apparently a pretty serious sprain for him to miss over two months. Pintar slashed .241/.328/.370 with one home run and two steals in 14 games at Single-A prior to the injury.

Smith, who last started a game June 15, has made nine plate appearances during the month of June.

Smith made 65 plate appearances in April then 47 in May before seeing his opportunities dwindle in June. With shortstop Corey Seager back from injury and Ezequiel Duran taking hold as the primary left fielder, Smith has been limited to an occasional start, a pinch-hit or pinch-run role or an injury fill-in.

Crawford went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, two walks and two total runs in Monday's 8-4 win over Washington.

Crawford opened the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff homer to right field and reached base three more times in the contest. He's gone deep twice in three games since returning from a brief hiatus due to a shoulder injury. Crawford has never hit double-digit homers in a season, but he's on pace to do so this year with six long balls through 71 contests.

Neto (oblique) said he's planning to resume baseball activities Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Neto will be limited to light throwing at first before he then begins to incorporate a range of other drills. The young shortstop has been brought along slowly in his recovery from a left oblique strain, which sent him to the injured list June 15. There is no exact timetable yet for his return to the Angels' active major-league roster.

Miami optioned Amaya to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Amaya went 2-for-9 with no walks and one strikeout during his brief stay on the Marlins' major-league roster. The 24-year-old middle infielder has slashed .278/.346/.472 with nine home runs and 35 RBI in 58 games this season at the Triple-A level and should get another big-league opportunity later this summer.

Lindor went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Phillies.

He launched his 15th homer of the year off Zack Wheeler in the fifth inning, helping to build a lead the bullpen would squander in the eighth. Lindor is finally beginning to catch fire, going 8-for-24 (.333) over the last seven games with two doubles, three homers, six walks, three steals, seven runs and eight RBI, but on the season he still carries a tepid .749 OPS.