MLB Player News

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Thursday that Cruz (ankle) has begun a formal running program, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Cruz has been throwing and taking light fielding practice for the last couple of weeks and has now been given clearance to ramp up the intensity of his workouts. If his surgically-repaired ankle responds well to the running progression, Cruz could feasibly head out on a minor-league rehab assignment within the next couple of weeks and return to the Pirates just before the end of August. The 24-year-old shortstop fractured his left fibula while sliding into home plate back on April 9.

Bichette (knee) has been hitting in the batting cage and jogging but is not yet running at full speed, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The Blue Jays are encouraged by Bichette's progress so far, but they're not able to put out a timetable for his return until he shows he can run the bases without issue. Bichette has missed all of August with right patellar tendinitis.

Story was the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 in Wednesday's 4-3 win over Kansas City.

Story started on back-to-back days since coming off the injured list but was given a break from the field after starting at shortstop Tuesday. He's 0-for-8 with six strikeouts.

Duran was hit by a pitch on his left hand Wednesday and stayed in the game after being attended to by trainers, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports. He went 0-for-1 with a walk in a 2-0 loss to Oakland.

The Rangers are off Thursday, and Duran is presumed to be available Friday when Texas resumes its road trip in San Francisco. He's slashing .156/.260/.266 since the All-Star break.

Crawford will be evaluated for a concussion after colliding with Eugenio Suarez during Wednesday's game against the Padres, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

Crawford reportedly wasn't feeling good during the last few innings following the collision, so the Mariners will put him through concussion protocol just to be safe. Further information likely won't be available until Thursday, so fantasy managers should consider Crawford day-to-day for now. The 28-year-old shortstop has been enjoying the best season of his career with a .790 OPS through 460 plate appearances.

Franco went 3-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to St. Louis.

Franco has been on a tear of late, going 10-for-16 (.625) over his previous four games while belting five homers in his last 10 contests. Overall, Franco's slashing .277/.342/.466 with 16 homers, 62 runs scored, 54 RBI and 29 stolen bases across 477 plate appearances in his age-22 campaign.

Luciano was removed from Tuesday's game with Triple-A Sacramento due to a hamstring injury, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Luciano's removal from Tuesday's game was initially expected to be a sign of a promotion to the majors, but it seems Luciano was instead battling an injury. Luciano is slashing .244/.320/.422 in Triple-A and went 3-for-11 during his first MLB stint, so a return to San Francisco could be in the cards for Luciano after he recovers.

Volpe is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa will get a turn at shortstop as Volpe sits for the first time since July 23. Volpe is in the midst of a prolonged slump, batting just .192/.294/.274 with one home run and four stolen bases in 23 games since the All-Star break. The Yankees have stuck by him all season, however, and there's little reason to think his role as the primary shortstop is in jeopardy at this moment.

Perdomo is down to the ninth spot in the lineup Wednesday versus the Dodgers.

Perdomo has mostly been hitting leadoff for the Diamondbacks in the second half of the 2023 regular season, but he is 4-for-32 with zero extra-base hits in his last nine games and his season OPS has fallen from .813 to .760 in that span. Corbin Carroll will serve as Arizona's table setter Wednesday against Los Angeles.

Anderson (forearm) will bat leadoff and start at shortstop in Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

After he was hit by a pitch in the left forearm in Monday's 5-1 win, Anderson ended up sitting out Tuesday's 7-1 loss. The shortstop didn't sustain any broken bones and was fortunate to escape with a bruise to the forearm, but the day off was apparently all he needed to overcome the issue. Anderson will slot back in atop the lineup for the series finale, but he could still have some more time off coming soon. After throwing punches at Cleveland's Jose Ramirez this past Saturday, Anderson was handed a six-game suspension Monday and is currently appealing the ban. It's unclear when his appeal will be heard.