MLB Player News

Swanson (heel) is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Yankees.

Swanson will remain out of the lineup for a second straight game after injuring his left heel Wednesday against the Brewers. Nico Hoerner will take over at shortstop while Christopher Morel draws the start at second base and bats fifth in the series opener with New York.

Chang was activated from the 60-day injured list Friday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Chang will make his return from hamate surgery after being sidelined since late April. He is expected to take over as the Red Sox' primary shortstop, at least until Trevor Story (elbow) is ready. Even with regular playing time, Chang isn't a very enticing fantasy option.

The Red Sox optioned Hamilton to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

With Yu Chang (wrist) returning from the 60-day injured list Friday, Hamilton will serve as the Red Sox's roster casualty in order to free up a spot in Boston's crowded infield. Hamilton slashed just .138/.265/.207 over 13 games during his stint in the majors, though he could return later this season if he puts up numbers consistent with his .838 OPS in Triple-A.

The Cardinals placed Edman on the 10-day injured list Friday with right wrist inflammation.

Edman has missed the Cardinals' last two games due to issues in his right wrist. Although his MRI came back clean Thursday, his injury is apparently still severe enough to warrant a trip to the injured list. Edman will be eligible to return from the IL a few days after the All-Star break, and Jose Fermin will come up from Triple-A Memphis to take Edman's place on the roster.

Witt went 1-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Guardians.

Witt has collected three steals while batting .324 with a 2:11 BB:K over his last nine games. The shortstop was able to cross the plate in a productive first inning, but the Royals' offense couldn't scrape together any more runs after that. Witt is slashing .251/.294/.423 through 87 games this season, a nearly identical line to his 2022 numbers. He's added 13 home runs, 26 steals, 45 RBI, 47 runs scored, 13 doubles and four triples while batting second most often in recent weeks.

Abrams went 0-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases in Thursday's extra-inning loss to the Reds.

After reaching on a fielder's choice in the sixth inning, Abrams stole second and third before trotting home on a Lane Thomas single. Abrams is beginning to flash the upside that made him the sixth overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, slashing .314/.375/.510 over his last 15 games with 10 runs scored and five of his 11 steals on the year.

Boston manager Alex Cora said Thursday that Chang (wrist) will be activated "this weekend," MLB.com reports.

There had been speculation that Chang would be activated Thursday, but that didn't happen, When he is activated, the 27-year-old is expected to serve as the team's primary shortstop.

Seager went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in a loss to the Red Sox on Thursday.

Seager's long ball came with Texas down five runs in the ninth inning, but that doesn't lessen its impact in fantasy box scores. The All-Star shortstop recorded his second straight three-hit effort and extended his hitting streak to nine games, a stretch during which he's slashing .444/.488/.667. However, Seager hadn't homered during the streak until Thursday -- in fact, his long ball against Boston was his first since June 17, a span of 18 contests. Even so, Seager has been productive during the 18-game stretch, driving in 14 runs and knocking 10 doubles.

Bichette went 5-for-10 with two runs and an RBI over both games of a doubleheader against the White Sox on Thursday.

All five of Bichette's hits went for a single, and he also struck out four times across the pair of wins. However, the shortstop made his contact count and extended his modest hitting streak to five games while scoring twice and knocking in one run Thursday. Bichette increased his season average to .320 with the five-hit day, though he has just one homer and no steals over his past 24 contests.

Lindor went 5-for-5 with a solo home run, two additional runs scored and two triples in Thursday's 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Lindor racked up 12 total bases, though he fell a double short of the cycle after logging his second single of the game in the eighth inning. He'd posted four multi-hit efforts while batting .268 over the previous 16 contests, but this was a career-best five-hit game for the shortstop. For the season, the 29-year-old is up to a .233/.316/.472 slash line with 18 homers, 57 RBI, 54 runs scored and 11 stolen bases through 87 contests.