MLB Player News

Arcia went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's win over the Cardinals.

He took Steven Matz deep in the second inning, giving Arcia his first homer of the season. The veteran shortstop has made Atlanta look good for naming him the starter over prospects Vaughn Grissom and Braden Shewmake, playing impressive defense while batting .316 (6-for-19) with five runs scored through the first five games of the year.

Cruz went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Red Sox.

His modest four-game hit streak to begin the season came to an end, but Cruz made up for it with his first steal of 2023. The 24-year-old comes into the season with sky-high expectations after slugging 17 homers and stealing 10 bases in 87 big-league games last year, and while he's batting only .263 (5-for-19) with one home run and one stolen base through five games, his 3:4 BB:K is highly encouraging. If Cruz's plate discipline takes a big step forward, a massive fantasy campaign is likely to follow.

Perdomo went 1-for-1 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, stole a base, knocked in three runs and scored three runs in Tuesday's 8-6 win over San Diego.

Arizona's offense came to life over the final four innings, including a four-run eighth in which Perdomo figured prominently. His drag bunt produced the game-tying run -- his team-leading fourth RBI -- and he reached base when first baseman Matt Carpenter mishandled the ball. Perdomo then stole second base and eventually scored on a Jose Herrera single. The Diamondbacks were aggressive on the basepaths, taking extra bases and stealing five bags (attempting six), and produced eight runs on nine hits (two for extra bases) and seven walks. After an offensively sluggish five games, Tuesday's explosion may be a preview of what's to come in Arizona this summer. Perdomo is currently sharing the shortstop position with Nick Ahmed.

Turner went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Yankees.

After singling to left field in the seventh inning, Turner swiped his first bag of the year in close fashion -- the throw from Kyle Higashioka beat him, but his slide jostled the ball out of Anthony Volpe's glove. Turner has had a blistering start to the season at the plate, batting .391 (9-for-23) through five games with a double and two triples, and after stealing 27 bases on 30 attempts in 2022, MLB's rule changes to boost the running game could allow the 29-year-old shortstop to challenge his career high of 46 steals, set back in 2017 with the Nationals.

Barrero (hamstring) will start at shortstop and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Barrero exited Monday's 7-6 win over Chicago with right hamstring tightness and then sat out Tuesday's 12-5 loss, but he'll be back in the lineup for the series finale. Kevin Newman heads to the bench to open up a spot at shortstop for Barrero.

Mateo went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Tuesday's victory over Texas.

Mateo chased Andrew Heaney with a two-run homer in the third that helped Texas build a 7-1 lead. That's the second homer in as many days for the infielder, who also has already stolen four bases over the first five games. It goes without saying, but more play like this will help Mateo stick as the starting shortstop for Baltimore in 2023.

Vargas (groin) won't be available to play for the Dodgers until Friday at the earliest, Matthew Moreno of DodgerBlue.com reports.

Vargas is dealing with groin tightness and is out of the lineup for Tuesday's bout against the Rockies. The Dodgers are off Wednesday before starting a series against the Diamondbacks on Thursday, but the 34-year-old infielder will miss at least the first game of that series. Chris Taylor will handle shortstop duties while Vargas is out.

Story (elbow) started work with a plyometric ball in preparation to begin a throwing program within the next two weeks, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Story is 12 weeks removed from an internal bracing procedure, which is a modified version of Tommy John surgery designed to repair and reinforce the elbow ligaments. He's been running to keep in shape and has now added the plyo ball, which is a rubber ball that will build arm strength before Story cuts loose with a baseball. In addition to running and plyo ball work, Story has been taking grounders without throwing every other day. He's at least a few months away from returning.

Rojas is out of the Dodgers' starting lineup Tuesday due to a mild left groin injury, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Rojas said he tweaked something in his groin while attempting to start a double play Sunday, but he believes he could return to action as early as Thursday following the Dodgers' off day Wednesday. Chris Taylor is playing shortstop and Mookie Betts is handling second base Tuesday night against the Rockies.

Fletcher is hitting ninth and playing shortstop for Tuesday's game against Seattle, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

With Anthony Rendon serving the second game of his suspension, Luis Rengifo moves over to third base and Fletcher gets the start at shortstop against Luis Castillo.