MLB Player News

Franco isn't in the Rays' lineup Thursday against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Slashing just .192/.246/.269 over the past two weeks, Franco will get a day off Thursday to regroup. Taylor Walls will step in as Tampa Bay's shortstop, allowing Vidal Brujan to start at second and bat ninth.

Reyes was removed from Thursday's game against the Twins, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear why Reyes was taken out of Thursday's contest, but he had been dealing with abdominal soreness for a few days, so it's possible those issues flared up again. The Red Sox should provide an update in the near future, but Reyes should be considered day-to-day for the time being.

Mejia was assigned to the Florida Complex League from Single-A Palm Beach earlier this month.

He has eight walks, three strikeouts, two steals and zero hits through four games in the complex league. Mejia was originally assigned to Single-A on May 23, then was placed on the temporarily inactive list for four days in early June and played in one more game at Single-A before getting assigned to rookie ball June 12. He is one of the Cardinals' top prospects in the lower levels.

Cheng was promoted to Double-A Altoona on Thursday, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.

Cheng had a dominant 57-game run for High-A Greensboro, slashing .308/.406/.575 with nine home runs, 13 steals and a 47:35 K:BB in 254 plate appearances. Trimming his groundball rate to 42.1 percent and upping his flyball rate from 28.9% to 34.1% has helped fuel Cheng's improvement as a power hitter. The 5-foot-7 infielder fits best at second base long term.

Bogaerts isn't in the Padres' lineup Thursday against the Giants.

Bogaerts is just 5-for-27 (.185) with an RBI and a run scored over the past seven days, so he'll receive a day off Thursday to regroup. Ha-Seong Kim will shift over to shortstop in Bogaerts' absence, moving Jake Cronenworth to second and Brandon Dixon in as the Friars' first baseman while batting eighth.

Tovar was reinstated from the paternity list Thursday.

The Rockies are off Thursday, but Tovar should be back in the lineup Friday at home against the Angels. He is hitting .299 with three home runs and one steal in 17 games this month.

Hamilton is starting at shortstop and hitting eighth Thursday against the Twins.

Hamilton is one of the fastest prospects in the game, and he stole a base and scored a run as a pinch runner Wednesday after getting called up from Triple-A Worcester. The 25-year-old lefty hitter posted a .255/.339/.486 slash line with 11 home runs and 27 steals in 52 games at Triple-A. He will be sharing middle-infield work with Enrique Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Pablo Reyes in the short term.

Reyes (abdomen) is starting at second base and hitting ninth Thursday against the Twins.

He was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with abdominal soreness but still appeared off the bench each of the last two days. Reyes will be jockeying with prospect David Hamilton and veteran Christian Arroyo for playing time in the middle infield. He is hitting .344 with seven runs, five RBI and one steal in 32 at-bats this month.

Pena went 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base Wednesday against the Reds.

Pena reached base at least once for the ninth consecutive game. He's maintained a .324 average and .410 on-base percentage in that span, though he has only two extra-base hits and no home runs. Pena has maintained a near-identical line to his rookie season, though he has increased his stolen base output by swiping eight bags across the first 70 games of his campaign.

Chang (wrist) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

He has not played since April 24, so the move to the 60-day IL doesn't necessarily affect his return date. However, Chang suffered a setback in his rehab a couple weeks ago and should be considered out indefinitely. Speedster David Hamilton was given his first call to the majors to provide infield depth.