MLB Player News

Mondesi (knee) remains limited to drills in extended spring training and does not appear close to playing in games, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that it's a matter of pain tolerance at this point with Mondesi's surgically repaired left knee. "He's having good days and bad days," said Cora. "I don't want to think for him, but it's probably 'I don't feel comfortable doing this,' and then you have slow down. Structurally, he came (to Boston), they checked him out, there was imaging and all that stuff and everything looked good, so..." Cora also acknowledged of Mondesi that "there was some imbalance as far as his strength and legs and all of that. It's more than just the rehab." Mondesi remains without a timetable for return and when he is cleared for game action he'll surely need a lengthy rehab assignment. At this point, it doesn't seem likely that he'll be back prior to the All-Star break.

Tovar is hitting second Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Tovar has mostly batted at or near the bottom of the Rockies' lineup this season, but he'll get a boost to the No. 2 spot amid the most promising offensive stretch of his young career. The 21-year-old shortstop has slashed .368/.415/.526 over his last 41 plate appearances dating back to May 20.

Correa is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Astros.

Correa had played the last three contests after missing a little time with a heel issue and plantar fasciitis, but he'll take a seat for this one. Kyle Farmer is playing shortstop in Wednesday's series finale.

Wendle is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

With the Marlins facing a left-handed starting pitcher (Blake Snell) for the third straight game, the lefty-hitting Wendle will once again be on the bench. Jon Berti will fill in for Wendle at shortstop.

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Cruz (fibula) is expected to transition out of his walking boot next week, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

When that happens, he'll be cleared for strength and range-of-motion exercises for his surgically-repaired left leg. Cruz is expected to be on the shelf until sometime in August.

Crawford is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford will head to the bench after he started each of the Giants' last three games, going 4-for-8 with two doubles and two walks over that stretch. Even with the recent hot run at the plate, Crawford is still maintaining a lowly .639 OPS for the season, and it's unclear if the Giants remain committed to him as a regular in the middle infield. Rookie Casey Schmitt appears to be locked in as an everyday option at one of the two middle-infield spots, leaving Crawford and Brett Wisely to vie for most of the opportunities at the other position.

Marcano is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Chris Owings will pick up the start at shortstop in the series finale, but Marcano still appears fairly secure as the Pirates' top option at the position. Unless he makes a pinch-hitting appearance off the bench Wednesday, Marcano will finish May with a solid .271/.317/.525 slash line to go with three home runs and two stolen bases over 22 games.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Franco is being held out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs due to the infielder's left shoulder being "a little dinged up," Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Cash said he still expects Franco will be available off the bench Wednesday, so the 22-year-old's absence from the lineup could be more maintenance-related than out of any legitimate concern about the shoulder issue, which he picked up while sliding into home plate in Tuesday's 2-1 loss. The Rays are off Thursday before returning to action in Boston on Friday, when Franco will most likely be back in the lineup at shortstop.

Franco is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With an off day coming Thursday, Rays manager Kevin Cash likely viewed Wednesday's day game as an optimal time to rest Franco, who had started in each of the last 12 games. Taylor Walls will spell Franco at shortstop in the series finale after Franco extended his hitting streak to seven and also chipped in his 20th stolen base of the season in Tuesday's 2-1 loss.

Volpe went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 10-2 win over the Mariners.

Volpe notched his first extra-base hit since May 21 after taking Logan Gilbert deep to left center in the third to put the Yankees up 6-0. The 22-year-old has not had a multi-hit game since May 14 and has now dipped below The Mendoza Line with a .198/.277/.365 slash line to go with eight homers, 24 RBI, 23 runs, 13 steals and a 21:67 BB:K over 220 plate appearances.