MLB Player News

Pena went 2-for-4 with two steals in Tuesday's loss to the Rangers.

Pena and the Astros had the green light all night on the basepaths, as the Astros stole five bases. Two of those came from Pena, as he now has nine on the season. With his two hits, Pena is also riding a modest seven-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .355 (11-for-35).

Bogaerts was removed from Tuesday's loss to the Rays with back spasms and will be held out of Wednesday's series finale, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Bogaerts went 0-for-3 before being replaced in the field for the bottom of the seventh inning, and he'll sit out Wednesday due to the back spasms. The hitless performance ended a nine-game hit streak for the 29-year-old, and he batted .541 with one home run, 10 RBI and eight runs during that stretch.

Velazquez was scratched from the lineup ahead of Tuesday's game against the Tigers, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Velazquez was originally slated to start Tuesday at shortstop, but he was pulled in favor of Luis Rengifo, who will come in to play second base and bat fourth. David Fletcher will slide over to cover short.

Franco (wrist) got treatment and took 40-to-50 swings during Tuesday's off-day at Triple-A Durham and is expected to play for the affiliate Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The news is a welcome development for the Rays and Franco's fantasy investors after he tweaked his wrist in Monday's rehab game and exited earlier than previously planned. Franco will likely need at least a couple more rehab games before rejoining the big-league club.

Berti (hip) is starting at second base and leading off Tuesday against the Phillies, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

He will face ace Aaron Nola in his first game back after missing almost a week with a hip issue. Berti hit one home run with four steals and a .222 average in 17 games in August.

Bichette went 6-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBI while starting in both games of the Blue Jays' doubleheader sweep of the Orioles on Monday.

After a somewhat lackluster start to the season, Bichette is finally rounding into the player fantasy managers envisioned when they invested an early-round pick into him on draft day. Though he's still not nearly as active on the basepaths as anticipated -- he's gone 9-for-16 on stolen-base attempts after a 25-steal 2021 campaign -- Bichette has been the top hitter for the surging Blue Jays since the beginning of August. Over his 31 games in the past five weeks, Bichette ranks 15th in the majors with a 162 wRC+ and has produced a .315/.356/.565 slash line to go with seven home runs, 23 RBI and 18 runs.

Abrams went 4-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored in Monday's 6-0 win over St. Louis.

Abrams finally broke out with a monster game Monday, He was slashing just .177/.215/.194 through 19 games as a National prior to his four-hit effort. He's gone 7-for-12 over his last three games, raising his season slash line to .229/.275/.302 through 209 plate appearances.

Franco appeared to tweak his surgically repaired right wrist in his second at-bat Monday in a rehab game for Triple-A Durham, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Fortunately for Franco and the Rays, no X-rays were needed, and the team doesn't believe it to be a serious setback. Franco appears to be day-to-day and will likely be re-evaluated Wednesday. Franco began his rehab assignment Sunday, going 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

Mateo isn't starting the second game of Monday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, Zachary Silver of MLB.com reports.

Mateo started at shortstop during the first game of Monday's twin bill and went 0-for-3. He'll take a seat for the nightcap while Gunnar Henderson starts at shortstop and bats fifth.

Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 5-2 win over Texas.

Bogaerts has amped up a quest for the American League batting title. He currently owns an eight-game hit streak and has multiple hits in 10 of his 11 contests, batting .500 (22-for-44) during that run. Bogaerts (.3165) is locked in a duel with Minnesota's Luis Arraez (.3171) for best in the AL.