MLB Player News

Wilson (hamstring) started at shortstop and played seven innings in Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Reno on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a run.

Wilson played seven innings in the field for a second consecutive day, another indication the rookie infielder is close to or at full health. He seems to have regained timing at the plate as well, as he's now put together three straight two-hit games for Las Vegas and has four such tallies overall in six rehab games. Wilson could be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of the Athletics' series opener Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Crawford (finger) started at shortstop and played five innings in Triple-A Tacoma's loss to Sacramento on Saturday, going 0-for-3.

The quiet night at the plate was largely irrelevant for Crawford, who was able to play defense right out of the gate in his first rehab game. The veteran shortstop may need only a handful of games with the Triple-A club to prove his health and get his timing at the plate down before being deemed ready for activation from the 10-day injured list.

Polanco went 0-for-2 with two walks, a stolen base and a run in a 4-3 loss to the Giants on Saturday.

Polanco got it done with some classic small ball Saturday, showing solid plate discipline and recording a rare steal during one of his trips on the basepaths. The veteran has progressively crawled out of a deep hole at the plate over the course of the second half of the season, with Saturday's production pushing his post-All-Star-break slash line to .269/.358/.529 across 120 plate appearances. Despite the quiet night from a power perspective Saturday, Polanco has also shown some welcome pop during that span, knocking 13 of his 28 hits for extra bases while driving in 18 runs.

Arozarena went 1-for-5 with an RBI fielder's choice, a double and a stolen base in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Giants.

The trade-deadline acquisition got the Mariners to within a run in the seventh inning with his groundout to shortstop, but Seattle was unable to get a second consecutive win under new manager Dan Wilson. Arozarena also subsequently swiped second base for his 19th steal of the campaign, putting him on the precipice of reaching the 20-steal threshold for the fourth straight season. The majority of that production came during his time with the Rays, but Arozarena has now gotten the green light on the basepaths and capitalized three times in the last five games.

Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a double, a bases-loaded walk and a second free pass in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Giants.

Rodriguez drew his second straight start in center field, corroborating that he's made a return to full health after he had previously been limited to designated-hitter duties following his return from an ankle injury. He enjoyed a productive night at the plate and on the basepaths while delivering his third extra-base hit over the 10 games he's played since returning from the injured list. All of those knocks have been doubles, as Rodriguez hasn't left the yard since July 20, the penultimate game before his IL stint. However, he's been a constant presence on the bases in the first two games of the current series, reaching safely five times in his first 10 plate appearances against San Francisco.

The Yankees selected Bickford's contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

He'll join the 40-man roster and 26-man active roster as a replacement in the bullpen for right-hander Michael Tonkin, who was designated for assignment. Bickford had previously made five relief appearances for New York earlier this season and was hit hard over five innings, yielding eight earned runs on eight hits and one walk.

The Yankees designated Tonkin for assignment Sunday.

For the fourth time this season, Tonkin has now been removed from an organization's 40-man roster, after the Mets (twice) and Twins previously designated him for assignment. The Yankees claimed Tonkin off waivers from the Mets in April, and he had generally pitched well during his time in The Bronx, logging a 3.37 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 57:21 K:BB in 56 innings. However, with the Yankees in need of a fresh relief arm for Sunday's series finale with the Rockies, Tonkin ended up being the odd man out to make room on the roster for Phil Bickford, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Given his strong body of work out of the New York bullpen, Tonkin stands a good chance of being claimed off waivers by another team.

Bleday went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in a loss to the Brewers on Saturday.

Bleday launched a 408-foot shot to right center in the first inning off Colin Rea to give the Athletics a quick start they weren't able to sustain. The slugging outfielder is on quite a power surge over the last two weeks, smacking five homers across 49 plate appearances, including three in his last five games.

Gelof went 3-for-4 with a stolen base and two runs in a loss to the Brewers on Saturday.

Gelof made plenty of noise out of his No. 8 spot in the order, recording his second three-hit game of August but only his fifth all season with at least that many knocks. After a poor start to the current month, Gelof has finally started to show signs of life at the plate by posting a .286 average and .796 OPS across the 63 plate appearances covering his last 16 games.

Cabrera remains out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Before he was on the bench during Saturday's 9-2 loss while righty Bradley Blalock took the hill for the Rockies, Cabrera had started in each of the Yankees' last four matchups versus righties. The switch-hitting Cabrera is now expected to see few starts against both righties and lefties for the foreseeable future after Jazz Chisholm made a quicker-than-anticipated recovery from an elbow injury and returned to action Friday. Cabrera will fill a utility role with Chisholm immediately stepping back in as the Yankees' everyday third baseman.