MLB Player News

Olson is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rangers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

As per usual, Olson will get the day off with the opposition sending out a left-handed starter (Cole Hamels). Ryon Healy will take over at first base in his absence.

Abreu went 2-for-2 with two walks, a solo home run and a second run scored in Friday's 3-2 win over the Tigers.

The Cuban is now slashing .309/.343/.598 with seven homers in 24 games in August, but a lack of baserunners for him to bring home has left Abreu with only 10 RBI on the month. While his 26 home runs and .885 OPS on the year are right in line with his previous performances, it might take a miraculous finish for him to reach the 100-RBI mark for the fourth straight season.

Santana (back) is in the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Royals.

Santana missed the past three games after leaving Monday's contest due to back spasms. He appears to be good to go, and could've been available off the bench during Thursday's win if he was needed. Santana will draw the start in left field, while batting sixth in the order.

Diaz went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, a walk, four runs scored and two RBI in Thursday's 13-6 win over the Red Sox.

Diaz failed to pick up a hit in either of the first two games since getting recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday, but broke out in a big way here. While he needed a home run in his last at-bat to hit for the cycle, Diaz settled for a deep double. Diaz's line coming into the game was .186/.256/.200, but this performance raised it all the way to .230/.301/.297.

Santana (back) is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.

Santana is set to miss his third straight game as he battles back spasms. Edwin Encarnacion is starting at first base in his stead, opening up a spot for Yandy Diaz to serve as the designated hitter.

Santana (back) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox.

Santana will spend another day on the bench following Monday's removal due to back spasms. He sat out Tuesday and could miss more time depending on how quickly he recovers from the setback. Santana should be considered day-to-day for the time being, while Edwin Encarnacion draws another start at first base and Yandy Diaz gets the nod at DH.

Santana (back spasms) is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Red Sox, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

He tried to play through back spasms Monday, but exited early and will get this game off as well as he tries to get right. Jason Kipnis is starting at DH while Jose Ramirez slides over to second base and Giovanny Urshela gets the not at the hot corner. Consider Santana day-to-day.

Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday.

Carlos Santana is currently dealing with back spasms, so Diaz could see the occasional start in the short term, but he is likely up primarily to offer depth off the bench. Diaz has one of the best approaches in the minors, but has never been able to offer enough power to realistically profile as an everyday player at a corner spot. Still, that approach and his excellent hit tool might be enough for him to get some looks over the final six weeks. He has a .350/.454/.460 slash line with five home runs in 85 games at Triple-A this year and recently turned 26.

Manager Terry Francona said Santana, who exited Monday's game prematurely, felt discomfort in his back prior to Monday's game, but the first baseman insisted on playing through the pain, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Francona indicated that he almost scratched Santana from Monday's lineup after the latter experienced muscle spasms while taking pregame swings in the cage. Santana talked his way into the lineup, but the discomfort eventually caught up to him. "On his last at-bat, you could see it was bothering him," said Francona. "Then when he sat down, it kind of grabbed at him."

Santana was forced to leave Monday's game against the Red Sox early with back tightness, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

This is rough timing for Cleveland, as Santana was on an absolute tear. Although he went 0-for-3 before exiting Monday, Santana was hitting .448/.556/.793 with five extra-base hits in his past eight games. Consider him day-to-day until we hear more, but with a diagnosis of merely "tightness," it sounds like there's a chance Santana could return quickly.