MLB Player News

Kreidler will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Monday's game in Cleveland.

The Twins will include Kreidler in the starting nine for the third game in a row, and he looks poised to operate as the team's everyday shortstop for the time being after Tristan Gray was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday. Kreidler maintains a respectable .738 OPS over 151 plate appearances on the season, but he's slashing just .162/.205/.189 with zero home runs or stolen bases, four runs and one RBI while striking out at a 28.2 percent clip over 12 games thus far in July.

The Twins optioned Gray to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday.

Gray had started just one of the last four games and four of the past 11 contests. He'll head to St. Paul, while Ryan Kreidler assumes the bulk of the starts at shortstop for the Twins. Gray's demotion frees up a spot on the active roster for the return of Byron Buxton (hip) from the injured list.

Montgomery went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Montgomery took Trey Yesavage yard in the sixth inning to tally his 24th home run of the season. He had been in the midst of a short power drought, as he entered Sunday's contest having only one extra-base hit across his last 31 at-bats. Even with that slow stretch, Montgomery has an impressive .253 ISO and remains an elite source of power.

Celesten was promoted to Double-A Arkansas on Sunday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.

Celesten will move up a level in the Mariners' minor-league system after he posted a .314 average with 13 home runs, 52 RBI, 64 runs scored and 18 stolen bases over 309 at-bats in 80 contests with High-A Everett so far this year. The 20-year-old is considered to be one of Seattle's top overall prospects, and he'll look to maintain his impressive level of production with Arkansas.

McGonigle went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Angels.

McGonigle went deep on Ryan Johnson's third pitch of the game, but that was the Tigers' lone run until Riley Greene's homer in the ninth inning. In July, McGonigle has gone 14-for-51 (.275) with three homers and five RBI over 13 games. The rookie infielder has batted .282 with an .815 OPS, nine homers, 35 RBI, 61 runs scored and 11 stolen bases over 96 games this season.

Neto went 1-for-4 with a walk, one RBI, one stolen base and one run scored in Sunday's 3-2 win over the Tigers.

Between June 14 and July 10, Neto went 24 games without a steal, getting caught on two attempts in that stretch. He's since picked up the pace on the basepaths, logging two steals on three tries over his last five games. The shortstop is batting .235 with a .772 OPS, 19 home runs, 13 steals, 46 RBI and 69 runs scored over 97 contests this season.

Seager (back) is scheduled to hit soft toss in the batting cage Sunday in addition to fielding groundballs, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Seager continues to do light baseball activities as he works his way back from lower-back inflammation, which sent him to the injured list at the start of July after spending time on the IL with the same injury earlier in the campaign. The veteran shortstop is without an official timeline for his return but doesn't seem likely to be back in the immediate future. According to Landry, the Rangers expect Seager to be back "eventually" this season.

Caballero is out of the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Dodgers.

The 29-year-old went 0-for-4 during the first game of the second half Friday but will hit the bench for Sunday's matinee. Anthony Volpe is picking up a start at shortstop in place of Caballero, who seems likely to rejoin the lineup for the nightcap, either at shortstop or another position.

Manager Matt Quatraro said that Witt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres due to back tightness, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old went 0-for-4 with a strikeout while playing through the injury Saturday, and the Royals will be cautious with their All-Star shortstop. Witt should be considered day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener against San Francisco.

Pena (hamstring) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Pena was pulled from Saturday's contest due to right hamstring cramps and will miss at least one start due to the injury. The veteran shortstop is still participating in baseball activities, per Rome, which could indicate that Pena will quickly rejoin the starting nine. Nick Allen is starting in his place and batting ninth Sunday.