MLB Player News

Indians center fielder Michael Bourn and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall were not included in the starting lineup Friday night against left-hander Bruce Chen and the Rangers, per the team's official website.

Bourn is a .200 hitter (8 for 40) this season against southpaws. Chisenhall has fared better against left-handers, slashing .256/.326/.308 on the year. Manager Terry Francona inserted Zach Walters at third. Michael Brantley shifted to center field, with Ryan Raburn in the left field and at the cleanup spot.

Red Sox manager John Farrell is returning several regulars back to the starting lineup on Thursday against the Mariners. First baseman Mike Napoli, shortstop Xander Bogaerts, catcher Blake Swihart and right fielder Shane Victorino were rested on Wednesday, but all are back in for Thursday night's contest.

Veteran Indians utility man Mike Aviles could be destined to take over the starting shortstop job, according to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Aviles is currently on the family medical emergency list after his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, but he should be back this weekend.

He would replace struggling Jose Ramirez, who would be sent to Triple-A Columbus for steady work. Ramirez is batting .179.

"I'm encouraged by the way Jose continues to work, both offensively and defensively, to try to improve his performance," said general manager Chris Antonetti. "But it's been a struggle for him. He's a young player that's going through an extended struggle in the major leagues in an environment where there's high expectations for team success."

Ramirez has admitted that, though he remains confident, he's not the same player that helped spark the team following the 2014 trade of Asdrubal Cabrera.

His potential demotion would thrust Zach Walters into the backup shortstop role.

Indians infielder Zach Walters gets his first start of the season at shortstop on Sunday. 

Walters replaces Jose Ramirez, who has started 23 games at short this season. He'll bat ninth in the order. 

The Indians are -160 money-line favorites at home against Minnesota. 

Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley , just promoted from Triple-A, will make his first start of the year for the Sox on Sunday. 

Bradley will play right field and hit eighth in the order. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who has batted eighth the last 13 games, bumps up to the seventh spot for just the third time this season. 

The Indians made a pair of roster moves on Friday. 

Infielder Mike Aviles was placed on the Bereavement/Family Emergency list. He's eligible to return to the team on Monday. Aviles is hitting .288 this season, with two home runs and four RBI.

To fill his spot on the roster, the Indians promoted Zach Walters from Triple-A Columbus. Walters appeared in 30 games with Cleveland last year. He was hitting .239 with one home run and nine RBI in Columbus.

In an exchange of backups, the Angels have traded catcher Drew Butera to the Royals for infielder Ryan Jackson.

The 31-year-old Butera, who had been designated for assignment Monday, has four hits in 21 at-bats this season.

"Obviously, our hope was that we would be able to maintain Drew in the organization, but he's been a backup catcher in the big leagues for a number of year," Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto told MLB.com. "As soon as we designated him for assignment, it became fairly clear that he was going to get claimed on waivers, so putting together a trade made the most sense."

Jackson, who has now been with four different organizations since 2012, has two hits in 24 big-league at-bats. But he was batting .305 this year with Triple-A Omaha.

Following a torrid start to the season, Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts has been in an offensive funk for a few weeks. After batting .395 in his first nine games, Bogaerts is batting .152 over his last 14 games, dropping his season average to .262.

Bogaerts has not had a multihit game in his last 14 appearances after having five in his first nine outings. Bogaerts has one double, one home run, two RBI, five runs, four walks and 12 strikeouts in his last 14 games.

Red Sox utility man Brock Holt gets a start at shortstop in place of Xander Bogaerts for Friday's game at Baltimore. 

Holt has started games at second, third, short and center. With Friday's game, Holt will have three starts at shortstop, more than any other position. It's the second time in four games he's gotten the start at short ahead of Bogaerts. 

Boston and Baltimore are even with -105 money lines for the game. 

The Indians activated utility man Zach Walters from the 15-day disabled list Friday and then optioned him to the team's Triple-A affiliate, the team announced.

Walters has not played in the majors this season after he sustained an oblique injury in spring training.