MLB Player News

Baez (ankle) will embark on a rehab assignment with Single-A Lakeland on Tuesday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Baez has been sidelined by a right ankle sprain since late April, and his recovery has been slower than expected. The good news for the veteran infielder is that he's finally been cleared to embark on a rehab assignment, which could have him back in the majors by late July or early August. Prior to his injury, Baez had a .677 OPS with one steal, two home runs and six RBI across 82 plate appearances.

Story (sports hernia) told reporters Monday that "sometime in August is in play" for him to embark on a rehab assignment, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Story underwent surgery for a sports hernia in late May and has been on the 60-day injured list since early June. He's been cleared to take part in full baseball activities, and the good news for the veteran shortstop is that he is getting closer to on-field action in minor-league games. Story would likely need a rather lengthy rehab stint, given the amount of time he's been sidelined for, but it looks like he could be back with the Red Sox by mid-to-late August.

Vazquez will travel to join the Orioles' taxi squad for their weekday series against the Red Sox, Andy Kostka of TheBanner.com reports.

Vazquez will give the Orioles a little bit of extra infield depth in Boston. He's spent most of this season with Triple-A Norfolk, where he has a .576 OPS with four steals, two homers and nine RBI across 115 plate appearances. Vazquez appeared in 36 regular-season games for the Orioles last year and slashed .160/.208/.240 with two steals, one homer and three RBI over 53 plate appearances.

Pena (hamstring) will start at shortstop and bat leadoff in Monday's game against the Marlins, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Pena will make his return to the starting nine after the Astros opted to keep him on the bench for Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Orioles while he managed a right hamstring cramp. Since coming off the injured list July 10 after he had been shelved with a calf strain, Pena has gone 5-for-17 (.294 average) with two walks, three runs and one RBI in five games.

Monasterio is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Orioles.

Monasterio will be back on the bench after he made two straight starts against left-handed pitchers to close out the Red Sox's weekend series with the Rays, going 3-for-6 with three doubles, two walks, two runs and one RBI between those contests. Tsung-Che Cheng will cover shortstop Monday and still appears to have a hold on the strong side of platoon at the position.

Santana (hamstring) began a rehab assignment Friday with the Florida Complex League Rays, Ian Cundall of Baseball America reports.

High-A Bowling Green placed Santana on the 7-day injured list June 6 with a hamstring strain. Known for his slick defense at shortstop, the switch-hitting Santana slashed .309/.379/.393 with a career-high three home runs and career-best 10.3 percent strikeout rate while notching 21 steals in 47 games prior to the injury.

Pierce had left shoulder surgery and is likely done for the season, Ian Cundall of Baseball America reports.

Pierce was a league average hitter (100 wRC+) in 34 games for Single-A Charleston prior to the serious shoulder injury. He slashed .252/.336/.390 with four home runs, six steals and a 28.6 percent strikeout rate in 34 games and is expected to have a normal offseason.

Witt (back) will start at shortstop and bat second in Monday's game against the Giants.

The All-Star shortstop was held out of the starting nine for Sunday's 19-2 loss to the Padres due to general back tightness, though manager Matt Quatraro emphasized that Witt was merely kept on the bench as a precaution. Witt's back has apparently responded well to the day of rest, and he should be available for the entirety of the Royals' seven-game week, barring an aggravation of the injury.

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.