MLB Player News

Seager left Friday's loss to the Dodgers with a sprained right thumb, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

The good news is that X-rays came back negative for any structural damage and Seager is listed as day-to-day. He seems likely to at least be held out Saturday, while Josh Smith took over at shortstop Friday. Seager finished that game having gone 2-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs scored while boosting his stellar season slash line to .350/.413/.631.

Story (elbow) went 1-for-2 with a three-run homer, a walk and two runs scored in his rehab debut Friday at Double-A Portland.

Story also played five innings at shortstop in a promising start to what is likely to be a lengthy minor-league rehab stint. He's expected to serve as Portland's designated hitter Saturday before then logging five more innings at shortstop Sunday. The 30-year-old infielder has been out all season while recovering from January internal brace surgery to repair the UCL in his right elbow.

Mateo went 1-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-5 win over the Dodgers.

Mateo's shaky hitting over the last couple of months has caught up to him since Jordan Westburg's been in the majors. Wednesday was just Mateo's fifth start in July -- he's become more of a backup infielder than an everyday starter while batting just .176 this month. For the season, the speedster is up to 23 steals, six home runs, 29 RBI, 38 runs scored, 11 doubles and a triple, but his .216/.267/.351 slash line is low by even his standards, and it won't help him get more playing time on a contender.

Correa is not in Thursday's lineup against the Mariners.

Several Twins regulars are getting the day off against righty George Kirby. Correa is slashing .298/.365/.421 with one home run, nine runs and five RBI in 14 games this month. Kyle Farmer is starting at shortstop and batting eighth.

Witt is absent from the lineup for Thursday's tilt against the Tigers.

It's a rare day off for the young infielder. Maikel Garcia will shift over to shortstop and Nicky Lopez will get a start at third base while Witt receives some rest.

Allen will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Red Sox.

Allen will pick up a sixth straight start at shortstop coming out of the All-Star break, but he may not have a long leash atop the depth chart. He's getting on base just 20 percent of the time thus far in the second half and has put together a .197/.243/.228 slash line across 139 plate appearances in the majors this season.

Franco is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Tampa Bay will withhold two of its top hitters from the lineup for the series finale in Franco and Randy Arozarena, with both players seemingly just receiving maintenance for the day game after a night game. Taylor Walls will fill in at shortstop and bat eighth in place of Franco, who went 0-for-7 with a walk between the first two games of the series.

Duran is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Rays.

Duran will get a breather after he went 1-for-6 with a two-run home run, a walk and three strikeouts between the first two games of the series. Robbie Grossman will draw the start at designated hitter and bat eighth in the series finale with Tampa Bay.

Anderson went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI on Tuesday against the Mets.

Anderson has multiple hits in three of his last four starts and has maintained a .258 average across his last 62 at-bats. He has still yet to homer and has a particularly poor .041 ISO on the season, though it's encouraging to see him at least reaching base at a more consistent clip of late. Anderson consistently hits second in the order, so he could be a source of runs in the final months of the season.

Story (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment Friday at Double-A Portland, MLB.com reports.

The initial plan calls for Story to play five innings at shortstop Friday, then serve as the designated hitter Saturday, followed by another five innings at short Sunday. Boston manager Alex Cora said Story is feeling good physically, both at the plate and in the field, and that the assignment is about building him up. The manager also stressed the organization will not rush Story back despite a desperate need for stability at the shortstop position in the majors. The rehab assignment could last up to 20 days.