MLB Player News

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Franco will remain out of the lineup through at least Friday's game versus the Royals due to the way the infielder has handled frustrating situations this season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Per Topkin's report, Cash said Franco "is a good kid," and the team hopes to work with him to improve with him in becoming a better teammate and in how he deals with the challenges that come with being a big leaguer. Franco is hitting .250 with one home run and four steals in 17 games this month, and he has uncharacteristically struck out at a 40 percent clip over the last three games. Taylor Walls is starting at shortstop in Thursday's series opener.

Franco isn't in the Rays' lineup Thursday against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Slashing just .192/.246/.269 over the past two weeks, Franco will get a day off Thursday to regroup. Taylor Walls will step in as Tampa Bay's shortstop, allowing Vidal Brujan to start at second and bat ninth.

Reyes was removed from Thursday's game against the Twins, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

It's unclear why Reyes was taken out of Thursday's contest, but he had been dealing with abdominal soreness for a few days, so it's possible those issues flared up again. The Red Sox should provide an update in the near future, but Reyes should be considered day-to-day for the time being.

Hamilton is starting at shortstop and hitting eighth Thursday against the Twins.

Hamilton is one of the fastest prospects in the game, and he stole a base and scored a run as a pinch runner Wednesday after getting called up from Triple-A Worcester. The 25-year-old lefty hitter posted a .255/.339/.486 slash line with 11 home runs and 27 steals in 52 games at Triple-A. He will be sharing middle-infield work with Enrique Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Pablo Reyes in the short term.

Reyes (abdomen) is starting at second base and hitting ninth Thursday against the Twins.

He was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with abdominal soreness but still appeared off the bench each of the last two days. Reyes will be jockeying with prospect David Hamilton and veteran Christian Arroyo for playing time in the middle infield. He is hitting .344 with seven runs, five RBI and one steal in 32 at-bats this month.

Pena went 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base Wednesday against the Reds.

Pena reached base at least once for the ninth consecutive game. He's maintained a .324 average and .410 on-base percentage in that span, though he has only two extra-base hits and no home runs. Pena has maintained a near-identical line to his rookie season, though he has increased his stolen base output by swiping eight bags across the first 70 games of his campaign.

Chang (wrist) was transferred to the 60-day injured list Thursday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

He has not played since April 24, so the move to the 60-day IL doesn't necessarily affect his return date. However, Chang suffered a setback in his rehab a couple weeks ago and should be considered out indefinitely. Speedster David Hamilton was given his first call to the majors to provide infield depth.

Reyes (abdomen) played in the field for the final inning of Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Twins.

Reyes had been ruled out for the game but was needed after the Red Sox burned through Enrique Hernandez and David Hamilton. It's not clear if Reyes can handle a full game, particularly at the plate, due to the injury.

Hamilton served as pinch runner, stole a base and scored a run in Wednesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Twins.

Hamilton was called up from Triple-A Worcester after Pablo Reyes (abdomen) sustained an injury. Hamilton could get some starts at shortstop, given the shaky defense of Enrique Hernandez, who started Wednesday. If so, Hamilton will provide a boost on the base paths. The 25-year-old stole 71 bases in 2022 at Double-A Portland and registered 27 thefts over 52 games for the WooSox this season.

Volpe went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, an additional run and a walk in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Seattle.

Volpe had gone over two weeks without a long ball coming into the contest, but he was able to halt that drought with a solo shot in the seventh inning. It was his 10th homer of the season, and with 15 thefts he is one of 14 major-leaguers so far this season to accumulate double-digit long balls and steals. Volpe is still hitting a paltry .194 overall, but he's been showing some progress of late, batting .272 (6-for-22) with four extra-base hits over his past seven games.