MLB Player News

Baez (personal) is starting at shortstop and batting sixth Sunday against the Rays.

Baez was scratched from Saturday's lineup due to a death in his family and was a candidate to land on the bereavement list, but he's instead back in the starting nine a day later. The 30-year-old was poised to hit out of the seventh spot Saturday before being scratched -- which would have been a season low -- but he's back to batting sixth for Sunday's series finale.

Rocchio will start at third base and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the White Sox.

He'll stick in the lineup for a fourth straight game, with two starts coming at shortstop and two coming at third base. The Guardians haven't indicated whether Rocchio or Gabriel Arias will end up settling in as their everyday third baseman, but the team could have room for both players on the left side of the infield during the upcoming week if Jose Ramirez is suspended for throwing punches in Saturday's loss to the White Sox. Major League Baseball has yet to rule on the matter, and Ramirez will be included in the lineup Sunday as Cleveland's designated hitter.

Anderson is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Though Anderson will hit the bench for the series finale in what appears to be a routine rest day, Major League Baseball has yet to announce any suspension for the shortstop, who was ejected in the sixth inning of Saturday's 7-4 win after exchanging punches with Cleveland third baseman Jose Ramirez. Expect MLB to rule in the coming days whether any players involved in the brawl will face a suspension, leaving Anderson's availability for the White Sox's upcoming six-game week in flux.

Seager went 2-for-4 with a walk, a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 9-8 win over the Marlins.

The Rangers eschewed a minor-league rehab assignment for Seager, who returned from a thumb injury Aug. 2. Wise decision. The shortstop has homered in three of the four games and knocked in six runs since his return. Texas has won all four games with Seager back and five in a row.

Anderson was ejected from Saturday's game against the Guardians for his actions in a brawl during the sixth inning. He went 1-for-3 with a double prior to exiting.

Anderson and Cleveland's Jose Ramirez exchanged blows after the latter slid into second base in the seventh frame, and neither was permitted to continue in the contest. MLB will review the matter, and suspensions for both players could be in the cards.

Story (elbow) will remain on assignment with Triple-A Worcester through the weekend, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The plan calls for Story to DH on Saturday before playing shortstop for the WooSox on Sunday. Worcester is then off Monday, and Story's 20-day rehab window closes Wednesday, so the shortstop seems likely to be back with the Red Sox at some point next week. He recently expressed a desire to remain on his rehab assignment as he tries to shake the rust after the long layoff from an internal bracing procedure.

Smith (back) was activated from the 10-day injured list Saturday and optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old is fully recovered from the back strain that sent him to the injured list in mid-June, but he won't rejoin the big club now that he's healthy. Smith has appeared in 34 MLB games this season and has a .191/.216/.330 slash line and 33.3 percent strikeout rate in 102 plate appearances.

Smith (back) started at second base and played the entirety of Triple-A Las Vegas' loss to Albuquerque on Friday, going 1-for-5.

Smith has now played consecutive full games on defense for the first time in his rehab assignment, seemingly teeing up a return to the big-league club. The infielder, who's been out since mid-June with a back strain, has hit .381 (8-for-21) with a double, two home runs, five RBI, a walk and four runs across six rehab games with the Aviators.

Crawford went 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs in a win over the Angels on Friday.

The Mariners put on an offensive display in the high-scoring win, and Crawford's night was actually one of the quieter ones in a game where Seattle laced eight of its 14 hits for extra bases. While Crawford didn't contribute to that total, the veteran shortstop did generate his eighth multi-hit effort since the All-Star break and set the table nicely from the top of the order. Crawford has been thriving the entire second half, as he now owns a .333/.463/.485 slash line and 16.7 percent walk rate across his last 18 games.

Baez was scratched from Saturday's lineup against the Rays due to a death in his family, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

It remains to be seen if Baez will be placed on the bereavement list, where players are allowed to reside for 3-to-7 days. Zack Short is starting at shortstop Saturday in his place.