MLB Player News

Reyes (abdomen) is expected to play shortstop in a rehab game Sunday for Double-A Portland, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Reyes has appeared in six games during a rehab assignment and is 8-for-21 with three home runs and seven RBI for Portland. He's seen time at second base, designated and center field prior to his expected start at shortstop Sunday. Following Sunday's game, Boston manager Alex Cora said the organization will reassess the roster. Reyes is out of minor-league options and can't be assigned directly to Triple-A or Double-A, so if the Red Sox want to add him to the major-league roster, Cora must decide which player would be cut. The main candidates for a demotion would appear to be fellow infielders Christian Arroyo and Enrique Hernandez.

Neto went 1-for-6 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 13-12 extra-inning win over the Astros.

Neto sparked one of the Angels' comebacks, going deep in the seventh inning to cut the deficit to four runs. The shortstop went 0-for-5 on Friday in his return from a month-long absence with an oblique injury. He should resume a starting role at shortstop at the expense of Luis Rengifo and Andrew Velazquez's playing time. Neto is slashing .249/.325/.427 with seven homers, 25 RBI, 25 runs scored and five stolen bases through 57 contests. Most interestingly, he's hit leadoff in the last two games and could stick atop the lineup for a while if his bat heats up.

Pena was removed from Saturday's game versus the Angels in the 10th inning with an apparent injury, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena looked to tweak something in the back of his right leg on a swing in the top of the 10th inning. He stayed in the game to finish his plate appearance but was removed for defense prior to the bottom of the frame. The Astros should have more on Pena's condition soon.

Story (elbow) won't begin a rehab assignment this weekend but will be re-evaluated early next week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Reports from early July indicated that Story had a shot to begin his rehab assignment immediately after the break, but that was never officially confirmed as a definite plan, so the fact that he's not quite ready doesn't necessarily count as a setback. If he's cleared for game action early next week, he'll still have a chance to return sometime in early August.

Neto went 0-for-5 with an RBI in a loss to the Astros on Friday.

Neto returned from a one-month stay on the injured list and batted leadoff for Los Angeles. He wasn't able to reach base but did drive in a run on a second-inning groundout. Neto had been hitting at the bottom of the order prior to getting hurt, so it remains to be seen if he'll stick in the leadoff spot moving forward.

Duran will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Guardians.

Duran closed the first half with four straight starts and started Friday's game as well, but he'll hit the bench Saturday with Mitch Garver taking over as the designated hitter. Duran should continue featuring regularly going forward, as he's broken out to the tune of a .303/.338/.518 slash line this season.

Smith (back) is slated to begin a swing progression Saturday, MLB.com reports.

Smith has been sidelined since June 17 with a back strain, and the fact he's finally ready to pick up a bat again nearly a month later underscores the severity of the original injury. Now that the 27-year-old appears to finally be making some progress, it remains to be seen how quickly he'll be deemed ready to begin what would project to be a fairly lengthy rehab assignment.

Allen went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a stolen base in a loss to the Twins on Friday.

Allen put the Athletics' first run of the second half of the season on the board with his second-inning single, plating Shea Langeliers. The light-hitting infielder had gone 2-for-11 over his first six games back from Triple-A Las Vegas prior to Friday's single, and he's yet to prove capable of getting the better of big-league arms on a consistent basis through his first 453 MLB plate appearances over the last two seasons.

Chang will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Cubs.

Chang returned from hamate surgery just before the break and started two of the last three games of the first half. He opened the second half at shortstop but will head to the bench for the second game of the series. Enrique Hernandez starts at shortstop Saturday.

Seager went 2-for-4 with a walk, a home run, two RBI and an additional run scored in Friday's 12-4 win over Cleveland.

Seager hit the first of three Texas home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning that turned a 4-3 deficit into an 8-4 lead. In all, the Rangers belted four home runs in their comeback after falling behind 4-0 in the third. It was an explosion from Texas batters, who were held in check and went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position over the final two games before the All-Star break. Seager, who missed a month due to a hamstring injury, does not yet qualify for any batting titles, but the shortstop has an impressive line of .355/.416/.628 over 60 games.