MLB Player News

Smith isn't starting Tuesday against the Royals.

It's been a struggle for Smith at the plate lately -- he's slashing just .067/.263/.067 over the past week. His slump will cost him another start Tuesday, with Ezequiel Duran taking over at shortstop and batting seventh.

Anderson (knee) recently began doing some jogging, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

The shortstop is reportedly tracking toward a return closer to the early side of his projected 2-4 week recovery timetable, which points to him having a good shot to be activated before the end of the month. Anderson is working his way back from a left knee sprain and it's not clear whether he'll need a rehab assignment before returning.

Volpe will bat leadoff again for the Yankees on Tuesday against the Angels, manager Aaron Boone said in an interview on the Talkin' Yanks podcast.

It will be the second straight game that Volpe is in the leadoff spot in a lineup which also features DJ LeMahieu. LeMahieu batted fifth Sunday, and it appears he might remain in more of an run-producing spot while Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) is sidelined. Volpe has struggled on the whole at the plate so far but does have exactly one hit -- including his first home run -- in each of his last five games, along with three walks over that span. It would certainly be a boost to his fantasy outlook if he's going to be hitting leadoff for a while after previously being stuck batting ninth.

The Angels outrighted Fletcher to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Fletcher remains with the organization after clearing waivers but is off the Angels' 40-man roster. The infielder was sent down to Salt Lake to make room for top prospect Zach Neto on Saturday, and the Angels are still on the hook for the remainder of the five-year, $24.5 million extension Fletcher signed with the team in April 2021.

Mateo went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the White Sox.

Mateo's RBI came on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly to plate Adam Frazier for the Orioles' first run of the game. In the eighth, Mateo hit a double, stole third and came home on a Cedric Mullins go-ahead RBI single. Baltimore continues to give its speedier players a green light on the basepaths -- Mateo and Mullins are two of the three players leading the majors in steals with eighth, along with the Cubs' Nico Hoerner. Mateo owns a .372/.431/.651 slash line with three home runs, 12 RBI, 13 runs scored and three doubles through 53 plate appearances.

Chang is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Chang's run of five consecutive starts will come to an end with the Angels bringing a right-hander (Shohei Ohtani) to the hill for the series finale. Given that four of those five starts came against left-handed pitching, the righty-hitting Chang still looks like he'll be deployed as a short-side platoon player.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Mets.

Smith kicked off the fifth inning with a single and then stole second before coming around to score on a base hit by Esteury Ruiz. The 26-year-old has just three hits and a 10:0 K:BB over 23 plate appearances since being called up April 10.

Volpe went 1-for-4 with one steal in Sunday's win over Minnesota.

Volpe led off the fifth inning with an infield single before eventually stealing second, his seventh stolen base of the season and his fourth in two games. The rookie shortstop is tied for second in the league in stolen bases, as he's now a perfect 7-for-7 on attempts. Volpe has also hit safely in five straight games, raising his slash line to .191/.309/.319 through his first 47 at-bats.

Pena went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and three steals during Sunday's loss to Texas.

Pena swiped one bag after reaching base on a fielder's choice in the second inning before being hit by a pitch and stealing two more bags in the fourth. He then doubled and scored in the seventh. Pena had gone 13 games without a steal attempt entering Sunday. He improved his slash line to .227/.301/.409 with his second consecutive multi-hit performance.

Smith is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.

The 25-year-old started the past three games at shortstop in the absence of Corey Seager (hamstring), but he'll take a seat Sunday after he went 1-for-10 with five strikeouts during that stretch. Ezequiel Duran will take over at shortstop with lefty Framber Valdez pitching for Houston.