MLB Player News

Bichette went 2-for-4 with a triple, a home run and three RBI in Friday's 4-3 win over the Rangers.

He took Dane Dunning deep in the third inning for a two-run shot, Bichette's fifth homer in the last four games and his 23rd of the year. The shortstop remains one of the hottest hitters in baseball, and over his last 18 games he's slashing .411/.469/.781 with six homers, two steals, 16 runs and 19 RBI.

Franco went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 4-2 victory over the Yankees.

All of Tampa's four runs were scored via doubles, with Franco having a hand in al four. He scored on both of Randy Arozarena's doubles -- one in the first inning and one in the fourth. The shortstop hit his own double in the fourth that scored Yandy Diaz and Ji-Man Choi. This was Franco's first game since July 9 and he picked up right where he left off. After the three-hit game, the young star is slashing .267/.313/.409.

Pena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a 4-3 win over the Angels on Friday.

Pena has showed decent pop from the shortstop position in his rookie season. The 24-year-old now has 17 homers on the season to go along with a .249 average. The clear hole in Pena's game is that he does not walk enough. He has a 4.1 percent walk rate and an OBP of only .285. He showed an ability to get on base at a healthy rate in the minors so it is possible he will develop this skill at the major-league level as he matures.

Correa went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run for a total of four RBI and two runs scored in a 7-6 loss to the Guardians on Friday.

Correa hit a big two-run homer in the eighth inning, which brought the Twins to within a run of their division rivals in a game with serious playoff implications. His blast was his 19th of the season and he is on pace for achieving the sixth 20-homer season of his career. Correa has been seeing the ball very well in September and is slashing .344/.400/.781 over eight games this month.

Bogaerts went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer in Friday's 3-2 loss to Baltimore.

Bogaerts opened the game's scoring with a two-run shot in the third inning. He missed one game while dealing with back spasms but he's seemingly healthy again. The 29-year-old infielder has produced 12 multi-hit performances over his last 14 games, going 27-for-57 (.474) with 15 RBI during that stretch. Bogaerts has improved his season slash line to .318/.384/.473 with 50 extra-base hits.

Velazquez isn't starting Friday against the Astros, Edwin Perez of MLB.com reports.

Velazquez started Wednesday against the Tigers and went 1-for-3 with a stolen base, a walk and two strikeouts. David Fletcher is taking over at shortstop and leading off Friday.

Lopez was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday.

Lopez spent the last month in the minors but will rejoin the Blue Jays ahead of Friday's series opener against the Rangers after Lourdes Gurriel (hamstring) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Lopez didn't log any at-bats during his earlier stints in the big leagues this year, but he's slashed .302/.379/.433 with three homers, 48 runs, 33 RBI and 14 stolen bases over 83 Triple-A games in 2022.

Chang was designated for assignment by the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The move clears space for Wander Franco (wrist) to return from the injured list. Chang hit a respectable .260/.305/.385 (good for a 102 wRC+) in 36 games this season but still owns a poor 76 wRC+ for his career.

Franco (wrist) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays were hopeful that Franco would be cleared to return to the lineup Friday against the Yankees, and he was ultimately activated after testing his injury prior to the game. The 21-year-old appeared in three rehab games over the last week and went 6-for-11 with a double, two runs, an RBI and a walk. Franco will reclaim his role as Tampa Bay's everyday shortstop now that he's fully healthy.

Bogaerts (back) is starting at shortstop and batting third Friday versus the Orioles, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Bogaerts is back in the lineup after missing Wednesday's contest with the Rays while dealing with back spasms. The 29-year-old has produced 11 multi-hit efforts in his last 13 games, batting .462 with two homers, 13 RBI, 11 runs and a stolen base over 52 at-bats during that stretch.