MLB Player News

Baez isn't starting Thursday's game against the Guardians.

Baez will get a breather after he went 5-for-14 with four doubles, three runs, two RBI, a walk and two strikeouts over the last three games. Harold Castro is starting at shortstop and batting third.

Story (finger) remains out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Manager Alex Cora already implied Wednesday that Story wouldn't be available for the final two contests of the series in Tampa Bay, so the second baseman's absence from the starting nine for the second day in a row comes as little surprise. Jeter Downs will pick up another start in place of Story, who disclosed Wednesday that he's unsure if he'll be able to avoid a trip to the injured list ahead of the All-Star break, per Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican. Story was removed from Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay after he was hit by a pitch on the knuckle of his right ring finger.

Bogaerts went 2-for-3 with a double, a run and a stolen base in a loss to the Rays on Wednesday.

Bogaerts collected two of Boston's five hits in the contest, and he scored the team's lone run in the fifth inning. The shortstop gave his fantasy managers another reason to be happy by swiping his fifth bag of the season. Bogaerts' power has waned of late -- he has only one long ball in his past 34 games -- but he's otherwise hit well with a .314/.391/.454 slash line over 361 plate appearances.

Baez went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Royals.

The Tigers scored just two runs, but Baez managed his second consecutive two-hit effort. Three of his last four hits are doubles, and the shortstop is starting to drive the ball with more authority despite batting just .218 for the season. Baez had a .306 slugging percentage through the end of May but has bumped that up to .466 from June onward.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Phillies.

Bichette ripped an RBI single off Zack Wheeler in the bottom of the fifth frame and later stole second base in the inning. He also added a second single in the seventh inning, notching his second multi-hit effort in the last three games. Bichette is now up to six stolen bases on the year, but Wednesday's swipe was his first since June 21. The shortstop has now produced at least one hit in 16 of his last 17 contests, batting .304 with two home runs, five doubles, 10 RBI, eight runs and a stolen base over that stretch.

Manager Alex Cora said he's hopeful Story (hand) can return to the lineup at some point during the Red Sox's weekend series with the Yankees, implying the second baseman will be on the bench for games Wednesday and Thursday against the Rays, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Story was cleared of any structural damage to his bruised right hand after he was hit by a pitch in Tuesday's loss, but he looks like he'll still be forced to miss at least a couple games due to the injury. Jeter Downs replaced Story on Tuesday and could serve as the Red Sox's primary option at the keystone until Story is cleared to play again.

Story (hand) underwent X-rays that came back negative Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Story was diagnosed with a right hand contusion after leaving Tuesday's game against the Rays, and his X-rays confirmed that he isn't dealing with structural damage. It's not yet clear whether he'll be available for Wednesday's matchup in Tampa Bay, but he should be considered day-to-day for now.

Rocchio has hit .380/.432/.658 with five homers, three steals and a 7:9 BB:K over his last 19 games for Double-A Akron.

He was struggling mightily before this recent stretch, as Rocchio's first 48 games of 2022 saw him hit just .205/.308/.313 with a 19.6 percent strikeout rate; he's nearly halved that during this hot streak, striking out at just a 10.1 percent clip. He struggled particularly badly for a while after returning from a concussion, so this could simply be a sign that he's gotten right physically over the last month.

Downs entered Tuesday's game for an injured Trevor Story (hand) and went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Rays.

Story swung at a pitch that hit his right hand -- it was ruled a foul ball -- and was replaced by Downs. If Story is required to miss time, Downs figures to be the logical replacement with Christian Arroyo (groin) on the injured list.

Seager went 1-for-5 with a walk and a solo home run in Tuesday's 14-7 extra-innings loss to the Athletics.

Seager's solo shot was responsible for the first of two runs scored in the bottom of the ninth that sent the game into extras. He's homered in five consecutive games and six of the last seven. Seager's enjoying his first year at Globe Life Field, belting 15 of his 21 homers in Arlington.