MLB Player News

Anderson, who is batting leadoff Friday at Minnesota, is appealing the one-game suspension he received for making an obscene gesture toward fans Wednesday in Cleveland, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

The 28-year-old will remain in the lineup Friday since he's appealing the suspension, and he's batting leadoff with Luis Robert (groin) set to sit out this weekend. Anderson has a .333/.351/.528 slash line with one home run, four doubles, five RBI, four runs and two stolen bases through nine games this season.

Baez (thumb) ran, hit and threw Friday and could return from the injured list sometime between Saturday and Tuesday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Baez appeared in just five games for his new team before hitting the IL with a sore right thumb. He's eligible to return Saturday, and it appears as though that's in play as a potential return date, but the Tigers still aren't sure whether or not he'll need another few days to heal.

Fletcher (hip) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday.

Fletcher has already spent 10 days on the injured list due to his strained left hip, but he'll miss at least a bit more time. Given the relatively brief length of his absence, he's unlikely to need a long rehab assignment, though the Angels have yet to specify exactly when he's expected to return.

Allen went 1-for-3 with a double and a run in a win over the Orioles on Thursday.

The rookie collected his first big-league knock with his seventh-inning two-bagger and subsequently came home on Sheldon Neuse's single. Allen's first two starts have come at second base, as manager Mark Kotsay has kept Elvis Andrus at Allen's primary position, shortstop, in both games.

Lopez is on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Buffalo with an oblique injury, Sam Dykstra of MLB.com reports.

The exact nature of the injury is unclear, but Lopez suffered it in spring training, so he could be back in a week or two. Lopez will provide infield depth this season after making a brief big-league debut in 2021.

Crawford went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in a loss to Texas on Thursday.

Crawford's three-run first-inning blast gave Seattle a five-run lead in what looked like it would be a runaway win, but Texas stormed back to pull out the victory. The homer was the first of the campaign for Crawford, who belted a career-high nine long balls last season. The shortstop is off to a strong start to 2022, slashing .310/.434/.500 with a 7:2 BB:K over 42 plate appearances.

Bogaerts went 3-for-4 with an RBI double in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

After singling in his previous two at-bats, Bogaerts came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and second and ripped an RBI double down the left-field line. Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano was able to get the next hitter -- Alex Verdugo -- to ground out to the left side, which scored another run and moved Bogaerts to third. However, Bogaerts was stranded to end the game as Romano retired the next two batters via ground balls. Thursday's performance was Bogaerts' fourth three-hit game of the season and his fourth multi-hit game over his last five starts.

Bichette went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base during Thursday's 3-2 win over the Red Sox.

After striking out in his first plate appearance, Bichette ripped an RBI single into right field to give Toronto a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning. Bichette stole second base after a Vladimir Guerrero sacrifice fly but ended up stranded there. The young shortstop added another single in the seventh to give him his fourth multi-hit game of the season, which raised his batting average to .224.

Witt was dropped to seventh in the order Thursday against the Twins, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

He had not hit lower than third in the order this season, but the results haven't been there. Witt is hitting .128 with zero home runs, one steal and 13:1 K:BB in 10 games. Nicky Lopez was bumped up to leadoff while Whit Merrifield shifts to second in the lineup. It remains to be seen where the righty-hitting Witt will slot in against lefties, as the lefty-hitting Lopez isn't as great of an option atop the order against same-handed pitching.

Story (head) is starting at second base and leading off Thursday against the Blue Jays.

He passed concussion protocols after being hit in the helmet by a pitch Wednesday. Story is still looking for his first home run and first stolen base on the season. He has a 33.3 K% and 6.1 BB% through eight games. This is his first time leading off with the Red Sox.