MLB Player News

Lawlar isn't in Arizona's lineup Friday against the Cubs.

Lawlar has gone just 2-for-17 at the plate through the first six games of his MLB career, so the D-backs will sit him against Justin Steele. Geraldo Perdomo will fill in at shortstop while Evan Longoria covers third base Friday.

De La Cruz is out of the lineup Friday against the Mets.

For the second time in as many matchups with a left-handed pitcher (David Peterson), the switch-hitting De La Cruz will take a seat. Noelvi Marte will fill in at shortstop for De La Cruz, who is stuck in a 1-for-20 funk at the plate over his last seven contests.

Schmitt was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Friday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Schmitt loses his roster spot with Michael Conforto (hamstring) returning from the injured list. The rookie infielder has not been able to get things going offensively to this point at the big-league level, putting up just a .553 OPS in 88 contests.

De La Cruz started at shortstop and walked twice before being removed for a pinch hitter in Thursday's 8-2 loss to the Tigers.

It's the first time since De La Cruz debuted in June that he was removed for a pinch hitter. A second-half downturn and a manager seeking any tactical edge in a playoff hunt has impacted the rookie's usage. He batted seventh against a left-hander Tuesday, was not in the starting lineup Wednesday, then batted eighth against a right-hander Thursday. Despite dropping De La Cruz in the order, Bell said he still has confidence in him, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Elly's going to continue to be a big part of our team, obviously," Bell said. "But where we are right now, every little tiny edge [is important]." Until this week, De La Cruz had been exempt from such tactics, but a .181 batting average and .606 OPS since the All-Star break has changed that.

Lawlar is not in the lineup Thursday against the Mets.

Lawlar has gone 2-for-16 (.125) with no walks and seven strikeouts in five major-league games since his promotion from Triple-A Reno last week. Geraldo Perdomo will start at shortstop and bat ninth for the Diamondbacks on Thursday as Emmanuel Rivera covers third base and hits eighth.

Wendle remains out of the lineup Thursday at Milwaukee.

Wendle has batted just .222/.257/.323 in 103 games (299 plate appearances) this season and seems to have finally lost his grip on a starting role. Garrett Hampson is playing shortstop Thursday for the fourth time in the Marlins' last six games. Three of those starts for Hampson have come against right-handers, including Thursday's tilt versus Brewers righty Adrian Houser.

Williams is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Williams has now started just two of the last six games and four of the previous 10 contests. Liover Peguero is at shortstop Thursday and appears to have usurped Williams as the preferred option at the position for the Pirates.

De La Cruz is starting at shortstop and batting eighth for Thursday's game in Detroit.

De La Cruz didn't start Wednesday's game and a day later is in the lowest batting order position he's been at all season. The talented rookie homered and drove in six runs in the first game of a doubleheader versus the Angels back on Aug. 23, but in 20 games since he's hit just .158/.256/.197 with a 32.2 percent strikeout rate.

De La Cruz entered Wednesday's game as a pinch runner and stole a base in a 4-3 win over the Tigers.

De La Cruz, who has slumped during the second half of the season, was held out of the starting lineup against lefty Eduardo Rodriguez on Wednesday. The switch hitter had snapped an 0-for-22 run against southpaws the previous day. De La Cruz ran for Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the sixth inning and stole his 27th base, then stayed in the game to play shortstop and went 0-for-1. De La Cruz is batting .181 since the All-Star break.

Lawlar went 1-for-3 in Wednesday's 7-1 loss to the Mets.

Lawlar's bunt single in the sixth inning snapped a stretch of 13 at-bats without a hit. He's 2-for-16 since being called up Sept. 7, and neither hit has left the infield. The Diamondbacks have settled into starting Lawlar against left-handers over the past few games, and he was pinch hit for in his final at-bat Wednesday when the Mets brought in right-handed reliever Trevor Gott.