MLB Player News

Rojas will start at shortstop and bat eighth Sunday against the Reds, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

It was expected that Rojas would serve as a utility infielder for the Marlins when he was activated from the 60-day disabled list Tuesday, but he's instead stepped into an everyday role at shortstop, displacing J.T. Riddle. Rojas will draw his fourth consecutive start Sunday after compiling three hits in 11 at-bats over the prior three contests. The 28-year-old owns an unremarkable .250/.299/.316 batting line for his career, so expectations should be tempered while he continues to see regular starts.

Seager's only hit in four at-bats Saturday was a solo home run in a 6-2 victory over the Braves.

The 23-year-old saw his modest 10-game hitting streak come to an end Friday, but he rewarded his fantasy owners with his third homer in eight games since the All-Star break. Possibly lost in the hubbub surrounding Cody Bellinger's breakout campaign, Seager has quietly been producing another stellar fantasy season with 16 homers, 50 RBI and a .907 on-base plus slugging percentage through 89 games.

Cordoba started at shortstop and went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Saturday's loss to the Giants.

With Erick Aybar (foot) being placed on the disabled list, Cordoba was the only shortstop left on the roster. He did not take advantage of the opportunity, turning in one of the worst stat lines a major leaguer could imagine. The 21-year-old has flashed some potential in spurts this season, but his overall slash line of .231/.289/.320 in 187 plate appearances leaves much to be desired. Despite Saturday's rough go of things, Cordoba should continue to see starts until either Aybar returns or another shortstop is called up from the minors.

Gordon went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run during Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

Gordon is now up to 34 stolen bases for the year, and his .290 batting average and 58 runs are also excellent marks. He offers nothing in the power categories, but that was also never an advertised asset.

Diaz, who went 2-for-4 in his return during Triple-A Memphis' win over Las Vegas on Friday, will continue working exclusively at shortstop for the time being, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

There's been some talk of a potential future utility role for Diaz, but general manager John Mozeliak has made it clear that he'll remain at his natural position for now. The Cuban shortstop was sent down to Memphis unexpectedly in late June to refine his plate mechanics and is slashing .240/.250/.360 over 12 games with the Redbirds.

DeJong went 1-for-3 with a solo homer Saturday against the Cubs.

DeJong launched his 11th bomb of the season off Jon Lester to break up a scoreless tie in the eighth inning of a losing effort. In less than two months in the majors, the rookie's shown exceptional power, as evidenced by a .558 slugging percentage while also offering a reasonable .279 batting average.

Crawford is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Padres, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford will sit for the first time since June 28 as Eduardo Nunez shifts over to short and Conor Gillaspie mans the hot corner. While Crawford has multiple hits in two of his last three games, he's still batting just .217/.254/.400 for the month of July. He's taken a dramatic step back against right-handed pitching this season, with his OPS against righties falling nearly 180 points from a year ago.

Baez is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cardinals.

Baez will head to the bench for the second time since the All-Star break with Kris Bryant (finger) returning to third and Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell up the middle. With 11 hits (including two homers) in his last five starts, Baez has raised his average from .252 to .274, but given the Cubs' current roster construction, it seems likely that he will continue to sit at least once a week.

Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, said Crawford "fought some things health-wise during the first half of the summer," Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

It's unclear if Jordan is talking about the groin injury that put Crawford on the disabled list in mid-June, but that could have had some impact on his poor performance this year, especially if he had been trying to play through it for some time. Crawford is showing signs of turning his season around, having hit .288/.373/.652 with six home runs this month. His overall slash line still looks pretty terrible, so it may be possible to acquire him at a discount, given how far he dropped on most midseason prospect lists.

Owings is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Washington.

Owings receives his first day off since June 27 as Ketel Marte draws the start at shortstop during Friday's series opener. Throughout the course of the 2017 season, Owings is hitting .283/.316/.464 with 12 home runs and 50 RBI. He will likely return to the lineup Saturday as the club faces Tanner Roark.