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Brandon Crawford SS | STL
Giants' Brandon Crawford: Gone due to family emergency
Crawford is not with the Giants for Thursday's game against the Rockies due to a family emergency, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The Giants refused to elaborate on the situation, so not much else is currently known. He should be considered day-to-day for the time being, but expect an update on his status once more information is available.
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Brandon Crawford SS | STL
Giants' Brandon Crawford: Out of lineup again
Crawford is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rockies, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
After starting all of the Giants' first eight games, Crawford has now been held out of the lineup for two of the last three contests. There hasn't been any word of an injury at this point, though it'll definitely be something to monitor moving forward as it seems unlikely that he would be rested in games so close to each other.
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Javier Baez SS | DET
Cubs' Javier Baez: Batting eighth Thursday
Baez is in the Cubs' lineup Thursday against the Dodgers, batting eighth and playing second base.
The infielder returns to the lineup because Los Angeles is starting left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu. Whenever he's starting, the powerful Baez should try to find his way into fantasy players' plans in daily transactions leagues, as well.
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Javier Baez SS | DET
Cubs' Javier Baez: Gets day off Wednesday
Baez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Dodgers.
Baez was in the lineup for the series opener Monday with lefty Alex Wood on the mound, but manager Joe Maddon will opt to get more left-handed hitters in the starting nine Wednesday to counter right-hander Brandon McCarthy. As a result, Jon Jay will move into the lineup in center field, while Ben Zobrist will cover Baez's usual post at second base. Baez is off to a bit of a slow start to begin 2017, as he's batting .176 and has yet to record a home run or stolen base.
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Aledmys Diaz 1B | HOU
Cardinals' Aledmys Diaz: Out of lineup Wednesday
Diaz is not in the Cardinals' starting lineup for Wednesday's game at Washington, Jim Hayes of Fox Sports Midwest reports.
Greg Garcia takes over at shortstop as Diaz gets his first off day of the season. The 26-year-old is slashing .278/.278/.583 through eight games thus far, progressing effortlessly into his second full major league season. Look for Diaz to continue building off his All-Star-worthy 2016 season upon his return to the lineup.
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Dee Strange-Gordon SS | WAS
Marlins' Dee Gordon: Picks up three hits Tuesday
Gordon went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Tuesday's win over the Braves.
It was his first multi-hit game of the young season, but Gordon has strung together a six-game hitting streak and is now hitting .286 (8-for-28). The speedy second baseman has a modest two steals and four runs scored so far, but both numbers should rise now that he seems to be finding his stroke at the plate.
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Dansby Swanson SS | CHC
Braves' Dansby Swanson: Struggles continue Tuesday
Swanson went 0-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts in Tuesday's loss to the Marlins.
The rookie shortstop is slashing just .156/.206/.281 through seven games to kick off the season, with a solo homer being his only real offensive contribution. The Braves will give Swanson a very long leash when it comes to shaking off this slump, as this is expected to be a rebuilding year for the team anyway, but if his bat doesn't begin to pick up fairly soon he could be facing a demotion to Triple-A -- a level he skipped over completely in 2016.
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Aledmys Diaz 1B | HOU
Cardinals' Aledmys Diaz: Hits third homer of season Tuesday
Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 8-3 loss to the Nationals.
The 26-year-old is quickly dismissing any idea that his performance last season was a fluke, hitting .278 with three homers, five RBI and six runs scored through his first eight games of 2017. The Cards' offense is struggling out of the gate, but Diaz has been one of the few bright spots in the St. Louis lineup.
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Brandon Crawford SS | STL
Giants' Brandon Crawford: Sits out Tuesday
Crawford is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Diamondbacks, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Crawford will get the day off after starting the first eight games for the Giants. He's off to a nice start to the season, going 11-for-30 with one homer, five RBI and three runs. Eduardo Nunez will cover for him at shortstop while Aaron Hill mans third base.
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James Nelson SS | HOU
Marlins' James Nelson: Held back with quad injury
Nelson was held back in extended spring training to rehab a quad injury, MLB.com's Mike Rosenbaum reports.
A 15th-round pick in 2016, Nelson hit .284 with one home run and seven steals in 162 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League last year.