MLB Player News

Castro is out of Friday's lineup against the Royals.

After a strong start to his season in the majors, Castro has fallen off the map, now sporting a batting average below the dreaded Mendoza Line. Unless he gets it together at the plate soon, he could find playing time even harder to come by. Kelly Johnson will take over at second base in his stead.

Manager Dusty Wathan said he would not be surprised if Crawford was promoted to Triple-A in the next few weeks, Ryan Lawrence of the Philly Voice reports.

Crawford is hitting .254/.385/.356 with two home runs and four stolen bases in 118 at-bats for Double-A Reading. The numbers don't jump off the page, but his 25 walks to 21 strikeouts shows his mature approach at the plate. He could see time in Philly later this season.

Ahmed is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rockies.

The usual starter at shortstop, Ahmed will get the day off as the Diamondbacks go up against Colorado righty Chad Bettis. He'll be replaced at short by Jean Segura, who will serve as the leadoff man.

Seager went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Mets.

The 22-year-old got the scoring started for the Dodgers with a first-inning double that plated Chase Utley. Seager now has multi-hit games in three of his last four contests, and appears to be hitting his stride at the plate so far in May. He's slashing .320/.414/.480 over the first 25 at-bats of the month, and already has four two-baggers and three RBI as well.

Crawford is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays.

With a lefty in J.A. Happ due up for Toronto, Crawford will head to the bench for a well-deserved day off, his first since April 15. Kelby Tomlinson will man shortstop and bat eighth, but look for Crawford to return Wednesday to face right-hander Marcus Stroman.

Baez is in the lineup and batting sixth for Tuesday's game against the Padres.

Baez will get another start at third base where he has been terrific defensively thus far. The 23-year-old is proving he belongs with the Cubs, hitting .306/.333/.490 with two home runs, including a walk-off Sunday against the Nationals, and five RBI through 18 games.

Castro is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies.

Castro is just 3-for-39 over the past 12 games, so Atlanta is likely giving him the day off and trying to get him some good matchups to help him break out of his slump. Chase D'Arnaud will get the start at second base in his place.

D'Arnaud is in the lineup and batting seventh for Tuesday's game against the Phillies.

This will be the 29-year-old's second straight start for the Braves. He went 1-for-5 with a strikeout Sunday against Arizona.

Story doubled twice and knocked in three runs in Monday's loss to Arizona.

Story has a five-game hitting streak rolling and now has four extra-base hits and five RBI over that span. He also struck out two more times and has a brutal 33.3 percent strikeout rate this season, but as long as he keeps hitting for power whenever he makes contact, Story's strikeouts will be more than worth enduring.

Seager is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.

With lefty Steven Matz on the mound for the Mets, Seager will get a night out of the starting lineup while Charlie Culberson plays shortstop and bats eighth.