MLB Player News

Owings is out of the lineup on Friday against the Dodgers.

Owings will remain on the bench for the second game in a row with right-hander James Shields on the mound for the Padres. Socrates Brito will take over in center and bat second in Owing's place.

Seager is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.

The Dodgers will give Charlie Culberson a start at shortstop with Madison Bumgarner on the mound for the opposition. Seager also sat against Bumgarner last week, and perhaps he will continue to lose out on starts against tough southpaws, but the 21-year-old should continue to play on a near-everyday basis for Los Angeles.

Castro is in the lineup and batting second for Friday's game against the Marlins.

Castro is 1-for-1 to start 2016 and will make his first start of the season in place of Erick Aybar. He has hit lefties significantly better than righties in his young career, so a matchup with Marlins' southpaw Wei-Yin Chen could prove favorable.

Seager went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Thursday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Seager started off the series with a 1-for-3 performance that included a walk and a double, but he went hitless in his final eight at-bats against Arizona. Considering that Wendesday and Thursday were Seager's only games without a hit this season, there's no reason for concern whatsoever here. That said, he will draw a tough matchup Friday with Madison Bumgarner on the hill for the Giants. Manager Dave Roberts left Seager out of the lineup in the Dodgers' last game against the Bumgarner.

Baez (thumb) was activated from the disabled list Friday, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Baez is set to rejoin the big club after being sidelined for nearly a month with his thumb injury. He will open in a super-utility role for the Cubs and will not start every day, which will be the case Friday when the Cubs take on the Rockies. However, Joe Maddon is known to get creative with his lineups, so expect Baez to rotate among the infield positions, and possibly even see some time in the outfield.

MLB.com's Carrie Muskat expects Baez (thumb) to join the Cubs on Friday.

Although the move remains unofficial, The Des Moines Register backs up the statement. On the disabled list since the beginning of the season, Baez has been playing with the team's Triple-A Iowa affiliate of late, going 4-for-15 with a home run, a stolen base and an RBI in four games. With Kyle Schwarber (knee) out for the remainder of the season, Baez could see a fair amount of action between the infield and outfield upon rejoining the Cubs. If the 23-year-old slugger can manage to cut down on his strikeout rate, his fantasy value could increase dramatically.

Adrianza fouled a ball off his foot Thursday, and though X-rays came back negative, it's unclear if he'll be available for Friday's game against the Dodgers, Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

The Giants could be thin at shortstop Friday as Adrianza and Brandon Crawford suffered injuries in Thursday's series finale. Manager Bruce Bochy told reporters that he hopes that both Crawford and Adrianza will be available Friday, but that won't be certain until the Giants' lineup is released. If neither Adrianza nor Crawford are able to give it a go Friday, Kelby Tomlinson could fill in at shortstop.

Crawford is dealing with some hip flexor soreness but manager Bruce Bochy hopes to have him in the lineup Friday against the Dodgers, Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area reports.

Crawford's hip flexor reportedly flared up during the course of Thursday's game against the Rockies. He was able to log three at bats Thursday, but he went 0-for-3 before being replaced by Ehire Adrianza. Unfortunately, Adrianza fouled a ball off his foot Thursday and is also banged up, so if neither he nor Crawford are available Friday, the Giants could have to call upon Kelby Thompson to start at shortstop.

Owings is out of the lineup Thursday against the Dodgers.

Owings received the start Wednesday with lefty Alex Wood on the bump for Los Angeles, but he'll retreat to the bench with right-hander Ross Stripling starting Thursday. Socrates Brito will man center field and bat second in his stead.

Baez (thumb) will make the road trip with Triple-A Iowa and continue his rehab assignment, Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register reports.

Baez has been playing well during his rehab assignment, but isn't quite ready to return to the Cubs. He will continue to see everyday at-bats in Triple-A until he is recalled, which is likely to be sometime next week. When healthy, Baez will likely take on a utility role with the Cubs and could see action at second base, third base, and potentially even the outfield.