MLB Player News

Rojas is starting at shortstop and batting eighth Wednesday night against Kansas City, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

With Adeiny Hechavarria sitting out Wednesday night, Rojas will get the nod to start at shortstop. Although he's hitting just .261 for the year, Rojas has increased his production at the plate lately and is hitting .286/.348/.429 over the last 14 games (22 plate appearances).

Turner went 4-for-4 with a double, but was caught stealing twice in Tuesday's 8-1 loss at Baltimore.

The rest of the Nationals offense was dormant in this one, so their leadoff man failed to accrue any other statistics despite the strong showing at the plate. Turner has been setting the table exceptionally well of late for the Orioles, and now has nine multi-hit efforts in August. The poor effort on the base paths is likely just an aberration, as he came in with 14 steals in 15 attempts.

Diaz (thumb) took ground balls Tuesday and hopes to be cleared for additional work when he sees a hand specialist next week, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

The 26-year-old shortstop is working his way back from a hairline fracture in his thumb that'll keep him out for at least the remainder of the month. However, the fact that he was able to take grounders Tuesday is a positive sign for his progress. Depending on how his visit with the hand specialist goes Monday, he could be cleared to resume swinging a bat in the near future.

Sardinas has been recalled from Triple-A El Paso and is batting eighth and playing second base in Monday's lineup against the Cubs.

Sardinas has struggled at every level this year, as he posted a .467 OPS in 77 plate appearances with the Mariners and a .571 mark in 44 games at Triple-A Tacoma. He'll give the Padres a backup with a solid, versatile glove across the diamond, but little else.

D'Arnaud is replacing the scratched Jace Peterson inMonday's lineup against Arizona, batting seventh and playing second base.

D'Arnaud has been used sparingly in August, taking just 28 plate appearances in 13 games with a .555 OPS. It's unclear what's wrong with Peterson, but an injury may open more playing time for d'Arnaud in his absence. He owns a .253/.318/.346 line with one home run in 72 games this season.

Baez is in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies.

Baez will start at third base and be batting eighth for Sunday's series finale against the Rockies at the hitter-friendly Coors Field. Over the last seven games, Baez has gone 5-for-14 with three runs scored, bringing his batting average up to .278 for the year.

Swanson will hit leadoff in Sunday's game against the Nationals.

Swanson hit eighth in his first three big league games and went 4-for-12 (.333), so he will get a shot in the leadoff role Sunday with Ender Inciarte getting a day off. Swanson received a day off Saturday, but expect him to play regularly the rest of the way.

Ahmed will have season-ending surgery on his hip, MLB.com's Steve Gilbert reports.

His hip was not responding to the cortisone shot he received, so Ahmed mad the decision to have surgery, which was the best decision for his long-term health. Ahmed has always been an all-glove shortstop and that was no different this season, as he slashed just .218/.265/.299 this season, which is down a little from his career line. Jean Segura and Chris Owings should share the duties at shortstop for the Diamondbacks over the rest of the season.

Noonan was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday.

He was given a chance to take the starting shortstop job at the big league level and run with it, but a .167/.200/.167 slash line in 20 plate appearances quickly altered the Padres' plans. Alexei Ramirez figures to be the team's starting shortstop going forward.

Owings is out of the lineup Saturday in San Diego.

Phil Gosselin will start at the keystone Saturday with Jean Segura sliding over to play shortstop. Owings has been in the lineup almost every day of late, and it is a little surprising to see him sit with a lefty on the mound, but it appears to be just a standard day off.