MLB Player News

Crawford is not guaranteed to get a promotion to the majors in September when rosters expand, Jim Salibury of CSN Philadelphia reports.

Crawford does not have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. The Phillies may opt to use a 40-man roster spot on a different player which would leave Crawford in the minors for the remainder of the season. He is expected to get a chance to compete for a starting job next season, regardless of what happens next month.

Diaz (thumb) will resume working out next week, Frank Cusumano of KSDK Sports reports.

Diaz is in the early stages of his recovery from a broken thumb, but he is set to get back to baseball activities at the Cardinals' spring training complex at some point next week. It still remains to be seen how long he will be sidelined, but it figures to be several more weeks.

Arcia will hit second in the order Saturday against the Diamondbacks.

Arcia hit seventh in his first three big league games against right-handers, but he will replace Scooter Gennett in the second spot Saturday with the Brewers facing left-hander Patrick Corbin. Arcia is just 1-for-11 through three big league games, but his contact improved in Friday's game and he picked up both his first hit and RBI in the process.

Baez is out of the lineup for Saturday's matchup with Oakland.

After starting the last four games, Baez will get a day off as Ben Zobrist gets the start at second. Baez could use a mental break, as he's 2-for-22 with 12 strikeouts over his last six games.

Turner went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and two runs in Friday's 5-1 victory over the Giants.

The dynamic leadoff man is now adding the long ball to his impressive repertoire, as he's homered in back-to-back contests. The 23-year-old has also hit safely in each of the first four games of August, and has multi-hit efforts in three of those contests. Turner has five RBI over that span and has already racked up 10 extra-base hits as part of an impressive .321/.353/.543 line over 81 at-bats.

Story (thumb) underwent surgery Thursday to repair a torn UCL in his thumb.

While it was initially thought that Story merely had a jammed thumb, follow-up tests revealed that he had in fact torn a ligament. Although there's been no official word on his shelf time, it seems likely that the shortstop will be shut down for the rest of the season. There's plenty of reason for excitement down the road for the 23-year-old, as he was on pace for 100-plus runs and RBI prior to the injury.

Crawford, 21, is batting .255/.343/.335 with three home runs, 24 RBI and seven steals through 66 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Crawford hasn't exactly scalded the ball at this level, but he is just 21 years of age and has an extremely advanced approach at the dish. In those 66 games, he has 42 strikeouts as compared to 33 walks. The Phils could decide to give him a cup of coffee in the big leagues in September with an eye towards the starting shortstop job in 2017.

Gordon went 3-for-5 with one run scored and two steals in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs.

Gordon has hit in five of six starts since returning from an 80-game PED suspension on July 28, compiling a solid .348/.423/.391 slash line while going 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts. There was speculation that Gordon would be subject to a platoon with backup Derek Dietrich in order to keep the latter fresh for a potential playoff run (Gordon is ineligible for the post-season), however, manager Don Mattingly appears content to get his best available lineup out there everyday and that includes Dee Gordon atop the order. He's literally hit the ground running in his return and will be a massive source of speed over the final two months of the season.

The Braves have optioned Castro back to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

It was a short stay for Castro, who was called up to Atlanta on Sunday. During his brief stint, Castro got no at-bats for the Braves. He will head back to Triple-A Gwinnett where he was hitting .264 in 110 at-bats, showing minimal power and speed.

Swanson, 22, is hitting .258/.334/.413 with eight home runs, 42 RBI and five steals through 75 games with Double-A Mississippi.

Though he's batting just .205 in his last 10 contests, Swanson does have a home run, seven RBI and two steals over that span. Swanson remains the shortstop of the future for the Braves, and should be in the mix for the starting job as early as next season.