MLB Player News

Chang was designated for assignment by the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The move clears space for Wander Franco (wrist) to return from the injured list. Chang hit a respectable .260/.305/.385 (good for a 102 wRC+) in 36 games this season but still owns a poor 76 wRC+ for his career.

Franco (wrist) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays were hopeful that Franco would be cleared to return to the lineup Friday against the Yankees, and he was ultimately activated after testing his injury prior to the game. The 21-year-old appeared in three rehab games over the last week and went 6-for-11 with a double, two runs, an RBI and a walk. Franco will reclaim his role as Tampa Bay's everyday shortstop now that he's fully healthy.

Marcano is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Marcano is mired in a 4-for-33 slump and finds himself on the bench for the fourth time in Pittsburgh last six games. Jack Suwinski and Cal Mitchell have settled into the starting roles in left and right field, respectively.

Wendle is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Mets, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Wendle will take a seat as the Marlins start all right-handed bats versus lefty David Peterson. Jon Berti will slide over to third base as Charles Leblanc enters the lineup at second base and bats seventh against New York.

Crawford isn't in the lineup Friday against the Cubs.

Crawford has gone 4-for-18 with a homer, four RBI and three runs over his six games since the start of September, but he'll be on the bench for the third time in the last four games. Thairo Estrada is starting at shortstop and batting fifth.

Bogaerts (back) is starting at shortstop and batting third Friday versus the Orioles, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Bogaerts is back in the lineup after missing Wednesday's contest with the Rays while dealing with back spasms. The 29-year-old has produced 11 multi-hit efforts in his last 13 games, batting .462 with two homers, 13 RBI, 11 runs and a stolen base over 52 at-bats during that stretch.

Mateo isn't starting Friday against the Red Sox, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Mateo started the last two games and went 1-for-6 with a triple, two runs, a walk and two strikeouts. Gunnar Henderson will take over at shortstop and bat fifth Friday.

Wendle went 1-for-5 with one homer and two runs scored in Thursday's 6-5 win over the Phillies.

Wendle hit a solo homer off Kyle Gibson with one out in the fifth inning to give the Marlins the lead. The infielder is having a bit of a down year offensively in his first season with the Marlins, and his .248 batting average and .352 slugging percentage are the lowest they've been since 2019. However, Wendle's 12.8 percent strikeout rate is the lowest it's ever been in the 32-year-old's career.

Abrams went 2-for-5 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's victory over the Cardinals.

After receiving the day off Wednesday, Abrams picked up right where he left off, with two hits Thursday. He is now batting .360 (9-for-25) in his last six games to improve his slash line to .230/.274/.305 on the season. He has also scored five runs in that stretch, as he has been somewhat of a second leadoff hitter batting mostly in the ninth spot in the order.

Duran was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Duran appeared to be in line for a reduced role with the Rangers since Josh Jung is expected to make his major-league debut Friday. However, Duran will ultimately be sent to the minors after Josh Smith was recalled from Round Rock following a strong performance at Triple-A over the last two and a half weeks. Duran has hit .236 with five homers, 25 runs, 25 RBI and four stolen bases over 58 big-league games this season but should see regular at-bats in the minors.