MLB Player News

Witt (hamstring) is not starting Tuesday's game against the Angels, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.

The rookie is missing his second straight game after hurting his hamstring Sunday. Witt should still be considered day-to-day until the Royals provide further updates on his injury, and Nicky Lopez is the shortstop Tuesday.

Pena went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double, a walk and two total runs in a loss to the Athletics on Monday.

Pena's first-inning solo homer gave Houston an early lead, but the team never led after the third frame. The rookie shortstop also homered against Seattle on Sunday, and this was the first time in his major-league career that he's gone deep in consecutive games. Pena ranks second among rookies with 15 home runs on the season, which trails Seattle's Julio Rodriguez by one.

Duran went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Mariners.

Duran hit a single and scored on a wild pitch in the third inning. He also walked and stole second in the fourth, giving him three steals in four attempts this year. The infielder has hit safely in all five games since the All-Star break, going 5-for-17 (.294) in that span. He's started at third base in three of those contests, though it doesn't appear the right-handed hitter is getting platooned since he's started against four righties. In 21 contests overall, Duran has a .266/.301/.418 slash line with two home runs, nine RBI and 13 runs scored.

Crawford (knee) was cleared to begin a running program Monday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Crawford has already been spotted taking part in infield work, and this is another positive sign. However, the team has yet to comment on when he could go out on a rehab assignment.

Berti (groin) hit in the cage and ran recently, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com

Berti has been on the injured list with a left groin strain since July 15, but it's encouraging to see him resume baseball activities. It's not yet clear when the 32-year-old will be able to rejoin the Marlins or whether he'll require a rehab assignment at some point.

Velazquez will start at shortstop and bat ninth Monday against the Royals, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Velazquez appeared to have moved into a utility role following Michael Stefanic's promotion to the big leagues earlier this month, but interim manager Phil Nevin seems to have soured on the slumping rookie coming out of the All-Star break. Stefanic is on the bench Monday for the third time in five second-half contests, while Velazquez has now picked up four starts over that same stretch. Aside from providing some useful speed (12-for-12 on stolen-base attempts), Velazquez has been a black hole of fantasy production this season. He enters Monday's contest with a .170/.210/.262 slash line to go with five home runs, 23 runs and 21 RBI across 246 plate appearances.

Abrams (biceps) isn't starting Monday's game against the Tigers.

Abrams will sit out for a third consecutive game after he was scratched from Saturday's lineup due to right biceps soreness. Ha-Seong Kim is starting at shortstop and batting ninth.

Wendle isn't starting Monday's game against Cincinnati, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Wendle started the first four games after the All-Star break and went 7-for-18 with a double, two RBI, a run, two stolen bases and a strikeout. Willians Astudillo is starting at second base while Luke Williams takes over at the hot corner Monday.

Downs is not in the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the Guardians, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Downs will get a breather after he went 0-for-11 with eight strikeouts in the weekend series versus the Blue Jays. Bobby Dalbec will take over at third base and bat seventh versus Cleveland.

Witt (hamstring) is not in the starting lineup Monday versus the Angels.

Witt tweaked his hamstring Sunday and will now be unavailable for Monday's series opener. The exact nature of his injury remains to be seen and he is considered day-to-day for the time being. Nicky Lopez will slide over to shortstop while Emmanuel Rivera takes over at third base and bats sixth against Los Angeles.