MLB Player News

Seager is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's game in Miami.

Seager will get a breather for the Rangers' first game of the second half after he appeared in the All-Star Game on Tuesday on the other side of the country. Marcus Semien will slide over to shortstop while Charlie Culberson enters the lineup at second base and bats ninth Thursday.

McLain, who is on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Chattanooga with a wrist injury, is expected to return to action at some point next week, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Once McLain is ready to play again, he'll be joined in the Chattanooga infield by top prospect Elly De La Cruz, who was promoted from High-A Dayton on Wednesday. De La Cruz bounced between shortstop and third base during his time at Dayton and is expected to continue seeing reps at both positions, which should allow a healthy McLain to see consistent time at the two middle-infield spots. Before he was deactivated in late June, McLain slashed .233/.349/.461 with 12 home runs and 16 stolen bases across 261 plate appearances for the Double-A club.

The Reds promoted Cruz from High-A Dayton to Double-A Chattanooga on Wednesday, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The switch-hitting infielder's promotion comes after he took part in the All-Star Futures Game over the weekend. De La Cruz, the Reds' top prospect, earned the invite to the exhibition game after slashing .306/.363/.609 with 19 home runs and 28 stolen bases across 306 plate appearances for Dayton. As he makes the jump to Chattanooga, De La Cruz is expected to split his time between both third base and shortstop so that fellow top prospect Matt McLain (wrist) can continue to see his fair share of time at the latter position.

DeJong was named the International League Player of the Week on Tuesday.

DeJong returned from a hand injury last Tuesday and hit .364 with three home runs, 11 RBI and seven runs scored in six games. The shortstop is up to 14 homers and 17 RBI in 46 games with Triple-A Memphis. He's batting .236, but an .811 OPS shows he's been able to flex some power since he was sent down in May. A little more consistency with the bat could get the 28-year-old a look for a promotion later in the summer if the Cardinals need infield depth.

Downs went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 13-2 loss to the Yankees.

Downs brought Boston to within one run with the first home run of his MLB career, a two-run shot off Gerrit Cole in the third inning. Sunday may have been his final MLB action at this juncture, as the Red Sox anticipate the returns of Christian Arroyo (groin) and Trevor Story (hand) after the All-Star break.

Pena went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Sunday against the Athletics.

Pena took Adam Oller yard in the fifth inning to record his 13th homer of the season. In seven games since returning from health and safety protocols, Pena has hit .207 with four RBI and two runs scored. Despite the slow stretch, Pena has still maintained a .263/.310/.454 across 284 plate appearances on the season.

Adames went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 9-5 loss to the Giants.

Adames concluded the Brewers' first-half schedule with a pair of two-hit games to lift his batting average to .220. His first-inning home run was his 19th of the season, keeping him one ahead of Rowdy Tellez for the team lead.

Lindor went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Sunday's loss to the Cubs.

The shortstop extended his current hitting streak to 11 games in the final contest before the All-Star break, while the steal was his 10th of the season. Lindor has seven career seasons with double-digit pilfers, and the only time he failed to reach that mark was in the shortened 2020 campaign.

Crawford underwent an MRI on Sunday that revealed nothing more than bruising and inflammation to his right knee, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

While the knee issue was still deemed significant enough for the Giants to place Crawford on the 10-day injured list Saturday, the veteran shortstop should have a good chance at being available July 26 when first eligible for activation. Thairo Estrada is expected to serve as the Giants' primary shortstop while Crawford is on the shelf.

Castillo will start in right field and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Though he's back in the lineup for the series finale while lefty Austin Gomber takes the bump for Colorado, the righty-hitting Castillo was on the bench in both of the previous two games, when the Rockies brought right-handers to the hill. As such, Castillo looks to be stuck in the short side of a platoon at the moment.