MLB Player News

Witt (hand) is starting at shortstop and batting third Friday against the Guardians.

Witt hasn't seen the field since suffering the hand injury late in Tuesday's contest, but he'll rejoin the lineup for Thursday's series opener in Cleveland. The 22-year-old is 3-for-21 with a home run, two walks, three RBI and two runs through five appearances in July.

Mateo went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Angels.

Mateo has logged two steals in his last three games since it was revealed he has been dealing with a sore left quad. The 27-year-old clearly isn't too hampered by it when running, as he's up to 21 stolen bases this season and he hasn't been caught stealing since June 14. He's added a .194/.249/.320 slash line through 275 plate appearances this year while regularly hitting at the bottom of the order.

Castillo went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Reds.

The rookie gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead with a solo shot in the fifth inning off Mike Minor and added a single off Ian Gibaut in the eighth. The homer was Castillo's first blast since July 28 and his ninth of the season. However, he's still only slashing .198/.240/.371 through his first 70 games.

Anderson went 1-for-4 with a run scored Thursday against the Tigers.

Anderson started a ninth-inning rally for the White Sox with a one-out single before coming around to score. He's hit .205 with one extra-base hit across his last 10 games, though he's still scored seven runs and swiped two bags in that span. Even with the slow stretch, Anderson has maintained an excellent .313 average across 244 plate appearances on the season.

Cruz went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Reds.

After sitting out the afternoon game, Cruz returned for Game 2 and notched his second steal of the campaign. The strikeouts are piling up at an alarming rate (22 strikeouts now in 17 MLB games this season), and Cruz will need to make more consistent contact in the years to come to get the most out of his immense skills.

Swanson went 1-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases in a 3-2 loss in extra innings Thursday against St. Louis.

Swanson walked and stole second in the first and singled and swiped a bag in the fifth. The shortstop continues to play well and has a .355/.375/.581 with five extra-base hits and three stolen bases in 32 plate appearances in July. Swanson joins Julio Rodriguez and Kyle Tucker as the only players in baseball with 14 homers and 14 stolen bases.

Baez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 2-1 win over the White Sox.

Dylan Cease and two Chicago relievers held the Tigers to just five total hits, but Baez made his lone hit count, going deep against Cease in the fourth inning. The shortstop now has eight long balls this season, with five of those coming since June 18. Baez can be a bit streaky, but he's trending in the right direction.

Pena (COVID-19 protocols) will travel with the team to Oakland, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena was scratched from Thursday's lineup against the Royals due to health and safety protocols, but it seems likely that he'll be able to avoid a trip to the COVID-19 IL since he'll remain with the Astros during their road trip. The 24-year-old should be considered day-to-day ahead of Friday's series opener against the Athletics.

Edman isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Edman went 1-for-13 with three strikeouts over the last three games and will get a breather in Thursday's series finale. Edmundo Sosa is starting at shortstop and batting eighth.

Adrianza is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Phillies, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Adrianza had started in each of the last four games, though he's expected to fade into more of a part-time role moving forward since Nelson Cruz's (illness) return from a two-game absence will no longer leave an extra lineup spot available. Maikel Franco, who made one start as the Nationals' designated hitter while Cruz was out, will be back in the lineup at third base Thursday.