MLB Player News

Anderson (hamstring) took grounders ahead of Thursday's game against the Athletics, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Anderson participated in batting practice Wednesday, and his on-field work continued ahead of Thursday's series finale in Oakland. Manager Tony La Russa said Tuesday that the shortstop remains without a timetable to return to game action, but his recent participation in baseball activities has been encouraging.

Mauricio was promoted to Double-A Binghamton on Thursday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Mauricio hasn't excelled at the plate this season, with his .242/.290/.449 slash line in 100 games for High-A Brooklyn equating to a sub-par 94 wRC+. He's been much better over his last 50 games, however, posting an .814 OPS after struggling to a .666 OPS over his first 50. Considering that he's just 20 years old and is also a full-time shortstop, there's reason to be encouraged as he works his way into the upper minors.

Seager isn't starting Thursday's game against the Cardinals, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Seager will get a breather after he went 4-for-10 with a double, three RBI and two runs across the last three games. Trea Turner will shift to shortstop while Mookie Betts starts at second base.

Ahmed went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-5 loss to Texas.

The shortstop went yard in the ninth inning, but Arizona's two-run rally wasn't enough to get close to a tie. Five of Ahmed's last 10 hits have gone for extra bases (three doubles, one triple, one homer), a span of 10 games overall. He's hitting .223/.283/.345 with five long balls, 38 RBI, 45 runs scored and seven stolen bases across 450 plate appearances this year, but he continues to see a significant share of playing time.

Crawford went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in Wednesday's 7-4 win over Colorado.

The 34-year-old erased a three-run deficit with his sixth-inning blast, which earned him his second 20-homer season. Crawford has stayed hot at the plate in September, going 10-for-28 (.357) with six RBI, three runs scored and three doubles in addition to Wednesday's homer. For the year, the shortstop owns a career-best .293/.364/.513 slash line with 80 RBI, 61 runs scored and 10 stolen bases across 462 plate appearances.

Crawford went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run and a walk in Wednesday's 8-5 win over Houston.

The shortstop extended Seattle's lead to 8-4 with his ninth-inning blast. Crawford's homer gave Seattle a little more breathing room when Alex Bregman homered in the bottom of the ninth. In his last 16 games, Crawford has gone 19-for-71 (.267), hitting safely in 13 of those contests. He's slashing .267/.332/.364 with seven homers, 44 RBI, 75 runs scored and three stolen bases through 585 plate appearances.

Anderson (hamstring) took batting practice Wednesday and has been doing some straight-line running, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Anderson remains without a timeline for his return, but it's nonetheless encouraging that he's taking part in at least some baseball activities. The 28-year-old will need to ramp up his activity level before a potential return date comes into focus.

Velazquez went 2-for-3 with a run and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to Toronto.

Velazquez entered Tuesday's contest having gone 1-for-11 over his previous six games while seeing a significant decline in playing time due to the return of Gleyber Torres. The 27-year-old managed his first multi-hit performance since Aug. 19 and his first theft since Aug. 24. Velazquez is slashing .242/.254/.387 with a home run, six RBI and four steals on the season.

Adames (quadriceps) hit in the batting cage Wednesday and revealed he may not be 100 percent recovered until the offseason, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Adames landed on the injured list Sunday after aggravating his strained left quad, and it's unclear how long he's going to be sidelined. The 26-year-old should return this season but isn't expected to be fully healthy, though he hopes to get back to "at least 95 percent" in advance of the playoffs.

Downs (thumb) has gone 2-for-8 with two stolen bases in his first two games for Triple-A Worcester since being activated from the 7-day injured list Sunday.

Downs spent the minimum amount of time on the shelf with an inflamed thumb. He's been able to showcase his speed since returning to action, but the impact of his running has been somewhat offset by five strikeouts in those two games. The increased amount of swing and miss in Downs' approach at the plate is part of a distributing trend that has persisted throughout the 2021 campaign. He's struck out at a 33.1 percent clip this season, a major reason why he's sitting on a lowly .181 average over 344 plate appearances with Worcester.