MLB Player News

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

After recently starting nine times during a 10-game span, Diaz will be on the bench for the third day in a row Wednesday. The return of Jose Altuve from the COVID-19 injured list earlier this week appears to have closed Diaz's window for regular playing time. He'll now transition back into a utility role, which may only afford him a start or two per week when the Astros have their full complement of position players available.

Baez (hamstring) isn't starting Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

Baez worked on the field ahead of Wednesday's contest, but he'll be out of the lineup for a third straight game due to a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. Nico Hoerner will take over at shortstop and bat eighth. Manager David Ross said that Baez was moving well during his pregame work, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports. As a result, he'll be available off the bench Wednesday and could be back in the starting nine for Thursday's series finale against Atlanta.

The Royals plan to have Witt begin the minor-league season at Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports.

Kansas City's decision to send Witt to Double-A rather than Triple-A Omaha shouldn't have much bearing on when the prized prospect gets a big-league call-up, which will likely come at some point this summer. Since Witt has yet to make his debut in affiliated ball, the Royals may just want to see how he fares against high-level minor-league competition for a period of time before summoning him to the majors. Witt has been developed as a shortstop up to this point, but since Adalberto Mondesi (oblique) will have that position locked down once activated from the injured list, the 20-year-old may get some exposure to second base as well as the outfield during his time at Northwest Arkansas.

Wendle is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The lefty-hitting Wendle will get a breather with southpaw Cole Irvin on the bump for Oakland. With Wendle on the bench, Yandy Diaz and Willy Adames will fill out the left side of the infield.

Seager isn't in Wednesday's lineup against the Reds, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Seager went 0-for-4 with a walk in Tuesday's loss to Cincinnati. Gavin Lux will shift to shortstop while Chris Taylor starts at second base.

Baez underwent an MRI on Tuesday that revealed a Grade 1 left hamstring strain, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Baez hasn't appeared in either of the last two games due to a hamstring issue, although he was reportedly available off the bench Tuesday. The 28-year-old's hamstring strain is considered to be mild, and the team will monitor him ahead of Wednesday's game against Atlanta.

Crawford went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored Tuesday against the Rockies.

Crawford returned from a two-game absence caused by a quadriceps injury. He promptly swatted a clutch homer, tying the game at four in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was Crawford's fourth home run of the season, though he is still hitting .217/.260/.520 across 73 plate appearances.

Berti went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored in a 5-4 loss to the Brewers on Tuesday.

Berti singled and scored a run in the fifth and then came back up in the seventh and sent a long ball to straightaway center to reduce the Marlins' deficit to 5-4. Tuesday was only his second multi-hit effort of the season, but it included his second home run in four games after he failed to leave the yard during first 17 contests. Overall, Berti is still struggling at the plate, as he's slashing .212/.300/.385 with five extra-base hits, eight RBI and nine runs scored to go along with a 6:16 BB:K.

Edman went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Phillies.

Edman notched a hit for a third straight game when he roped a double down the right-field line to plate a pair of runs and put the Cardinals up 3-1 in the second inning. The 26-year-old would end up getting on base again in the seventh with a single and came around to score on a Paul Goldschmidt double to extend his team's lead to 5-2. Edman is now slashing .277/.333/.394 with two home runs, six RBI and 12 runs scored as the Cardinals' primary leadoff hitter.

Swanson went 3-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 6-0 win over the Cubs.

All three hits were singles, but Swanson did improve his line with his first steal of the season. The shortstop came into this series having gone just 3-for-26 over the last eight contests, but he's feasting off Cubs pitching with five hits in the last two games.