MLB Player News

Franco continues to work out regularly at the Rays' alternate training site in Port Charlotte, but he's unlikely to receive a promotion to the big club at any point in 2020, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 2020 Super Two deadline has come and gone, but the extra year of service time the Rays have already gained won't be enough to entice the organization to call up its top prospect. Instead, the Rays appear inclined to treat this season as another development one for the 19-year-old phenom, who will at least have the benefit of playing in simulated games against some of the team's top pitching prospects in Port Charlotte. Assuming he stays healthy and continues to pass any tests the organization's braintrust gives him, Franco looks on track to make his MLB debut at some point in early 2021.

Velazquez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Velazquez had started the past two days at shortstop and went hitless with a walk in six plate appearances, but he'll give way to Pat Valaika in the series finale. Both Velazquez and Valaika are both still expected to see additional opportunities in the middle infield for at least the next week and a half after Jose Iglesias (quadriceps) was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday.

Anderson went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, three RBI and three runs scored in Tuesday's 10-4 win over the Tigers.

Anderson has been on fire of late, extending his hitting streak to three games and going 7-for-13 with two homers, five RBI, four extra-base hits and seven runs scored in that stretch. He also increased his average to a stellar .379, one of the highest marks in the American League, making it easy to forgive the lack of steals so far.

Ahmed went 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, five RBI and one run scored Tuesday against the Athletics.

Ahmed's big day at the dish began in the first inning when he clubbed a three-run home run to left field. The next frame, he delivered a two-RBI single to give the Diamondbacks an 8-1 lead. The performance brought his home-run total to three on the season and also continued his good form at the plate, as he has at least one hit in 12 of his last 14 starts. To this point in the campaign, Ahmed has a .275/.341/.438 line with 15 runs scored and 16 RBI across 88 plate appearances.

DeJong cleared MLB's COVID-19 protocols and took part in a workout at Busch Stadium on Tuesday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

The 27-year-old was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Aug. 4, so he's been away from the team for over two weeks. President of baseball operations John Mozeliak previously indicated DeJong wouldn't be activated prior to Thursday. Tommy Edman has started every game at shortstop since St. Louis returned to play over the weekend, and he figures to remain there until DeJong is activated.

Arcia isn't in the lineup Tuesday against the Twins.

Arcia had a monster game Sunday against the Cubs as he was a double away from hitting for the cycle, but he'll get a breather for the series opener against Minnesota. Luis Urias will start at shortstop.

Rojas (COVID-19 injured list) was assigned to the Marlins' alternate training site in Jupiter on Saturday after receiving clearance to resume baseball activities, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

The Marlins have cleared all 18 of their players that have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the season to resume training, indicating that none of those individuals suffered from overly serious symptoms of the coronavirus. Since Rojas was sidelined for about three weeks while recovering from COVID-19 and waiting to clear the necessary protocols, he'll presumably need several days to prepare himself for a return to game action. Once the Marlins deem him ready to return from the COVID-19 IL, Rojas will likely settle back in as Miami's everyday shortstop.

Correa is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Colorado, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

Correa sits for just the second time this season in what appears to be simply a routine day off. Jack Mayfield will take over at shortstop.

Ahmed went 2-for-3 with a double, a run scored and a walk in Monday's win against the Athletics.

Ahmed snapped a six-game hitting streak Sunday against the Padres, but bounced back quickly with his fourth multi-hit effort over the last seven days. The slick-fielding shortstop has hit .333 with a .903 OPS in 51 at-bats this month.

Swanson went 3-for-6 with a two-run home run and a second run scored in Monday's 7-6 win over the Nationals.

He capped a big night at the plate in dramatic fashion with a walkoff homer off Nats closer Daniel Hudson in the ninth inning. Swanson has hit safely in five straight games, going 10-for-23 (.435) during that hot streak, and on the year he's now hitting .298 with three homers and 16 RBI through 24 contests.