MLB Player News

Swanson (foot) increased his on-field activities Saturday, fielding a round of grounders at shortstop, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

It was reported earlier in the week that Swanson had been doing some hitting and was fielding short hops from his knees. He has taken another step forward, but Swanson is still not especially close to playing in games. The Braves just signed Adeiny Hechavarria on Friday to help out at shortstop while Swanson is on the mend.

DeJong is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.

This is a bit of an eyebrow raiser considering DeJong homered again Friday, his second homer in three games, but to this point there has been no mention of an injury. Consider it a breather for now. Yairo Munoz will start at shortstop and bat eighth against right-hander Anthony DeSclafani.

Velazquez was placed on the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Columbus with a hamstring injury.

He returned from a hamstring injury a couple weeks ago, so it seems like he aggravated it. Velazquez, who was traded from Tampa Bay in early July, is versatile defensively but probably won't ever hit enough to be a big-league regular.

Edman went 3-for-5 with an RBI single and three runs in a win over the Reds on Friday.

Edman was a thorn in the side of Reds pitching throughout the night, setting the table effectively for both Marcell Ozuna and Paul Goldschmidt in the process. The rookie's defensive versatility -- he played both corner-outfield spots Friday -- is helping to keep him in the lineup on an everyday basis, and he's now compiled four multi-hit efforts over his last six starts.

DeJong went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in a win over the Reds on Friday.

DeJong launched one of four homers on the night for the hot-hitting Cardinals, marking the second time he's left the yard in the last three games. The 26-year-old has hits in eight of 13 games this month, slightly improving his fortunes after hitting just .205 in July.

Rojas (hamstring) has begun running and participating in baseball activities, Manny Randhawa of MLB.com reports.

There's no timetable yet for his return. Rojas may have to settle for a utility role when he does rejoin the Marlins given Jon Berti's performance in his absence as the starting shortstop.

Ahmed went 3-for-4 with a walk, a double, a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Friday's 10-9 loss to the Giants.

Ahmed cranked his fourth homer in the last six games and has driven in 11 runs during that stretch. He's slugged 15 homers over 121 games, one fewer than he hit in 153 games in 2018. Over the first few months of the season, Ahmed provided a respectable batting average but little of the pop he showed last season. Since the middle of June, however, he's started tapping into that power without sacrificing average. The 29-year-old shortstop is batting .283/.349/.533 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI over the last 53 games.

Wendle (wrist) will move his rehab to High-A Charlotte on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

A report Friday alluded to Wendle eventually moving his rehab to Triple-A Durham on Tuesday, which is still slated to come to pass if he remains free of setbacks. However, he'll apparently move up his level of competition over the weekend ahead of that transition, jumping up to the Stone Crabs for what's likely to be a pair of appearances. Wendle is expected to need several more rehab games before being ready for activation.

Crawford went 0-for-2 before he was removed as part of a double switch in Friday's extra-innings win over Arizona.

Crawford started against a righty as he usually does, but he was taken out after just two at-bats. His eventual replacement, Donovan Solano (2-for-3), outperformed Crawford yet again, and the latter may have to start showing more at the plate to avoid losing more than just starts against lefties to the backup infielder. Crawford is currently slashing an anemic .222/.296/.348 this season.

Arcia went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a 2-1 loss to the Nationals on Friday.

While he's approaching a career high in the homer category, this was Arcia's first long ball since July 5. He has just two home runs in his last 102 at-bats. Overall, Arcia is batting .228 with 13 home runs, 42 RBI, 46 runs and seven steals in 377 at-bats this season.