MLB Player News

Diaz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-2 loss to the Rays.

The homer was his sixth of the season and second in as many days. Despite his current power display, Diaz hasn't had a multi-hit game since April 17, dragging his slash line down to .196/.257/.412 on the season. Once his .173 BABIP begins regressing back towards his .285 career mark, however, Diaz's overall numbers should rise.

Baez went 2-for-4 with a run scored in Friday's loss to the Cardinals.

Baez got a start at shortstop and batted eighth, as Ben Zobrist slid in at second base and batted leadoff. Baez primarily batted eighth early in the season, though he recently had gotten some run in the No. 2 hole. Cubs manager Joe Maddon is known for tinkering with his lineups, so the young infielder will likely move around more moving forward. He's been productive no matter where he's hit, posting a .287/.336/.620 slash line to this point.

Crawford went 3-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Friday's 9-4 victory over Atlanta.

Crawford didn't have a multi-hit game since April 13 prior to Wednesday, but has now done so in back-to-back games. The home run is his third of the season and only his seventh total extra-base hit. The 31-year-old appears headed in the right direction after starting the season with career-worst strikeout (28.3 percent) and walk rates (5.7 percent), but he still has significant work to do on his .223/.261/.350 line.

Swanson was put on the 10-day disabled list prior to Friday's game due to left wrist inflammation.

Since Swanson's sore left wrist didn't appear to be healing as quickly as the team would've hoped, both parties agreed that a short stint on the disabled list was the best route. The shortstop will be eligible to return against the Marlins on May 13. In a corresponding move, Preston Tucker was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Urena was called up from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Urena will head back up to the major leagues after spending 21 games with the Blue Jays last September. The 22-year-old is set to take on the role of reserve infielder during his time with the team.

Castro is in the lineup for the third game in a row Friday against the Mets, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Castro has started at second base in every game since being called up Tuesday. He seems entrenched as the temporary starter while DJ LeMahieu is out with a hamstring injury, though LeMahieu is eligible to return Tuesday, so Castro's window may not stay open long. The 25-year-old is just 1-for-8 so far this year, but with a few more hits over the weekend could make a case to remain on the roster once LeMahieu returns, as fellow utility man Pat Valaika is hitting just .091/.167/.145 through his first 61 plate appearances.

Wendle is not in the lineup Friday as the Rays take on J.A. Happ and the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Wendle and Daniel Robertson have platooned at second base all year, with Wendle starting against all righties and Robertson starting against all lefties (as well as starting elsewhere occasionally against righties). Wendle is off to a strong start at the plate, hitting .316/.376/.474 through 85 plate appearances, though his .383 BABIP points toward lower base-line skills.

Swanson (wrist) is not in the lineup Friday against San Francisco.

Expectedly, Swanson will sit for a second straight game after suffering a left wrist injury Wednesday. Johan Camargo will start at shortstop and bat seventh.

Mateo collected four hits -- including his first two home runs of the season -- before Triple-A Nashville's game against Colorado Springs on Thursday was suspended in the eighth inning, Kelsie Heneghan of MiLB.com reports.

Nashville and Colorado Springs won't finish the halted game until Aug. 9, so Mateo's excellent production won't be included on his season stat line until that date. It was easily the best performance of 2018 for Mateo, who had recorded just five hits in 60 at-bats over his prior 15 games to leave his season batting line at .165/.206/.231 through 97 plate appearances. The low on-base percentage has prevented Mateo from regularly putting his premium speed on display, with the shortstop having been limited to four steals (on seven attempts) thus far.

Correa went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Yankees.

Like many of his teammates, Correa's bat went quiet during the four-game set against the Yankees, but he salvaged some success with his fifth home run of the season in the eighth inning, a 446-foot shot measuring as the longest one hit at Minute Maid Park in 2018. It ended an 11-game streak without a homer. As one might expect from a third or fourth place hitter in a stacked lineup, Correa leads the Astros with 22 RBI, ranking him 17th in MLB.