MLB Player News

Mondesi is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners.

Mondesi heads to the bench following six straight starts in the middle infield, during which he went 4-for-20 with a home run and a stolen base. Though manager Ned Yost initially indicated Mondesi would only play a few times per week behind middle-infield starters Whit Merrifield and Alcides Escobar, the Royals have addressed the logjam by using Escobar in center field more frequently. It thus appears that Mondesi will have a clear path to steady at-bats the rest of the season, making him an appealing target for those in deeper leagues mining for stolen-base production.

Adrianza is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cubs, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Though he played the entirety of Saturday's 14-9 loss and went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run, Adrianza required an IV after the contest, which was played amid extreme heat in Chicago, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. Temperatures are more moderate Sunday, but manager Paul Molitor decided Adrianza could benefit from a day off. Adrianza's move to the bench might become permanent: Molitor also indicated the Twins plan to reinstate Jorge Polanco from suspension and insert him into the lineup Monday in Milwaukee, per Berardino. Polanco would presumably take over as the Twins' everyday shortstop and push Adrianza to a utility role.

Camargo is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals.

Camargo has started at third base in four of the last five contests for Atlanta, but he will get a breather for the series finale. Charlie Culberson will man the hot corner in his stead.

Arcia was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs for the second time this season prior to Sunday's matchup against Cincinnati.

Arcia hasn't fared much better at the plate in the month of June, slashing .190/.215/.190 without a single extra-base hit. Though he always provides exceptional defensive play, Arcia has become a liability on the offensive end and will head to Triple-A for the second time this season. His first stint was cut short when Tyler Saladino (ankle) suffered an injury, but the team has since acquired infielder Brad Miller, and could be prepared to let Arcia work out the kinks in his swing for a bit longer this time. More important than anything else, however, is that the Milwaukee bullpen has been incredibly taxed and simply needed an extra arm, as Aaron Wilkerson was recalled in a corresponding move.

Fletcher will start at third base and bat ninth Sunday against the Orioles.

Following his mid-June promotion, Fletcher looked to be in store for a short-side platoon role at third base with Luis Valbuena, but the rookie has since emerged as the primary option at the position. After going 8-for-27 (.296 average) through the first 12 games of his big-league career, Fletcher will earn his third consecutive start against a right-handed pitcher while Valbuena rides the pine. With Fletcher acquitting himself well in the first two games of the series with three hits and three RBI in seven at-bats and Valbuena finishing June with a .163 average, it appears the 24-year-old could have a decent amount of leash in a full-time role as the Angels look to replace Zack Cozart (shoulder), who has been ruled out for the season.

Wendle will start in left field and bat leadoff Sunday against the Astros.

Though he's seen the overwhelming majority of his time at second base this season, Wendle appears to have transitioned to more of a utility role for the Rays over the last week or so following the promotion of middle-infield prospect Willy Adames and reinstatement of Daniel Robertson from the disabled list. He'll pick up his third consecutive start in left field Sunday and could end up seeing most of his action there going forward with Robertson and Adames settling in as the club's main middle infielders and Adeiny Hechavarria often factoring into the mix as well. Wendle finished June with a lowly .192/.224/.205 batting line, though he'll at least carry a three-game hitting streak into the series finale with Houston.

Crawford went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the Diamondbacks.

Crawford took Shelby Miller deep in the second inning to record his 10th home run of the season. He also reached base on two other occasions via walks, raising his on-base percentage to an impressive .375 mark. Crawford is posting career-best marks in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage through 281 at-bats and has reached double-digits in home runs for each of the last five seasons.

DeJong (hand) went 1-for-2 in a rain-shortened game between Triple-A Memphis and Iowa on Saturday.

The contest was suspended after four innings and will resume Sunday before the regularly scheduled game, but DeJong at least was able to get two at-bats in. He's now 2-for-5 over his first two games with the Redbirds and may not need too many more appearances before being deemed ready for activation.

Fletcher went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Saturday's 6-2 win over the Orioles.

Getting the start at third base and hitting ninth, Fletcher pushed his slash line to .324/.378/.412 through his first 37 big-league plate appearances. With Zack Cozart (shoulder) done for the year, Fletcher will split time at the hot corner with Luis Valbuena and potentially Kaleb Cowart for now, but given his .953 OPS for Triple-A Salt Lake in 58 games this year, the 24-year-old might be able to wrest away a majority of the starts if he continues to string together hits.

Adrianza was 2-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI in Saturday's 14-9 loss against the Cubs.

Adrianza entered June with a .243 average and .647 OPS, but finished the month by going 24-for-80 with six doubles and three home runs. The 28-year-old has a .262/.346/.520 slash line in 187 at-bats for the season but seems to be trending in the right direction after a slow start.