MLB Player News

Cordoba started at shortstop and went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Saturday's loss to the Giants.

With Erick Aybar (foot) being placed on the disabled list, Cordoba was the only shortstop left on the roster. He did not take advantage of the opportunity, turning in one of the worst stat lines a major leaguer could imagine. The 21-year-old has flashed some potential in spurts this season, but his overall slash line of .231/.289/.320 in 187 plate appearances leaves much to be desired. Despite Saturday's rough go of things, Cordoba should continue to see starts until either Aybar returns or another shortstop is called up from the minors.

Gordon went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases and a run during Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

Gordon is now up to 34 stolen bases for the year, and his .290 batting average and 58 runs are also excellent marks. He offers nothing in the power categories, but that was also never an advertised asset.

Diaz, who went 2-for-4 in his return during Triple-A Memphis' win over Las Vegas on Friday, will continue working exclusively at shortstop for the time being, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com reports.

There's been some talk of a potential future utility role for Diaz, but general manager John Mozeliak has made it clear that he'll remain at his natural position for now. The Cuban shortstop was sent down to Memphis unexpectedly in late June to refine his plate mechanics and is slashing .240/.250/.360 over 12 games with the Redbirds.

Lindor went 1-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Saturday's win over Toronto.

Not only was Lindor's bomb a game-clinching blast, it also ended a 24-game home-run drought. The shortstop is turning in another solid fantasy campaign with a .257/.318/.462 slash line, 15 homers, 46 RBI and 52 runs. However, with just four stolen bases this year, it doesn't appear that Lindor will come close to matching last season's 19 swipes.

DeJong went 1-for-3 with a solo homer Saturday against the Cubs.

DeJong launched his 11th bomb of the season off Jon Lester to break up a scoreless tie in the eighth inning of a losing effort. In less than two months in the majors, the rookie's shown exceptional power, as evidenced by a .558 slugging percentage while also offering a reasonable .279 batting average.

Pennington started at second base and went 2-for-3 with a double in Friday's loss to Boston.

With back-to-back southpaws on the mound, Pennington has seen two consecutive starts and produced two separate two-hit performances. The Angels are facing David Price - another lefty - Saturday, which likely places the 33-year-old into the lineup for a third consecutive game. While he is on the short side of a platoon at second base with Nick Franklin, Pennington could force himself into a larger role if he can outplay his competition at second base.

Anderson is not in the starting lineup Saturday against the Royals.

The 24-year-old hasn't gotten a day off since June, so he'll give way to Tyler Saladino at shortstop Saturday. Anderson is hitting just .226 over his last 53 at-bats and has seen his OPS dip to .631 over the past couple weeks, so the routine day off could be a good chance to clear his head as well.

Crawford is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Padres, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford will sit for the first time since June 28 as Eduardo Nunez shifts over to short and Conor Gillaspie mans the hot corner. While Crawford has multiple hits in two of his last three games, he's still batting just .217/.254/.400 for the month of July. He's taken a dramatic step back against right-handed pitching this season, with his OPS against righties falling nearly 180 points from a year ago.

Baez is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cardinals.

Baez will head to the bench for the second time since the All-Star break with Kris Bryant (finger) returning to third and Ben Zobrist and Addison Russell up the middle. With 11 hits (including two homers) in his last five starts, Baez has raised his average from .252 to .274, but given the Cubs' current roster construction, it seems likely that he will continue to sit at least once a week.

Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, said Crawford "fought some things health-wise during the first half of the summer," Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

It's unclear if Jordan is talking about the groin injury that put Crawford on the disabled list in mid-June, but that could have had some impact on his poor performance this year, especially if he had been trying to play through it for some time. Crawford is showing signs of turning his season around, having hit .288/.373/.652 with six home runs this month. His overall slash line still looks pretty terrible, so it may be possible to acquire him at a discount, given how far he dropped on most midseason prospect lists.