MLB Player News

Anderson is batting leadoff and starting at shortstop for Friday's game against the Indians.

It will be just the fourth time this season that Anderson finds himself at the top of the order, but it could serve to jump-start his offensive production. Anderson has been left searching for answers while slashing just .164/.179/.236 this season with 14 strikeouts over 13 games. Tyler Saladino gets the day off.

Bogaerts (thumb) is not in the lineup for Friday's series opener with the Orioles, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The All-Star shortstop appeared to injure his thumb sliding headfirst into second base in Thursday's contest, so it seems that the Red Sox are holding him out to give the ailment a bit more time to heal. It's unclear what exactly the problem is or how severe it is, but in the meantime, Marco Hernandez will pick up a start at shortstop in his stead. Consider Bogaerts day-to-day for the time being.

Mondesi was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

The Royals tried to let the 21-year-old play his way out of his early-season struggles, but after going hitless in his last seven games and dropping his already low batting average to .103, he'll head back to the minors for more seasoning. Look for Whit Merrifield, Cheslor Cuthbert and Christian Colon to fight for playing time at the keystone until Mondesi returns, which could be relatively soon if the latter hits as well as he did at Triple-A last season (.304 batting average, .864 OPS).

Diaz, who endured an 0-for-18 slump before a pinch-hit infield single Wednesday, studied film of his at-bats from last season and reevaluated his mental approach earlier that day, Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "I think a day off helped a lot," Diaz said. "I reset my mind. I came in early, watched a lot of video from the last year. I just feel good. I have confidence it's going to be better in the next couple of games. You have to trust the process, and keep working."

Diaz burst onto the scene last season with a .300/.369/.510 line over 111 games, and he appeared to be on track for more of the same in the early going this season. In Wednesday film study, the shortstop and hitting coach John Mabry pinpointed a narrowing of the hips in Diaz's stance this year when compared to last season -- a factor which potentially was inhibiting his visibility. They also took note of the numbers indicating reduced plate discipline this season, as evidenced by an 18.1 percent increase in Diaz's swing percentage on pitches outside the strike zone.

Correa went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in Thursday's 2-1 win over the Angels.

Correa had missed the previous three games with a hand contusion but was back to batting cleanup for the Astros on Thursday. Hand injuries can be tricky, so don't be alarmed if he's not hitting immediately upon his return to duty.

Turner (hamstring) is expected to come off the disabled list Friday, Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post reports.

Although it looks like Turner will come off the DL on Friday, manager Dusty Baker said it's unlikely that he'll start Turner for the team's series opener against the Mets. Turner was fully active in an extended spring training game Wednesday, so he should be taking the field for the big club very soon.

Bogaerts received tests on his right thumb following Thursday's victory over the Blue Jays, Scott Lauber of ESPN Boston reports.

Bogaerts played the entire game Thursday, but he clearly had some discomfort after a head-first slide into second base late in the game. The current plan is for the club to evaluate him again on Friday, so specific information pertaining to Bogaerts' condition should be available then. If Bogaerts has to miss time, look for Brock Holt to fill in at shortstop.

Arcia is not in the lineup Thursday against the Cardinals.

The 22-year-old brought his batting average above the Mendoza Line with a two-hit performance Wednesday in Chicago, but he'll head to the bench for a day off nonetheless. Hernan Perez will pick up a start at shortstop in his stead.

Camargo was optioned back to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

The move was made to make room on the roster for Matt Kemp (hamstring), who is returning from the disabled list Thursday. Camargo appeared in five games and went 1-for-4 with one RBI during his brief stint with the big-league club. With his path to the majors seemingly blocked for the time being, he'll head back to Triple-A and continue to serve as depth.

Swanson is not in the lineup Thursday against the Nationals.

The former top draft pick hasn't been able to get anything going at the plate this season, as his batting average currently sits at just a .131 mark. Swanson will get the night off to hopefully regain some composure, with Jace Peterson moving to shortstop to fill in for him.