MLB Player News

Tolbert is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.

Tolbert filled in at shortstop for an injured Bobby Witt (back) during Tuesday's 3-2 win, going 0-for-3 while committing an error. Though Witt was moved to the 10-day injured list Wednesday, the Royals will instead go with new call-up Andrew Velazquez at shortstop over Tolbert in the series finale. Given that Tolbert has produced an excellent .328/.364/.443 slash line over 69 plate appearances on the season, he could still be a better bet than Velazquez to serve as Witt's primary replacement for the duration of his IL stint.

The Royals selected Velazquez's contract from Triple-A Omaha on Wednesday. He'll start at shortstop and bat ninth in the Royals' series finale versus the Giants.

The 32-year-old utility player will return to the majors for the first time since the 2023 season, when he appeared in 54 games with the Angels. Velazquez has played both middle-infield positions and all three outfield spots during his time in the minors with the Royals and Diamondbacks organizations this season, but he could end up seeing most of his playing time at shortstop while he's up with Kansas City. He'll enter the starting nine right away at shortstop in place of Bobby Witt (back), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday. Along with Velazquez, Tyler Tolbert will also be in the mix for reps at shortstop while Witt is on the shelf.

The Royals placed Witt on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to low back tightness.

The durable Witt will go on the IL for the first time in his five-year career in the majors after he was held out of the lineup for Sunday's loss to the Padres due to the back issue and then aggravated the injury while returning to the starting nine for Monday's win over the Giants. The Royals haven't indicated that Witt's injury is any sort of long-term concern, so if he responds well to a week and a half of rest, he could be ready to come off the shelf when first eligible July 31. Tyler Tolbert and Andrew Velazquez are likely to share time at shortstop while Witt is out.

Jarvis went 2-for-3 with a walk, a triple, a run scored and two RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Padres.

The rookie is proving to be quite a find for Atlanta in the 11th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft. Jarvis has started six straight games at shortstop, going 6-for-21 (.286) during that span with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and five runs. The impending return of Ronald Acuna (hamstring) could shuffle around the lineup, but Jarvis may be playing well enough to hang onto his job, with Mauricio Dubon instead continuing to see most of his action in left field while Mike Yastrzemski displaces the struggling Dominic Smith as the primary DH against right-handed pitching.

Triolo is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader versus the Yankees.

When Konnor Griffin moved back to the injured list earlier this month after suffering a torn tendon in his left ring finger, Triolo settled back in as the Pirates' everyday shortstop. However, the Pirates' recent acquisition of Jacob Gonzalez looks like it could result in Triolo moving into more of a utility infield role. Triolo will hit the bench for the second time in five contests while Gonzalez receives the nod at shortstop for the first game of the day.

Duran started at shortstop and went 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 10-0 win over the White Sox.

Duran, who's been filling in for injured shortstop Corey Seager (back), shifted to third base mid-game when Josh Jung (calf) was removed in the fourth inning. It sounds like Jung's injury is not serious -- he told Kennedi Landry of MLB.com that he should be good to go Wednesday -- so Duran should move back to shortstop soon. Regardless of which position the versatile Duran plays, he should remain a regular in the middle of the batting order. He's posted a slash line of .268/.323/.433 with 10 home runs, 51 RBI, seven steals and 43 runs over 92 games.

Pena went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Marlins.

Pena led off the bottom of the first with a 405-foot blast off Tyler Phillips to give Houston an early 1-0 lead. It's the eighth homer of the season for Pena, who's now gone deep in back-to-back games. The shortstop has come out of the All-Star break hot, going 5-for-13 in four contests. Overall, Pena is slashing .293/.355/.452 with 40 runs scored, 27 RBI and eight steals across 231 plate appearances this season.

Wilson went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a hit-by-pitch in Tuesday's 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Diamondbacks.

The Athletics were down to their final out when Wilson tied the game with a blast off Paul Sewald in the ninth inning. While the A's ultimately lost one inning later, Wilson was able to extend his hitting streak to nine games. He has gone 16-for-38 (.421) with three homers and six RBI in that span. For the season, the shortstop is batting .291 with a .748 OPS, seven homers, 32 RBI, 30 runs scored, 10 doubles, one triple and two stolen bases over 61 contests.

Abrams went 2-for-3 with two home runs, a walk and four total RBI in a loss to the Rockies on Tuesday.

Abrams slugged a two-run shot to center field in the first inning and added another two-run blast in the third. The All-Star shortstop has homered in three straight games, producing four long balls and eight RBI over that stretch. The power surge has lifted Abrams to 24 home runs on the campaign, tied for ninth in the majors with fellow shortstop Colson Montgomery. Abrams is also tied for the league lead with 76 RBI and ranks 12th with an .892 OPS.

De La Cruz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Mariners.

De La Cruz worked an eight-pitch at-bat to lead off the game and ended it with a solo shot just right of center field. The shortstop has had everything working recently, going 14-for-40 (.350) with four homers, five RBI, 11 runs scored and two stolen bases over his last 10 games. For the season, he's hitting .280 with an .863 OPS, 17 long balls, 46 RBI, 55 runs scored, 15 steals, 15 doubles and four triples over 81 contests.