MLB Player News

Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday that Cruz (fibula) is expected to transition out of his walking boot next week, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

When that happens, he'll be cleared for strength and range-of-motion exercises for his surgically-repaired left leg. Cruz is expected to be on the shelf until sometime in August.

Crawford is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Crawford will head to the bench after he started each of the Giants' last three games, going 4-for-8 with two doubles and two walks over that stretch. Even with the recent hot run at the plate, Crawford is still maintaining a lowly .639 OPS for the season, and it's unclear if the Giants remain committed to him as a regular in the middle infield. Rookie Casey Schmitt appears to be locked in as an everyday option at one of the two middle-infield spots, leaving Crawford and Brett Wisely to vie for most of the opportunities at the other position.

Marcano is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Chris Owings will pick up the start at shortstop in the series finale, but Marcano still appears fairly secure as the Pirates' top option at the position. Unless he makes a pinch-hitting appearance off the bench Wednesday, Marcano will finish May with a solid .271/.317/.525 slash line to go with three home runs and two stolen bases over 22 games.

Rays manager Kevin Cash said Franco is being held out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs due to the infielder's left shoulder being "a little dinged up," Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Cash said he still expects Franco will be available off the bench Wednesday, so the 22-year-old's absence from the lineup could be more maintenance-related than out of any legitimate concern about the shoulder issue, which he picked up while sliding into home plate in Tuesday's 2-1 loss. The Rays are off Thursday before returning to action in Boston on Friday, when Franco will most likely be back in the lineup at shortstop.

Franco is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With an off day coming Thursday, Rays manager Kevin Cash likely viewed Wednesday's day game as an optimal time to rest Franco, who had started in each of the last 12 games. Taylor Walls will spell Franco at shortstop in the series finale after Franco extended his hitting streak to seven and also chipped in his 20th stolen base of the season in Tuesday's 2-1 loss.

Volpe went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 10-2 win over the Mariners.

Volpe notched his first extra-base hit since May 21 after taking Logan Gilbert deep to left center in the third to put the Yankees up 6-0. The 22-year-old has not had a multi-hit game since May 14 and has now dipped below The Mendoza Line with a .198/.277/.365 slash line to go with eight homers, 24 RBI, 23 runs, 13 steals and a 21:67 BB:K over 220 plate appearances.

Tovar went 3-for-4 with two doubles in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Tovar had himself an excellent night at the plate but didn't have much to show for it, as each one of his hits came with nobody on base. The 21-year-old now has four doubles over his last three games and is tied for the fifth-most doubles in the National League with 15. He's tallied at least one base knock in 10 of his last 11 games, but even after his recent hot stretch, Tovar is slashing just .244/.288/.389 with three homers, 22 RBI, 25 runs and a 9:54 BB:K over 191 plate appearances.

Barrero went 2-for-2 with a walk and a grand slam in Tuesday's 9-8 win over the Red Sox.

The 25-year-old began the game on the bench, but when TJ Friedl (hamstring) checked out early, Barrero took over in center field and gave the Reds what proved to be crucial insurance runs when he drove a Joely Rodriguez sinker off a light standard above the Green Monster in the seventh inning. It's his first career grand slam and only his second homer in 39 games this season, and while Cincy is trying to find ways to keep him in the lineup now that Matt McLain has taken over the starting shortstop role, Barrero and his mediocre .235/.313/.353 slash line could get bumped back to Triple-A when the team finally decides to promote Elly De La Cruz.

Witt went 0-for-4 with one RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Cardinals.

Witt got the Royals on the board with a fielder's choice in the ninth inning, and he stole second but was left there to end the game. While he's gone just 1-for-16 over his last four games, he's also managed two steals in that span. The shortstop has gone 11 contests without a walk, striking out 13 times in that span. He's slashing just .228/.266/.430 with 10 home runs, 27 RBI, 35 runs scored and 17 steals through 55 games. The poor plate discipline has seen him hitting in the heart of the order recently after opening the year as the Royals' leadoff man.

Lindor went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Phillies.

The shortstop took Ranger Suarez deep in the fourth inning, giving Kodai Senga and the Mets bullpen all the offense they would need on the night. Lindor has gone yard three times in the last four games, giving him 10 homers in 55 games, but his slash line remains a disappointing .227/.299/.435.