MLB Player News

The Astros optioned Corona to Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 25-year-old will head back to the minors to make room for Chas McCormick (oblique), who was reinstated from the injured list Friday. Corona appeared in just three games during his first career stint in the majors, going 0-for-2 with two walks in the process.

The Astros reinstated McCormick (oblique) from the 10-day injured list Friday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

McCormick played six games in the minors while working his way back from a left oblique strain that has plagued him since May, going 4-for-23 with two homers, four RBI, four runs scored and a steal. Now healthy, he'll provide some depth to an Astros outfield unit that has been decimated by injuries. However, his .649 OPS in the bigs this year isn't likely to buy him regular playing time. Kenedy Corona was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The Rangers placed Haggerty on the 10-day injured list Friday with left ankle inflammation, Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Haggerty has gone 4-for-16 with four runs scored and a stolen base in eight games since the start of July. His ankle will now cause him to spend at least 10 days on the IL, and the Rangers will promote Cody Freeman to fill the void on the active roster.

O'Neill is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rays, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

O'Neill was also on the bench for the final game before the All-Star break and has gone 3-for-22 in six contests since returning from the injured list in early July. The veteran outfielder has struggled to a .585 OPS in his first 30 games for Baltimore after inking a one-year, $16.5 million contract in December.

Kwan isn't in the lineup for Friday's game against the Athletics due to a right wrist injury, Tim Stebbins of MLB.com reports.

Kwan received an injection Wednesday to address the issue, which has been bothering him recently. The star outfielder is considered day-to-day going forward. Specifics regarding the injury are unclear. Cleveland kicks off a stretch of 13 games in 13 days Friday.

Varsho (hamstring) will play in a rehab game with Low-A Dunedin on Friday and is expected to need 5-to-8 rehab games before being activated from the 10-day injured list, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Friday's appearance will be Varsho's second minor-league rehab outing. He's expected to play 3-to-5 innings in the outfield during the contest. Varsho is likely to have his assignment transferred to Triple-A Buffalo sometime next week. If he sticks to the 5-to-8-game timeline, Varsho would likely be back before August.

Kwan isn't part of the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Athletics.

Kwan will get an extra day of rest coming out of the All-Star break, missing the starting nine Friday for the first time since June 11. Nolan Jones will bat fifth and patrol left field while Kwan takes a seat on the bench.

Baldwin (back) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Baldwin has been shelved since July 9 with a lower back strain, and he'll work a brief minor-league rehab stint before being cleared to rejoin the 26-man roster. The 24-year-old is slashing .227/.271/.357 with four homers across 169 plate appearances this season for the White Sox.

Rafaela will be added to the mix at second base and possibly play one or two games per week at the position, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports. "Give him one or maybe two starts at second so we can get everybody else in the lineup," Boston manager Alex Cora said.

Occasionally moving Rafaela to second base would allow Cora to get as many left-handed bats into the lineup as possible against righties, and reduce the logjam in the outfield. On the days when Rafaela plays second base, Jarren Duran will patrol center field with Roman Anthony in left and Wilyer Abreu in right, while Masataka Yoshida serves as the designated hitter.

The Rangers optioned Helman to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday.

Helman was sent down Thursday as Justin Foscue gets recalled from Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move. Helman made his season debut with the Rangers on June 27 and appeared in four games after that. He was hitless in six plate appearances but was able to draw two walks.