MLB Player News

Dubon is starting in left field and batting leadoff Friday in Cleveland.

It's just the second start in left field for Dubon this season, but he could receive a boost in playing time in the outfield while Yordan Alvarez (oblique) is on the shelf. The fact that Dubon is hitting leadoff while Jose Altuve is in the No. 2 spot for the first game without Alvarez is also notable.

Valdez was optioned to Triple-A Worcester on Friday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Valdez had some promising moments during his several-week run with the Red Sox, but he ultimately holds a .234 batting average and .280 on-base percentage through his first 101 major-league plate appearances. The 24-year-old infielder will head back to Worcester for a bit more minor-league seasoning.

Frazier isn't starting Friday against the Royals, Cordell Woodland of 105.7 The Fan Baltimore reports.

Southpaw Daniel Lynch will start the game for Kansas City, so the left-handed bat of Frazier will begin Friday in the dugout. Ramon Urias will fill in at the keystone while Frazier sits and bat fifth.

Torres is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Red Sox.

Torres will take a seat after he went 1-for-12 with a two-run homer over the three-game series with the White Sox. DJ LeMahieu will take over at second base while Josh Donaldson enters the lineup at third base and bats second in the series opener with Boston.

Polanco (hamstring) is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Blue Jays.

Polanco pulled his left hamstring Thursday versus the Rays and he will head to the bench while nursing the injury. The 29-year-old returned from the 10-day injured list June 1 after a separate hamstring injury, so the team will likely be cautious with his return from this latest setback. Kyle Farmer will draw the start at second base and bat fifth in the series opener with Toronto.

Torres went 1-for-8 with a two-run home run across both games of Thursday's doubleheader split with the White Sox.

Torres notched just one hit in the twin bill, but it was a two-run homer that accounted for the majority of the Yankees' runs in the nightcap. The second baseman hit out of the No. 2 hole in each contest after batting leadoff in 15 straight games coming in. It's not clear if the move down in the order will be permanent, but it shouldn't affect Torres' production much, and it may help him shake things up a bit, as he's struggled with a 3-for-28 stretch at the plate over his past seven games.

Gonzalez went 0-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases in the opening game of Thursday's doubleheader versus the Yankees.

It wasn't a successful day at the plate for Gonzalez, who also went 0-for-3 in the nightcap to finish at 0-for-6 overall. However, he redeemed himself from a fantasy perspective with two thefts in the opener to bring his total to six on the season. Four of the steals have come since May 30, a stretch during which he has started seven of Chicago's eight games.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli expressed optimism Thursday that Polanco (hamstring) will avoid the injured list, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports. "He's still, I think, pretty strong in the muscle," said Baldelli. "But he definitely felt something. We're going to have to pay attention to it."

Polanco tweaked his troublesome left hamstring while running the bases in the top of the first inning Thursday versus the Rays. The second baseman just returned June 1 from a nearly two-week stay on the IL for a left hamstring strain. He's considered day-to-day leading into the Twins' three-game weekend series at Toronto.

Polanco was pulled from Thursday's game versus the Rays with left hamstring tightness, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Polanco was hurt in the first inning while running the bases. It's the same hamstring which he injured previously, having just returning from the IL at the beginning of the month. If it's deemed an aggravation of that previous issue, another stint on the IL is certainly possible, although the Twins should offer more on the infielder's status after the game.

Polanco left Thursday's game at Tampa Bay in the first inning due to an apparent leg injury while running the bases, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Donovan Solano replaced Polanco in the lineup at DH. Polanco missed 12 days in May due to a hamstring injury, but it's unclear if Thursday's injury is related to the previous one.