MLB Player News

Kemp is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta.

Kemp started at second base in four of the past five games but failed to break out of his season-long slumber at the dish, as he went hitless in nine at-bats and reached base twice in 11 plate appearances. He'll cede his spot in the lineup Monday to the newly recalled Jonah Bride, who will man third base while Jace Peterson shifts over to the keystone. If Bride can offer a spark at the plate in what will be his season debut with the big club, Kemp could soon find himself out of the lineup against right-handed pitching on a more regular basis.

Polanco (hamstring) was spotted taking part in sprinting and running drills on the field Sunday at Target Field, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Polanco was eligible to return from the 10-day injured list Sunday, but he doesn't look like he'll require too much more time beyond the minimum before being ready to return. The second baseman has now been able to run on multiple occasions since landing on the IL and has continued to take batting practice. Edouard Julien will likely hold down the fort at second base until Polanco is deemed ready for activation, possibly later this week.

Altuve went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 10-1 win over the Athletics.

Altuve has multiple hits in each of his last three games, and he's hit safely in six of seven contests this season. While all but one of his games have come against the A's, Altuve looks all the way back after missing time with a broken thumb to begin the campaign. The second baseman is hitting .370 with a homer, two RBI, six runs scored and four doubles through 31 plate appearances.

The Astros announced Sunday that Bannon has been shut down at Triple-A Sugar Land due to a right index finger fracture, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Bannon likely suffered the injury during his most recent appearance for Sugar Land on Friday. Since being optioned to Triple-A on May 8, the utility player was slashing .304/.365/.630 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 13 games.

Massey went 2-for-4 with a stolen base in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Nationals.

Massey appears to be in a strong-side platoon role now, losing starts against left-handed pitchers to Matt Duffy at the keystone. Saturday was Massey's fourth multi-hit effort in May, and he's hitting .295 for the month. It's a solid turnaround for the second baseman, but he still has an uninspiring .223/.275/.317 slash line with three home runs, three steals, 14 RBI and 14 runs scored through 153 plate appearances. In addition to Duffy, Nicky Lopez could also see starts at second base, which could lead to Massey serving as the designated hitter more often now that Hunter Dozier has been released.

Julien went 3-for-5 with a home run, two doubles, two RBI and an additional run scored in Saturday's 9-7 win over the Blue Jays.

While making his sixth consecutive start, Julien turned in the best game of his young career, as he hadn't produced more than one extra-base hit in any of his prior 14 contests with the Twins. Julien -- who will start at second base and bat second in Sunday's series finale -- should be locked into a full-time role with Minnesota so long as Jorge Polanco (hamstring) is stuck on the 10-day injured list.

Lopez remains out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

He'll be on the bench for the fourth time in five games and looks to have moved into a utility infielder role. Maikel Garcia will pick up another start at third base Sunday and appears to have eclipsed Lopez on the depth chart after going 8-for-16 with three doubles and a pair of stolen bases over his past four games.

Kemp, whose .464 OPS ranks last in MLB among hitters with at least 150 plate appearances, is confident he can snap out of his season-long funk, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports. "Maybe I'm just a start-slow guy," Kemp said. "I've never been like that in the Minor Leagues. But maybe in the big leagues I just start slow...You always come to the field hopeful each day that good things can happen. It's going to turn. I've got to believe it will."

Kemp is also hitting a meager .077 (3-for-39) with no extra-base hits and just one RBI over his last 16 games, although he's struck out at just a 15.6 percent clip in that span while also being saddled with an absurdly low .094 BABIP. However, that latter figure can't completely be chalked up to bad luck; Kemp has played a role in his undoing by producing just a 9.7 percent line-drive rate and 11.8 percent hard-contact rate in that span, as well as a tiny 1.7 percent barrel rate for the season that places him in the lower fourth percentile of qualified hitters. Kemp also had a forgettable first half a season ago before hitting .278 with five home runs and 32 RBI in 62 post-All-Star-break games, and for the time being, he's hanging on to a regular role at second base against right-handed pitching.

Frazier is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

The lefty-hitting Frazier will head to the bench for the series finale while the Rangers bring southpaw Cody Bradford to the bump. Ramon Urias will check in for Frazier at the keystone.

Gimenez is out of the lineup Sunday versus the Cardinals.

Gimenez will take a seat for the first time since the first game of a doubleheader against the Mets last Sunday. Tyler Freeman will get the start at second base and hit sixth while Gimenez rests in the series finale.