MLB Player News

The Twins optioned Julien to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday.

It wasn't Julien's performance that punched his ticket back to the minors, as he batted .286/.333/.500 with two home runs and four RBI in 36 plate appearances since being called up May 20. Rather, Jorge Polanco (hamstring) is back from the injured list, and the Twins felt Julien wasn't going to get enough playing time to warrant being carried on the roster. He'll receive everyday at-bats with St. Paul as he awaits another chance with the parent club.

The Twins reinstated Polanco (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

Polanco wound up missing just a little over the minimum amount of time with a strained left hamstring. He bypassed a minor-league rehab assignment and should slide back into his normal role as the Twins' everyday second baseman. Minnesota optioned Edouard Julien to Triple-A St. Paul in a corresponding move.

Ortiz has yet to play since being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk due to illness, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Ortiz was sent down a week ago, so it must be a nasty bug he's dealing with. He should be considered day-to-day.

Acuna is hitting .302 with three home runs, 18 steals on 18 attempts and a 118 wRC+ in 40 games for Double-A Frisco.

His 50.8 percent groundball rate is a little high, but Acuna's 23 percent line-drive rate and 12.1 percent infield-flyball rate are the best marks of his career. Additionally, his 28.9 percent hard-hit rate is easily a career high. Acuna is not the same type of high-impact offensive player as his big brother, Ronald Acuna, but he is an elite athlete at 5-foot-8 and could feasibly play anywhere on the diamond. His success rate on the bases suggests that will always be a big part of his game.

Julien will be optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Julien performed well after being recalled to the majors May 20, slashing .286/.333/.500 with two homers and four RBI in 36 plate appearances. He'll be forced back to Triple-A due to the return of Jorge Polanco (hamstring), but the 24-year-old prospect will almost certainly be back with the Twins at some point this year if he continues to crush minor-league pitching.

The Twins will activate Polanco (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

A strained left hamstring sent Polanco to the injured list May 20, and he will return after spending little more than the minimum time on the IL. The 29-year-old infielder was seeing the ball extremely well prior to getting injured, slashing .316/.435/.737 with two homers and three RBI across his last five games. His return will send Edouard Julien back to Triple-A St. Paul.

Lowe went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Cubs.

Lowe got the Rays on the board in the seventh inning, launching a 431-foot, two-run homer off Mark Leiter to tie the game 2-2. It's Lowe's ninth home run of the season and his first since May 17. The 28-year-old second baseman is now slashing .204/.298/.407 with 26 runs scored and 29 RBI through 191 plate appearances this season.

Altuve is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Altuve will get a day of rest for the first time in six games. The infielder will grab a seat on the bench with Mauricio Dubon getting the start at second base and hitting leadoff against Louie Varland and Minnesota. Since returning from the fractured thumb that caused him to miss the first six-plus weeks of the season, Altuve has slashed .324/.425/.588 with two homers and six RBI over 34 at-bats.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said Drury is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's series finale with the White Sox while he tends to some swelling on his arm, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Drury picked up the injury in his ninth-inning plate appearance during the Angels' 7-3 loss Tuesday, when he was hit by a Kendall Graveman pitch. He stayed in the game and underwent precautionary X-rays after the game, which returned negative. Nevin seemed to suggest that Drury is getting more of a rest day Wednesday, as the Angels want to ensure that the veteran infielder is available for all four games of the team's series in Houston that begins Thursday. Livan Soto will get the starting nod at second base Wednesday while Drury gets a day off to recover from the minor arm injury.

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

The lefty-hitting Kemp will predictably hit the bench with southpaw Jared Shuster on the bump for Atlanta on Wednesday, but the 31-year-old infielder also sat out Monday and Tuesday, when Oakland faced right-handers Michael Soroka and Bryce Elder. At this point, Kemp appears to have lost hold of a strong-side platoon role at second base while he's sporting a lowly .455 OPS over 162 plate appearances on the season.