MLB Player News

Kemp is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

With southpaw Robbie Ray on the mound for Seattle, the lefty-hitting Kemp will retreat to the bench for the series finale. Chad Pinder will replace Kemp in left field and will bat sixth.

Arauz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

With a lefty (Devin Smeltzer) on the bump for Minnesota, the lefty-hitting Arauz will take a seat for the second straight contest. Platoon mate Tyler Nevin will fill in for Arauz at third base.

Stefanic was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake and will start at second base Sunday against the Astros, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

The back half of the Angels' order has been disastrous, and Stefanic will be the latest to get an audition. Sunday's start will mark his major-league debut. Tyler Wade was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the roster for Stefanic, who is hitting .320 in the Pacific Coast League in 2022, albeit with only 10 extra-base hits (one home run) in 210 plate appearances. According to Sam Blum of The Athletic, interim manager Phil Nevin said the Angels plan to give Stefanic a look in an everyday role, so he could be worth a pickup in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues, particularly for fantasy managers looking for help in the batting-average category.

Espinal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays.

Cavan Biggio will be filling in at the keystone in place of Espinal, who appears to be getting a routine maintenance day in the series finale. Espinal went 3-for-11 with two doubles, a walk and two runs in the first three games of the series.

Brujan remains out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Brujan is on the bench for the fourth game in a row and looks to have moved into a utility role in the wake of Isaac Paredes seizing hold of a regular lineup spot and with Wander Franco and Kevin Kiermaier recently returning from the injured list. Taylor Walls looks like he'll serve as the Rays' primary second baseman over Brujan until Brandon Lowe (back) comes off the IL.

Biggio will start at second base and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Rays.

Biggio started both ends of Saturday's doubleheader and is now set to make his fourth consecutive start for the Blue Jays. Three of those four starts have come at second base, as Biggio picks up extra work while Santiago Espinal shifts elsewhere on the infield to give the likes of Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman a breather. Biggio is slashing .294/.442/.544 with a pair of homers since the beginning of June.

Hernandez (hip) took 20 swings at Fenway Park on Saturday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Hernandez will continue baseball activities the next few days and could begin a rehabilitation assignment beginning next Friday or Saturday. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said the outfielder is trending in the right direction. Jarren Duran is the primary fill-in at center field while Hernandez is unavailable.

Polanco went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Orioles.

Polanco's solo shot tied the game at three in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jose Miranda hit a walk-off single later in the inning to give the Twins the win. Since returning from the IL, Polanco has gone 3-for-16 with two home runs and five strikeouts. The second baseman has a .241 batting average to go along with nine homers on the season.

Merrifield went 2-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Tigers.

Merrifield has notched six of his 13 stolen bases this year in his last 14 games, showing a renewed commitment to running. In that span, he's gone 15-for-55 (.273), lifting his season slash line to .233/.282/.317 across 76 contests. He's added three home runs, 33 RBI and 38 runs scored as the Royals' everyday leadoff hitter. Given the recent progress at the plate and fearlessness on the basepaths, Merrifield's looking more reliable in fantasy now than he was even two weeks ago, though he still shouldn't be counted on for power.

Altuve went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two doubles, three total runs and a stolen base in Saturday's 9-1 victory against the Angels.

Altuve was a big part of Houston's offense in the win, doubling and scoring in each of the first two innings before knocking a solo home run in the sixth. Of the second baseman's past nine hits, seven -- four doubles and three homers -- have gone for extra bases. Altuve has also been running more of late, tallying three thefts over his past six games. With six steals on the season, he has already surpassed the five he totaled in 2021.