MLB Player News

Ibanez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rays.

The righty-hitting Ibanez has the platoon advantage in his favor with southpaw Ryan Yarbrough on the mound, but it won't be enough to keep him off the bench for the second game in a row. Instead, rookie Josh Smith will draw another start at the hot corner after going 3-for-4 with two runs in his MLB debut in Monday's 9-5 win. Ibanez looks like he'll have to settle for a utility gig with the Rangers presumably prepared to give Smith a trial as their everyday third baseman.

Rengifo will start at second base and bat fifth in Tuesday's game against the Yankees, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

He'll be included in the lineup for the 12th game in a row and may have supplanted Tyler Wade as the Angels' preferred option at the keystone even once Anthony Rendon (wrist) returns from the injured list and Wade no longer has a path to playing time at third base. While starting the previous 11 contests, Rengifo has slashed .295/.340/.409 with a home run and a stolen base.

Espinal is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox.

After a rough weekend in Los Angeles in which he went 2-for-18 during the Blue Jays' four-game series with the Angels, Espinal will take a seat as Toronto begins a six-game homestand. Cavan Biggio replaces Espinal at the keystone.

Brujan went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI in Monday's loss to the Rangers.

Brujan reached base on multiple occasions for the first time in 15 starts this season. He's maintained a miserable .137/.196/.176 line across 56 plate appearances, and his inability to reach base has limited his ability to showcase his speed on the basepaths. Despite his struggles, Brujan has been in the lineup for 12 of 15 contests since May 14 thanks to the absence of Brandon Lowe (back).

Castro is out of the lineup for the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Twins.

After starting each of the Tigers' past three games while going a collective 4-for-12 at the dish, Castro will take a seat as the Tigers roll out an all-righty-hitting lineup to counter Twins southpaw Devin Smeltzer. Castro doesn't have a clear path to an everyday role at any position at the moment, but his .836 OPS over 86 plate appearances has given him a compelling case to earn more work in a Tigers offense that has struggled mightily for much of the season.

Lopez went 3-for-4 with a run scored in Monday's 7-3 loss to the Guardians.

Lopez has a pair of three-hit efforts in his last four games as he begins to steer out of a slump that's bogged him down for much of May. The 27-year-old infielder still hasn't posted an extra-base hit in his last 10 contests. Overall, he's slashing .229/.306/.261 with four stolen bases, five RBI, 17 runs scored and five doubles in 171 plate appearances. His strong defense has kept him in the lineup, but he's often hit at the bottom of the order lately.

Gimenez went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Monday's 7-3 win over the Royals.

Gimenez put the Guardians ahead for good with his eighth-inning blast off Royals reliever Collin Snider. In his last 12 games, Gimenez is hitting a light 8-for-45 (.178) with two homers, six RBI, six runs scored and a stolen base. It's an expected regression after he started the year in excellent form at the dish. Overall, he's slashing .287/.313/.492 with five homers, 23 RBI, 15 runs scored, three steals, two triples and six doubles in 38 contests.

Altuve is being evaluated for a concussion after a collision at first base in the seventh inning of Monday's game against Oakland, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve collided with Oakland first baseman Christian Bethancourt on a play where Bethancourt left his feet, and while both players ended up staying down after the play, each was able to remain in the contest. However, skipper Dusty Baker noted after the game that Altuve "didn't look too good in the eyes" when coming back to the dugout, and he's now undergoing further evaluation. Aledmys Diaz and Mauricio Dubon would be two likely candidates to take over at second base if Altuve is forced to miss time.

Ibanez isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

Ibanez will get the night off after starting the last two contests for Texas, collecting five hits including a pair of doubles and an RBI over that brief stretch. Josh Smith gets the start at the hot corner and will bat eighth with Ibanez on the bench.

Andrus went 2-for-5 with an RBI double and a run in a win over the Rangers on Sunday.

The veteran shortstop burned his old squad with a fifth-inning two-bagger that plated Sean Murphy for the Athletics' second run of the game. Andrus is in the midst of a relatively brief but impressive hot streak, one that's seen him hit .346 (9-for-26) with two doubles, two home runs, five RBI, a stolen base and six runs in his last seven games.