MLB Player News

Hernandez moved from center field to shortstop in the eighth inning Friday after Xander Bogaerts exited Boston's 7-3 win over the Mariners with a back injury.

Hernandez filled in because Christian Arroyo was unavailable; Arroyo started in right field but was replaced by a superior defender in Jackie Bradley to start of the seventh inning. If Bogaerts is required to miss any time, Arroyo will likely fill in while Hernandez maintains his primary role as the team's starting center fielder.

Merrifield went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly, a walk and a run scored in Friday's 6-4 loss to the Twins.

Merrifield saw a 10-game hitting streak end Thursday versus the White Sox, but he was right back at it Friday. The versatile 33-year-old's surge has lifted his slash line to .206/.243/.277 with two home runs, 17 RBI, 15 runs scored and six stolen bases through 38 contests this season. He'll continue to see time at both second base and in the outfield, especially with Michael Taylor (illness) missing from his usual spot in center field.

Arraez will sit Friday against Kansas City, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Arraez has swung a hot bat this season, hitting .323/.425/.406, and has emerged as the Twins' primary first baseman in the absence of Miguel Sano (knee). Jose Miranda will fill that spot Friday.

Castro is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Guardians.

Castro started at third base in the team's last game Wednesday, with Jeimer Candelario serving as the DH and Miguel Cabrera getting the day off. Cabrera is returning Friday, so Candelario shifts back to the hot corner and Castro will hit the bench. The latter is batting a robust .292, but he'll need more regular playing time to really make a significant fantasy impact.

Ibanez will be on the bench Friday against the Astros.

Ibanez hits the bench for just the second time in the last 10 games. He's struggled significantly in the month of May, hitting just .081/.190/.081. Nathaniel Lowe and Brad Miller will handle the corner infield spots Friday.

Gimenez will sit Friday against the Tigers.

Gimenez had been in the lineup against three of the last four lefties the Guardians had faced, but he'll sit here against southpaw Tarik Skubal. Yu Chang will get the start at second base while Amed Rosario starts at shortstop.

Brujan will sit Friday against the Orioles, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

He has been the primary beneficiary of Brandon Lowe's back injury, as he'd started five straight games prior to Friday's contest. Brujan's done very little with his 30 plate appearances this season, hitting .111/.200/.185, but his 10.0 percent strikeout rate is encouraging and he's attempted three steals, albeit with only one successful robbery. Isaac Paredes will be the second baseman Friday.

Altuve went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a run scored Thursday against the Rangers.

Altuve has eight extra-base hits in his last eight games, and he's maintained a .355 average with 10 RBI and 16 runs scored across 16 games in May. For the season, he owns a .286/.364/.571 line across 110 plate appearances.

Semien went 1-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Thursday's 5-1 loss to the Astros.

The stolen base was Semien's third of the season and first in 28 contests. The second baseman and leadoff batter had his fourth hit in the last two games, but he's still batting just .175 with eight RBI through 36 games. For the optimists, Semien is batting .200 during the month of May, up from a .157 April.

Rosario went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Thursday's loss to the Reds.

It's been a tough start to the season for Rosario, but he's been better at the plate since getting a few days out of the lineup to manage wrist soreness earlier this month. Rosario has now hit safely in six of his last eight games. The steal was his first since April 16.