MLB Player News

Castro went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk during Thursday's loss to the A's.

Castro blasted a 440-footer against Frankie Montas in the fifth inning, marking his second long ball in as many games. The 27-year-old has now tallied three homers on the season and has a .238/.246/.397 slash line in 23 games since the start of August.

Torres (thumb) was removed from Thursday's rehab game after being struck by a pitch, per a video posted by writer Matt Bufano.

It's not immediately clear if Torres experienced some sort of setback with his sprained left thumb, but he did look at his left hand and shake it before immediately walking off the field. His status will be updated again when more information is available.

Gimenez is not in the lineup Thursday against the Royals.

Gimenez has a .565 OPS in 17 games since being promoted in early August and will head to the bench for the second time in the past three days. Owen Miller will man the keystone Thursday for Cleveland.

Motter was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox on Thursday.

Motter was cast off the Rockies' 40-man roster Monday after he hit .150 across 13 major-league appearances this year. It wouldn't be surprising to see him join the big-league roster at some point if the Red Sox deal with additional absences in the midst of their current COVID-19 outbreak.

Semien went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's 5-4 win over Baltimore.

The 30-year-old provided a little bit of everything at the plate Wednesday, quickly opening the scoring with his first-inning solo shot. Semien has matched his career high in homers with 33. The infielder has added a sturdy .267/.334/.527 slash line with 78 RBI, 93 runs scored and 14 stolen bases in 15 attempts through 132 games this year. He's hit a small slump lately, going just 4-for-19 (.211) in his last five contests.

Castro went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Wednesday's win over the Athletics.

Castro may not have a regular, everyday position with the Tigers, but the 27-year-old continues to hit when given a chance. He batted .300 in 2018, albeit in just six games, then followed that up by hitting .291 in 2019 and .347 during the condensed 2020 slate. This season, Castro is now batting .281 after the three-hit effort. He doesn't offer a ton of extra-base power and profiles as more of a singles hitter, but he's capable of good stat lines when he strings a few hits together.

Rengifo was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Rengifo was sent to Triple-A at the start of August and will return to the majors with rosters expanding for the final month of the season. The 24-year-old has a .151/.189/.233 slash line in 91 plate appearances this season but could receive another look down the stretch.

Manager Alex Cora said Wednesday that Hernandez's (illness) condition has improved dramatically since he tested positive for COVID-19 last week, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports. Hernandez could be ready to return from the COVID-19 injured list at some point during the Red Sox's weekend series with Cleveland.

Hernandez is one of seven known Red Sox players who has tested positive for the virus within the past week, but he looks as though he could the first of the infected players to make his way back from the IL. Based on Cora's comments, Hernandez doesn't sound like he'll need to go on a minor-league rehab assignment before being activated, though the training staff may want to evaluate him in on-field workout beforehand. Once activated, Hernandez should immediately take over as Boston's everyday second baseman.

Lowe is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The newly recalled Taylor Walls will step in at the keystone for the lefty-hitting Lowe, who heads to the bench with a tough southpaw (Chris Sale) on the hill for Boston. The Rays will face another lefty (Eduardo Rodriguez) in Thursday's series finale, so Lowe won't be a lock to be included in the lineup for that contest, either.

Arraez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

With southpaw Justin Steele on the hill for Chicago, the lefty-hitting Arraez will cede the start at third base to Josh Donaldson, who typically serves as Minnesota's designated hitter. Arraez broke out of an 0-for-16 skid over a stretch of five games in Tuesday's 3-1 loss, finishing the day with a double and a base hit over four at-bats.