MLB Player News

Espinal went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base Wednesday against Boston.

Espinal received the start at third base in the back half of Wednesday's doubleheader and picked up his third steal of the year in the third inning. The 26-year-old landed on Toronto's roster as a utility infielder but has logged the bulk of his playing time at third base, slashing .315/.361/.419 with one home run and 10 RBI in 133 plate appearances this season. Espinal would likely move back to his original utility role if Toronto acquires a more offensive-minded third baseman prior to the trade deadline.

Biggio is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader at Boston.

Biggio started the matinee and went 1-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts. The 26-year-old has struggled since the All-Star break, going 5-for-27 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run scored in nine games. Santiago Espinal will start at third base in the nightcap.

Lowe went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

The 27-year-old remains locked in. Over his last 20 games, Lowe is slashing .308/.423/.738 with eight of his career-high 22 homers on the year, a far cry from the .202/.313/.405 line he sported up to that point.

Ibanez started at second base and went 0-for-2 with two walks in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Diamondbacks.

Ibanez has started at second base for all four games since Nick Solak was sent down to the minors. Texas manager Chris Woodward said over the weekend that he wasn't referring to Ibanez as the team's regular second baseman, but it looks like he's filling that role for the moment.

Altuve went 3-for-5 with a double and a run in Tuesday's 8-6 triumph against the Mariners.

Altuve singled and scored in the first, doubled in the fourth and singled in the eighth for his first three-hit game since April 26. The two-bagger was his 13th of the season, and with 23 home runs this would be the second time in three years the former MVP finishes with more homers than doubles if the trend continues.

Kemp is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Padres, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Kemp enters Tuesday will seven hits in his last 19 at-bats, but the versatile 29-year-old will sit against right-hander Chris Paddack to start the series. Jed Lowrie will man the keystone as Mark Canha, Ramon Laureano and Seth Brown start in the outfield from left to right.

Mayfield went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Monday's 6-2 win over the Rockies.

He broke open a tight contest by taking German Marquez deep in the seventh inning, giving the Angels a 4-1 lead. Mayfield is thriving with regular playing time, slashing .333/.385/.917 over his last eight games with all four of his homers on the season. Anthony Rendon is making slow progress in his recovery from a hamstring injury, so Mayfield should remain the starter at third base for at least another couple weeks, and his recent power display does have a precedent -- he launched 26 homers in 100 games at Triple-A Round Rock in 2019.

Short will be on the bench Monday against the Twins.

Short finds himself on the bench for the second time in three games. He's hit an unimpressive .188/.306/.400 in 28 games this season, though that's still overall better than the .217/.277/.360 line produced by Willi Castro, who starts at shortstop in his absence.

Lopez will sit Monday against the White Sox.

Lopez will sit against veteran southpaw Dallas Keuchel, marking the second straight day he's been on the bench against a lefty. Hanser Alberto will get another start at shortstop in his absence.

Chavis will start at second base and bat ninth Monday against the Blue Jays, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Chavis will essentially be filling in for Xander Bogaerts in the series opener, as regular second baseman Enrique Hernandez bumps over to shortstop while Bogaerts gets the day off. With all of Christian Arroyo (hamstring), Marwin Gonzalez (hamstring) and Danny Santana (groin) residing on the injured list and none believed to be close to returning, Chavis should serve as the Red Sox's top utility man in the short term. He'll be making his fourth start in six games Monday.