MLB Player News

Biggio (hand) is starting in right field and batting sixth Tuesday against the Red Sox.

He missed a few games with a bruised hand. Biggio is hitting .171 with a .292 OBP, two home runs, zero steals and a 33.3 percent strikeout rate through 13 games.

Espinal was recalled from the alternate training site prior to Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.

He will likely be back and forth between the alternate training site and the majors all season long. Espinal has played in three games, collecting three hits in eight at-bats.

Arroyo (foot) will start at second base and bat second Tuesday against the Blue Jays, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Though Arroyo wasn't forced to exit the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the White Sox, he appeared to be in pain after fouling a ball off his foot earlier in the contest. He went unused in Monday's 11-4 win, but he looks like he'll be good to go as the Red Sox open a two-game set with the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Arroyo will be entering the lineup as an indirect replacement for Alex Verdugo, covering the keystone while Enrique Hernandez moves to center field.

Gimenez is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the White Sox.

Gimenez will sit with lefty Carlos Rodon on the mound for Chicago. He's started against every righty that Cleveland has faced this season but has been on the bench for six out of nine lefties, including each of the last four. Amed Rosario starts at shortstop in his absence.

Hernandez went 2-for-6 with a home run, a double and two runs scored in Monday's 11-4 victory over the White Sox.

Hernandez took Lucas Giolito deep to kick off the bottom half of the first inning, and the Red Sox would never look back. The 29-year-old has now homered in two of his last three contests and sits with three long balls on the young season. He's slashing .269/.306/.463 with four doubles and seven RBI over 17 games played.

Altuve isn't expected to be activated from the COVID-19 injured list ahead of Tuesday's game in Colorado while he waits to clear MLB health and safety protocols, Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reports.

Of the five players Houston placed on the COVID-19 IL on April 14, Altuve looks to be the only member of the group that won't be available for the start of the series in Colorado. Meanwhile, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Martin Maldonado and Robel Garcia will fly to Denver on Monday, and all should be reinstated from the IL ahead of Tuesday's series opener if they continue to pass all subsequent COVID-19 intake testing. Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported April 15 that only one member of the Astros quintet was known to have tested positive for the virus, and given that MLB protocols require positive players to isolate for a minimum of 10 days, Altuve would seem to be the infected individual. If that's the case, Altuve likely won't be available until the Astros' weekend series with the Angels at the earliest.

Lopez went 1-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Blue Jays.

In the second inning, Lopez and Whit Merrifield executed a double steal, but neither of them was able to score. The 26-year-old Lopez is slashing .282/.341/.359 with two steals, three RBI, six runs scored and no homers through 45 plate appearances. The infielder doesn't supply much power or speed, and he often hits at the bottom of the Royals' order.

Merrifield went 0-for-3 with two walks and two stolen bases in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Blue Jays.

Merrifield is now 5-for-6 on the basepaths this season. The second baseman is slashing .321/.371/.547 with three homers, 11 RBI, 10 runs scored and three doubles through 62 plate appearances.

Castro went 3-for-4 with two RBI in Sunday's loss to the Athletics.

Castro collected half of the team's hits and drove in both Detroit runs, which were his first two RBI of the season. The utility man hasn't been playing a ton, as he came into Sunday with only 10 at-bats, but he's shown himself to be a capable hitter when given opportunities, as he posted a .291 batting average in 2019 and a .347 mark last season in a reserve role.

Hernandez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a 3-2 loss to the White Sox in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader.

Hernandez hit a slice down the right-field line that snuck around the foul pole for his second round-tripper of the season. A sluggish 2-for-18 start appears well in his rear view mirror. Hernandez is hitting .341 (14-for-41) with an .894 OPS over his past 10 games.