MLB Player News

Altuve (knee) is feeling better but has yet to resume baseball activities, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve left Thursday's game against the Rangers with right knee discomfort and landed on the injured list Saturday, so it's not as if he's been shut down for a particularly long period. It's not yet clear whether or not he'll need more than a minimum-length stay on the injured list.

Semien (side) is expected to return at some point during the Athletics' series against the Astros, which ends Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Semien has already been out for over a week with side soreness, though he was never placed on the injured list. It remains unclear precisely when he'll return, but there's no reason for Oakland to move him to the injured list at this point.

Semien (side) remains on the bench as expected Monday against Houston.

Semien has avoided a trip to the injured list with side soreness, though may as well have been removed from the roster, as he's now sidelined for the ninth straight day. He's expected to take batting practice Monday and could return to the lineup soon, though when exactly that will happen remains to be seen. Vimael Machin will be the shortstop Monday.

Merrifield will start at second base and will bat leadoff Monday against the Indians, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Merrifield has hit out of the leadoff spot in all 42 of the Royals' games this season, and he doesn't look on track to lose out on that job even though he's currently in the midst of his roughest stretch of the campaign. Over the past seven contests, Merrifield has gone 1-for-30, dropping his season average from .296 to .248 over that stretch.

Lopez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Indians, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

On the bench for the second time in three days, Lopez's grip on an everyday role looks to be loosening. Whit Merrifield will cover the keystone in place of Lopez, who is slashing a mediocre .214/.290/.286 on the season.

Haggerty landed on the 10-day injured list with a left forearm strain Monday.

The injury seemingly explains why Haggerty hasn't seen the field since Friday. The move was made retroactive to Saturday, so Haggerty can return next Tuesday, though it's not yet clear whether or not he's expected to do so. Casey Sadler was added to the active roster in a corresponding move.

Polanco will sit Monday against Detroit.

Polanco sits after starting 15 straight games. He's hitting a solid .285 this season, but his walk rate and power have both fallen off, giving him a mediocre .285/.321/.399 slash line. Ehire Adrianza will get the start at shortstop in his absence.

Arraez is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.

Arraez returned Sunday after a brief absence due to a sore kneecap and looked perfectly healthy, grabbing a pair of hits. He'll get another day off here, with Marwin Gonzalez taking over at second base.

Ibanez is in line for a callup to Texas, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The 27-year-old Ibanez is not an advanced prospect, but he's hit at every level and should get a chance on a team that just finished a 3-17 stretch and is tied with Boston and Pittsburgh for the lowest winning percentage in the majors (.333). "As an organization, we value him, especially with the bat in his hand," Texas manager Chris Woodward said. "He gives you a quality at-bat every time. He hits the ball hard, stays in the strike zone, has a ton of adjust-ability on every pitch. He handles everything, every type of pitch, every type of velo, every type of speed, spin, everything." The issue with Ibanez has been finding him a home defensively. In two seasons at Triple-A, Ibanez slashed .291/.359/.454 with 32 home runs and 120 RBI. The Rangers have already started an evaluation of Anderson Tejeda (2B and SS) and Nick Solak (2B) while giving current third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa playing time at shortstop.

The Rangers will be taking longer looks at younger talent and are moving away from Andrus and Rougned Odor (eye) in the middle infield, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

The club has been moving in this direction for the past 18 months, but this frustrating season is forcing the Rangers to change focus. One play Friday sealed the deal on Andrus, and Anderson Tejeda started at shortstop Saturday and Sunday. Andrus failed to get to a grounder that resulted in a run in Friday's loss. The batted ball left the bat at 81 MPH and had an expected batting average of .130, but Andrus failed to track it down. "That's a play that you would expect a shortstop to make, especially at this level," manager Chris Woodward said. "He didn't really say much about it after, but I kind of had a feeling; obviously we can all kind of see if there is some lower-back issue there. But he hasn't really performed to the level that we would expect or he would expect. I want to see Tejeda play. I want to see what we have." The Rangers have lost 17 out of 20, so the organization is focused on developing its talent for the next competitive window.