MLB Player News

Torres (core pain) is out of the lineup Saturday against the Blue Jays but was able to take batting practice on the field prior to the game, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Torres also took grounders at second base -- something he didn't do Friday. He will sit for a fourth straight game, but it sounds like he could be available off the bench and may be able to rejoin the lineup Sunday. DJ LeMahieu is starting at second base and leading off Saturday.

Lowe (shin) had his best day of running Friday according to Rays' major-league medical coordinator Paul Harker, but the infielder still needs to progress to explosive running before beginning a rehab assignment, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The news seemingly continues to be optimistic for Lowe, who's been engaging in a variety of baseball activities since the month began. However, he still remains a couple of steps away from running full speed, and he'll need a multi-game rehab assignment before being deemed ready for activation. However, Kramer reports that the chances of Lowe returning at some point during the Rays' next homestand, which begins next Friday and runs through Aug. 21, remain high.

Manager Aaron Boone stated that although Torres (abdomen) could play Saturday, he won't be in the starting lineup against the Blue Jays, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

Torres did some fielding work indoors Friday, and he evidently fared well enough for the Yankees to consider using him off the bench Saturday. He's been sidelined with a core injury since Tuesday.

Merrifield went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Friday night against the Tigers.

Merrifield completed one of the most exciting plays in the baseball in the first inning, hitting an inside-the-park home run. However, his team would drop the second game of the series by a score of 5-2. Through 117 games this season, Merrifield is slashing .303/.358/.485 with 13 homers, 56 RBI and 16 stolen bases.

Torres will take ground balls prior to Friday's game against the Blue Jays to test his core injury, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

Torres isn't in the starting nine for Friday's clash, but if he responds well to fielding drills, there's a chance he could return to the lineup at some point over the weekend. Skipper Aaron Boone responded with "we'll see" when asked about his starting second baseman's availability for the remainder of the series.

Torres (core pain) is not in Friday's lineup against the Blue Jays.

He will sit for a third straight game after exiting Tuesday's contest with core pain. Breyvic Valera will start at second base and hit ninth.

Chavis is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Chavis will sit for the second time in the last three contests as he is 5-for-23 over his last eight games. Brock Holt will start at the keystone and bat eighth Friday.

Castro went 1-for-4 with a walk, a three-run home run and two runs scored in Thursday's 10-8 win over the Royals.

Castro has been a pleasant surprise for the Tigers, as he's now batting .281 through 56 games. He doesn't offer a ton of pop, with just a .688 OPS and three home runs, but the 25-year-old has earned himself regular playing time and could be worth a look in deep formats or daily contests.

Torres (abdomen) is not in Thursday's lineup against the Blue Jays.

He exited Tuesday's contest with "core pain" and was held out Wednesday. While his absence Thursday is not surprising, he did say he'd be ready to play if necessary, so perhaps he will be available off the bench. Breyvic Valera is starting at second base and hitting ninth.

Semien, who went 2-for-4 with a double and a run in a loss to the Cubs on Wednesday, is 9-for-23 with three two-baggers, two home runs, three RBI, five walks and six runs through his first six games of August.

Both Semien's current batting average (.278) and on-base percentage (.364) are now at their highest points since June 20, while the last time he had a higher slugging percentage than his current .481 figure was way back on April 29. Semien was one of the few offensive bright spots in Wednesday's blowout loss, and his double puts him just one extra-base hit short of equaling the career-high 56 he garnered in 2016 over 88 additional plate appearances.