MLB Player News

Drury went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI in Sunday's loss to the Blue Jays.

Drury launched his first home run of the season Sunday, bringing his RBI count to four along the way. Over four games with his new club, Drury has gone 5-for-13 (.385). Even after Miguel Andujar was summoned from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Drury should remain a regular in New York's powerful lineup if his production remains solid.

Andrus is likely to get the majority of at-bats in the leadoff spot with Delino DeShields (hand) sidelined, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Andrus was the emergency fill-in at leadoff Saturday and got on base three times while scoring all three runs in the Rangers' 9-3 loss to the Astros. He had opened the season as the third hitter, where he could make an impact driving in runs. That all changes -- at least as long as DeShields is out. The bottom third of the Rangers' order will not present Andrus with many RBI opportunities -- that trio went 0-for-11 with one walk and six strikeouts Saturday. The lower third of the order is a combined 1-for-29 with two walks and 13 strikeouts over the first three games of the season.

Altuve went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's 9-3 win over the Rangers.

This was the 25th time in Altuve's career he's had a four-hit game, although you don't need us to point out statistical feats that prove Altuve's one of baseball's best hitters. He's batting third in the order, in front of Carlos Correa, who also had four hits Saturday, including a home run. Altuve, who has scored 220 runs over the last two seasons, should be a lock to cross home plate more than 100 times this season while hitting in front of Correa.

Andrus went 2-for-3 with one walk, one home run, one RBI, and three runs scored Saturday against the Astros.

Andrus took over the leadoff role in the first game of Delino DeShields' absence and took advantage, reaching base three times and scoring each time. Andrus batted second and third predominantly last season, but attempted only seven steals in 214 at-bats batting third last season as opposed to 22 attempts in 350 at-bats when batting second. Now that he is likely to bat higher in the order, his stolen-base production should be safe.

Fontana was called up to the majors Saturday to replace the injured Ian Kinsler (groin), Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Fontana figures to remain in the big leagues for at least the 10 days that Kinsler is required to remain on the disabled list, and it's unclear if Kinsler will need additional time beyond that. Fontana could start occasionally in Kinsler's place, though the Angels are likely to slide Zack Cozart over from third, with Luis Valbuena and Jefry Marte receiving starts at third base. If Fontana ends up with unexpected playing time this season, he could be worth a flyer in deep OBP leagues, as he posted a 16.6 percent walk rate at Triple-A Salt Lake last season, though he doesn't do much else to help fantasy owners.

Drury went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and two RBI in Friday's 4-2 win over the Blue Jays.

He's off to a good start to his Yankee career, rapping out three hits in two games. The 25-year-old seems to be settling in nicely as the starting third baseman, but he could get bumped to a bench role as soon as the front office deems Miguel Andujar ready for a promotion -- putting pressure on Drury to keep producing if he wants to keep his job.

Solarte will serve as the Blue Jays' starting third baseman while Josh Donaldson deals with a "dead arm" phase, MLB Network Radio reports.

Donaldson will be the team's designated hitter until his arm is ready to make throws from third base. Solarte was going to get plenty of playing time this year regardless, but it looks like he will be an everyday player in the short term.

Semien went 3-for-5 with an RBI, two runs scored, one walk and one strikeout Thursday against the Angels.

Semien was quietly pushed up in the A's batting order in 2017, batting nearly exclusively in either the first or second spot in the lineup. In that role, he managed to post a 9.8 BB%, which helped him score 53 runs in just 386 plate appearances. On Thursday, he was again slotted into the second spot in the A's lineup, and if he can maintain that spot, he should produce counting stats more consistently. Given his established capability of producing power and speed numbers, Semien appears to be trending up as a fantasy asset.

Andrus batted third and went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Astros.

Andrus has hit at the extreme ends of batting orders during his career, but was exposed to the three-hole last season when he posted increased power numbers. It looks like he'll be a fixture in the middle of the Rangers' lineup and could build off his career-high 88 RBI in 2017.

Motter was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday, Corey Brock of The Athletic reports.

The Mariners kept Motter around in case Ichiro Suzuki wasn't ready to go for the start of the season, but with Suzuki being cleared to return, Motter will open the season in the minors. The 28-year-old utility man hit an impressive .350/.427/.640 across 117 plate appearances with Tacoma last season, but he failed to translate that success to the majors, hitting just .198/.257/.326 across 280 plate appearances with the Mariners. Given his versatility, he'll likely be back with the big club at some point in 2018.