MLB Player News

The Blue Jays extended a qualifying offer to Semien on Saturday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Coming off a career year, Semien will likely decline the one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer and cash in with a large multi-year deal deal. The Blue Jays don't have strong internal candidates to replace Semien, so they could remain in the mix to bring him back even if he declines the offer.

Gorman has missed the last two weeks of Arizona Fall League play due to hamstring tightness, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The injury is unfortunate, as Gorman was one of the league's best players through six games, slashing .375/.565/.625 with one home run and a 2:7 K:BB. Regardless of whether he is able to return to AFL play before the league wraps up this month, Gorman is a candidate to make his big-league debut early in the 2022 season.

Altuve went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and a pair of runs scored in Saturday's World Series Game 4 loss against Atlanta.

Altuve singled to lead off the game and came around to score on a Carlos Correa groundout in the top of the first. He made it 2-0 in the top of the fourth with a shot to center field off Kyle Wright. The homer was the 23rd postseason blast of Altuve's career, moving him ahead of Bernie Williams into sole possession of second on the all-time leaderboard, six behind Manny Ramirez, but it wasn't enough to secure the Astros a win, as Atlanta would score three late runs to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Barreto (elbow) elected free agency after clearing waivers last week, Taylor Blake Ward of HomePlateView.com reports.

A once-acclaimed prospect in the Blue Jays system who later became the main piece in the trade sent Josh Donaldson from Oakland to Toronto, Barreto has not only faltered across various stints at the big-league level (45 wRC+ in 237 career plate appearances), but he's also struggled to stay healthy in recent years. He didn't see any action in affiliated ball at all in 2021, as he battled right elbow inflammation in spring training that later required Tommy John surgery in May. Though he'll face a shorter recovery timeline than a pitcher, Barreto will still likely face at least some restrictions heading into next spring, which may force him to settle for a minor-league deal this winter. Still just 25 years old, Barreto shouldn't be written off entirely from making a big-league impact, but he'll first need to prove healthy and effective at the Triple-A level before getting another look.

Lux isn't starting Game 6 of the NLCS against Atlanta on Saturday.

Lux will remain out of the lineup for a second straight contest but should be available off the bench. Cody Bellinger will start in center field while Matt Beaty takes over at first base.

Haggerty (shoulder) was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

Haggerty missed most of the season while dealing with a right shoulder injury. He hit .186/.247/.291 in 35 games prior to hitting the injured list, so it's unsurprising that he passed through waivers unclaimed.

Barreto (elbow) cleared waivers and was outrighted off the Angels' 40-man roster Friday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Barreto underwent Tommy John surgery back in May and was given a recovery timeline of 10-to-12 months, meaning there's no guarantee he's ready for the start of the regular season. Between that procedure and the fact that he owns a career .175/.207/.342 slash line in 237 major-league plate appearances, it's no surprise to see him pass through waivers unclaimed.

Lux isn't starting Game 5 of the NLCS against Atlanta on Thursday, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Lux went 1-for-9 with a stolen base, two walks and a strikeout across the first four games of the NLCS. Cody Bellinger will shift to center field while Albert Pujols starts at first base.

Arroyo will start at second base and bat eighth Wednesday in Game 5 of the Red Sox's ALCS matchup with the Astros, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

With Enrique Hernandez moving to center field on a more frequent basis during the postseason and Kyle Schwarber displacing Bobby Dalbec at first base, playing time has opened up for Arroyo at the keystone. Arroyo started in each of the first four games of the series, going 4-for-14 with a home run, a triple and three RBI.

Altuve went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs and a walk in Tuesday's win over the Red Sox in Game 4 of the ALCS.

Altuve had gone 0-for-9 across the last two games, but he blasted his second game-tying home run of the ALCS in the eighth inning of Tuesday's contest before the Astros plated seven runs in the top of the ninth. Since the start of the postseason, he's hit .219/.350/.563 with two doubles, three home runs, seven runs, seven RBI and a stolen base.