MLB Player News

Diaz is not in the lineup Monday against the Diamondbacks, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Diaz has been a near-everyday starter at second base since making his big-league debut in early August, though he hasn't exactly earned such a role. He's hit just .153/.248/.260 in 37 games. Starlin Castro slides to second base in his absence, with Jon Berti starting at third.

Joseph was claimed off waivers by the Pirates on Monday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Joseph will now head to his third team of the season. He's done very little in 19 games for Oakland and San Francisco so far this year, hitting .151/.193/.245. It's hard to envision him playing a major role in Pittsburgh over the final two weeks.

Castro is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Orioles.

Jordy Mercer will fill in at second base while Castro rests after turning in a productive first half of September. Over his 11 starts this month, Castro has delivered multiple hits in eight of those contests, including each of his last five games. Castro's .305 average this season leads all Tigers hitters.

Semien went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk Sunday in the Athletics' 6-1 win over the Rangers.

Semien reached the 30-homer plateau Sunday, joining Matt Chapman (34) and Matt Olson (34) to become the first trio to achieve the feat for the organization since 2001. The shortstop has already established career bests in home runs, doubles, triples, runs and RBI and should continue to supply useful counting stats the rest of the way with Oakland unlikely to rest him as it fights with Cleveland and Tampa Bay for the two available American League wild-card spots.

Arraez went 1-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's 7-5 loss to the Indians.

Arraez's 1-for-7 showing at the plate over the final two games of the series qualifies as a slump for the rookie, who has showcased elite bat-to-ball skills since arriving in the big leagues in mid-May. The 22-year-old has turned what was expected to be a brief stay in the majors into a full-time role in the infield, unseating Jonathan Schoop for regular work at second base in the process. Arraez has recorded more walks (six) than strikeouts (five) in September and is batting .400 so far this month, lifting his season-long average to a robust .344 across 319 plate appearances.

Lowe (quadriceps) is slated to see live at-bats during the coming week in the form of a simulated game Monday against Yonny Chirinos (finger) and in Instructional League games the rest of the week, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays and Lowe continue to keep hope alive with respect to a return before the end of the regular season, and this coming week's planned activities should prove a strong litmus test for how realistic activation during the final week of the campaign might be. Lowe experienced some leg fatigue during a sim game last Thursday, but that wasn't overly concerning given that the 25-year-old had been running for a string of days prior.

Urias went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and a double in a loss to Colorado on Sunday.

Urias crushed a 441-foot shot to center field in the second inning to plate the Padres' first run. The rookie has found his groove at the plate over the last nine games, batting .400 (14-for-35) with four walks and six RBI. The hot streak has pushed Urias' average over .220 for the first time this season, and his current slash line sits at .223/.337/.326 in 205 plate appearances.

Castro went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Orioles.

It's been a tough season for the 44-104 Tigers, but Castro has been a bright spot. The 25-year-old is now batting .305 and has shown good defensive versatility, having appeared at every position except for pitcher and catcher, which should keep him in Detroit's plans moving forward.

Dubon went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in Sunday's 2-1 win over Miami.

Dubon's third-inning homer opened the game's scoring and would be the only extra-base hit for either team Sunday. The rookie infielder owns a .843 OPS and seven extra-base hits in his first 57 career plate appearances.

Altuve will sit Sunday against the Royals, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve hits the bench for just the third time since late July. He's been in typical elite form over his last 10 games, hitting .325/.386/.650 with three homers. Aledmys Diaz will start at second base.