MLB Player News

Manager Kevin Cash confirmed that Lowe (lower leg) will not return this season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe was removed from Tuesday's rehab appearance at Triple-A Durham with a left quadriceps strain. The 25-year-old infielder was trending towards making a return to the big leagues, but his second major-league season comes to an end after posting a .276/.339/.523 triple slash in 307 plate appearances with 16 home runs, 49 RBI and 40 runs scored across just 76 games.

McNeil (hamstring) will start a rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Syracuse, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

He will play around six innings while seeing time in the outfield corners. This is expected to be a brief rehab assignment, as McNeil could still be activated this weekend.

Mayfield was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

The Astros purchased the contract of Abraham Toro from Triple-A after they lost Wednesday's game despite a dominant start from Justin Verlander. Mayfield simply wasn't providing enough offensive punch, so he will have to wait until September before he gets another chance in the majors.

Semien went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk Wednesday in the Athletics' 6-4 win over the Yankees.

The home run was Semien's third of the homestand and 22nd of the season, putting him just five away from matching a personal best in the category. Semien has seen a major dropoff in his efficiency on the bases this season, but he's otherwise trending toward matching or surpassing his previous career-best marks in batting average, home runs, runs and RBI.

Merrifield went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Orioles.

Merrifield hit his 15th homer of the season in the third inning off Aaron Brooks. The effort extended his hitting streak to a modest four games, though he recorded at least one hit in nine consecutive starts earlier in the month. Though his 16 stolen bases are a bit disappointing, Merrifield has put together a strong .298/.350/.478 line with 85 runs scored across 582 plate appearances for the season.

Rodriguez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Astros.

Detroit mustered just two hits against Houston ace Justin Verlander, but Rodriguez made his count, launching his ninth home run of the season in the fifth inning to put the Tigers up 1-0. The 27-year-old utility player homered twice during the three games in Houston, and he showed earlier this year that he's capable of hot streaks with a little power, though a slump is often not far behind.

Marte went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Rockies.

Marte took Tim Melville deep in the sixth inning for his 27th homer of the season. He's in the midst of a five-game hit streak, but more impressively, he has at least one hit in 14 of 16 games in August. That's helped him maintain his strong results, as he's now slashing .319/.381/.571 across 538 plate appearances for the season.

Lowe (lower leg) was removed from Tuesday's rehab appearance at Triple-A Durham with a left quadriceps strain, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

Lowe seemed to be trending towards his return to the majors from a right lower leg bruise that sidelined him over a month, but he suffered the quad strain running out a groundball Wednesday. The 25-year-old will return from the rehab assignment while the extent of the new injury is determined.

Joseph is not starting Wednesday against the Yankees.

Joseph, who has gone 5-for-23 (.217) in six games since earning a promotion, will take a seat Wednesday as the Athletics look to stack right-handed hitters against lefty J.A. Happ. In his place, Jurickson Profar is starting at the keystone and hitting eighth.

Hernandez is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Blue Jays, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

He started in his first game off the injured list Tuesday against a righty, but he will head to the bench against a righty (Wilmer Font opening, Zack Godley primary reliever) in this one. As the Dodgers continue to get healthy and inevitably add reinforcements in September, Hernandez will likely start around half the games down the stretch. He will start against most lefties and against some righties. Matt Beaty is starting in left field and hitting eighth.