MLB Player News

Forsythe (knee) isn't in Saturday's starting lineup against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Forsythe will miss his second straight game due to left knee inflammation. The issue isn't expected to be serious, so he should return to the starting nine before the season ends.

McNeil will be on the bench Saturday against Washington.

McNeil sits after making nine straight starts, a stretch in which he hit .289 with a .799 OPS. Jack Reinheimer will play second base in his absence.

Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Royals.

Rodriguez is slashing just .233/.262/.346 in the majors this season, though he's shown decent pop with five home runs in 179 at-bats. The 26-year-old infielder is likely auditioning for a reserve role with the Tigers to begin the 2019 season, though with Jose Iglesias potentially out the door, there could be an opening to fill at shortstop.

Albies went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's win over the Phillies.

Albies clubbed his 23rd home run of the year in the seventh inning off reliever Pat Neshek to fuel the Braves' eventual comeback win. Although Albies hasn't hit much in September (.219 average), he's still tied for second among all MLB second basemen in home runs (23) while leading in runs (103) and ranking second in doubles (39) at the position. The 21-year-old is hitting .267/.310/.460 with 70 RBI and 13 stolen bases on the year.

Forsythe was held out of Friday's game against Oakland due to a left knee issue, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Forsythe's knee "was not functioning correctly" when he woke up Friday, Twins manager Paul Molitor stated. Forsythe is reportedly battling some inflammation, but the issue isn't believed to be serious, per Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The 31-year-old second baseman will be considered day-to-day moving forward.

Forsythe isn't in Friday's starting lineup against the Athletics.

Forsythe will catch a breather after going 1-for-5 with a double in Wednesday's series finale against Detroit. Gregorio Petit draws the start at the keystone and will bat ninth in Forsythe's absence.

Lowe is not in the lineup for Fridays game against against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Lowe heads to the bench for the second time in the last three games as right-hander Sean Reid-Foley takes the mound for Toronto. Joey Wendle grabs the start at second base and will bat fifth for the Rays.

Semien went 3-for-5 with a double, five RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Angels.

Semien doubled with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, the hit that accounted for most of his production on the day. It was a slump-busting performance for him, as he had gone 0-for-9 across his last three games and hadn't driven in a run since September 9. Though he's never followed up his 27-home run season in 2016, Semien has scored plenty of runs and produces enough homers and stolen bases to be a solid option in deeper formats.

Merrifield went 3-for-5 with a double, two singles, two runs and a steal in Thursday's loss to the Tigers.

Merrifield continues to lead the American League with 37 steals, and the three-hit effort extended his hit streak to 11 games. He owns a .303 batting average with 12 home runs, 57 RBI and 84 runs over 665 plate appearances in 2018.

Frazier went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Royals.

His fifth-inning shot, Frazier's ninth homer of the year, provided the game-winning run for the Pirates as they try to breathe life into their dying playoff hopes. He's now hitting .281 through 16 games in September with two homers and eight RBI.