MLB Player News

Solarte went 2-for-5 with a solo home run Sunday against the Nationals.

Solarte added a key insurance run in the eighth inning by smashing a home run to right field, pushing the lead to two. The 30-year-old second baseman has put together a .258/.312/.480 batting line with 41 RBI and a .792 OPS through 68 games.

Merrifield, who was lifted from Sunday's game in the second inning, is being diagnosed with a "left medial knee contusion," Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Merrifield fouled a ball off his knee and appeared to be in noticeable discomfort, but the preliminary diagnosis of a bruise appears to be a good sign. Consider the second baseman day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener against the Rangers.

Rosario is out of the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Rosario, who is off to a 7-for-45 (.156 average) start to June, will head to the bench for the first time since May 26. Jose Reyes will pick up a rare start at shortstop and will hit eighth Sunday.

Merrifield was removed from Sunday's game against the Astros in the bottom of the second inning after fouling a ball off his left knee, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Merrifield looked to be in considerable pain as he limped off the field, suggesting the injury could be more than a day-to-day concern for the versatile speedster. The Royals will likely evaluate Merrifield later Sunday or Monday before the severity of the injury is revealed. Adalberto Mondesi, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha earlier Sunday, replaced Merrifield and would be the main beneficiary for increased work at second base if Merrifield misses time.

Kemp is out of the lineup Sunday against the Royals, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Kemp has seen his opportunities take a hit since Josh Reddick was reinstated from the disabled list earlier this month. Though his ability to play all over the outfield has helped him pick up three starts in the past six games, Kemp may be hard pressed to cut further into the workloads of Reddick and Marwin Gonzalez, both of whom have produced well during the Astros' ongoing 10-game winning streak. The lack of consistent at-bats likely limits Kemp's relevance to AL-only formats, even though he has been a dependable contributor in deeper mixed leagues thus far with a .316 average and three stolen bases over 89 plate appearances.

Albies is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Padres.

It's a rare day off for the breakout second baseman, as Albies has started each of the first 70 games this year at the keystone. He's slowed down considerably in the month of June, however, slashing .131/.172/.295 across 64 plate appearances. After going hitless in another set of back-to-back games, manager Brian Snitker will send Albies to the bench in favor of Johan Camargo at second base. Dansby Swanson will get the call to bat atop the batting order for the series finale.

Andrus (elbow) played nine innings at shortstop for a second straight day Saturday, Gerry Fraley of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Manager Jeff Banister needed to see Andrus handle back-to-back games in the field before he would consider activating him. With that out of the way, Banister said it's "a real possibility" that Andrus will be in the lineup Monday against Kansas City.

Merrifield went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and a stolen base in Saturday's loss to the Astros.

Merrifield now has four multi-hit efforts over the last five games, raising his batting average from .283 to .295 over that stretch. On top of his solid .295/.372/.425 slash line this season, Merrifield's 15 stolen bases are the second most in the American League behind only Dee Gordon.

Semien went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Angels.

Semien took John Lamb deep in the sixth inning -- marking his sixth homer of the season and first since May 20 -- to kick off what wound up being a crucial four-run inning for the Athletics en route to Saturday's 6-4 victory. While the shortstop is hitting just .204/.259/.333 in June, he's now collected an extra-base hit in consecutive games and will look to keep things rolling.

Hernandez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer against the Giants on Saturday.

Hernandez drew a second consecutive start with a left-handed pitcher on the mound and came through with his 10th home run of the season. He entered Saturday's contest with a slugging percentage nearly 100 points below his career mark against southpaws, but with home runs against them in consecutive games, it appears that he is seeing them well once again.