MLB Player News

Marte went 2-for-2 with a triple, double, RBI and run scored Sunday in the Diamondbacks' 6-1 win over the Marlins.

Though he didn't start Sunday's contest, Marte made a big impact off the bench and has now compiled seven extra-base hits in his last six games. That represents more than 40 percent of Marte's total for the season, with the 24-year-old maintaining a lowly .299 slugging percentage prior to the recent power binge. Before reverting to a groundball-heavy batting profile in the first two months of the current campaign, Marte demonstrated growth as a slugger in the second half of the 2017 season, so there's at least some precedent for his performance over the last week. Fantasy players in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues in search of middle-infield help could do worse than rolling the dice on Marte while he seems to have unlocked more power.

Torres will start at second base and bat ninth in the first game of the Yankees' doubleheader Monday against the Tigers, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Yankees fans were likely holding their collective breath after Torres was drilled in the wrist by a 94 mile-per-hour fastball in Saturday's game against the Orioles, but manager Aaron Boone confirmed that the rookie would have been available for the series finale with Baltimore on Sunday had that game not been postponed, per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com. The day off Sunday was likely beneficial nonetheless for Torres, who could be cleared to play both halves of the twin bill if he experiences no unexpected soreness during the afternoon contest.

Kemp will start in center field and bat ninth Sunday against the Red Sox.

Kemp hit the bench for the Astros' past two games with the Red Sox bringing a pair of lefty starters to the hill. With Rick Porcello on the mound for Boston in the series finale, Kemp will reenter the starting nine and look to break out of his funk at the dish. Kemp has recorded just two hits in 14 at-bats over his last five contests.

Marte is not in the lineup Sunday against the Marlins.

Marte, who has six hits in his last 17 at-bats and has notched five RBI in his last five starts, will make his way to the bench in favor of Daniel Descalso at second base. Expect to see Marte back in the lineup Monday in San Francisco.

Semien went 1-for-5 with a double and a run in a loss to the Royals on Saturday.

Semien officially returned from paternity leave for Friday's game, but he entered the contest as a defensive replacement late and never logged an official plate appearance. However, he was back in the starting nine Saturday, hitting safely for the fourth time in the last five games with an official at-bat. Semien's season line is a serviceable .267/.318/.383, but he's been on a bit of a power drought, not having homered over his last 41 plate appearances (nine games) despite making hard contact at a solid 36.0 percent clip during that stretch.

Guillorme will start at third base and bat seventh Sunday against the Cubs, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Injuries to Todd Frazier (hamstring) and Wilmer Flores (back) have opened up a full-time role at third base for Guillorme, who starts for the seventh time in eight games Sunday. With a 6-for-25 showing at the plate over the previous seven contests, Guillorme probably hasn't done enough to send fantasy players scrambling to the wire to pick him up, and his window for relevance will likely come to a close soon. According to Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record, Frazier is expected to return from the 10-day disabled list prior to the start of a two-game set with the Orioles on Tuesday, at which point Guillorme would fade back to a reserve role.

Rodriguez will start at second base and bat ninth Sunday against the Blue Jays.

Rodriguez pushed his way to the big leagues after hitting .318 with eight home runs and eight stolen bases over 209 plate appearances for Triple-A Toledo, and it looks like the Tigers may give him an extended opportunity to stake his claim to a full-time role at the big club. With Dixon Machado, Detroit's primary second baseman this season, sitting on a lowly .575 OPS, Rodriguez will replace him in the starting nine for the third time in four games. It's probably too early to call Rodriguez the team's new preferred option at the keystone, but the heavy usage he's received since his promotion Wednesday could make him worth a flyer in AL-only formats.

Solarte went 2-for-4 with a homer, a double, two RBI and two runs in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.

Solarte tied the game up at 1-1 with his RBI double in the third inning, while his solo homer in the fifth inning put the Blue Jays ahead 4-2 (though it would be the final run Toronto scored en route to a 7-4 loss). The 30-year-old is now hitting a solid .256/.316/.479 with 12 homers and 35 RBI this season.

Forsythe is out of Saturday's lineup against the Rockies, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

This is his second day out of the lineup over the last three games. He is hitting .244/.300/.311 with zero home runs over his last 45 at-bats. Breyvic Valera is starting at second base and hitting eighth against righty German Marquez.

Alvarez was assigned outright to Double-A Frisco on Saturday, John Blake of the Texas Rangers reports.

Alvarez was designated for assignment by the Rangers on Tuesday to make room for Ricardo Rodriguez on the 40-man roster, and will remain at Double-A Frisco. The 23-year-old has an unsightly .189/.279/.283 slash line with 53 strikeouts in 159 at-bats for the RoughRiders this season.