MLB Player News

The Blue Jays released Espinosa on Sunday.

After failing to crack the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster out of spring training, Espinosa accepted a minor-league assignment and reported to Triple-A Buffalo. Over 13 games with the affiliate, Espinosa slashed .232/.271/.286, providing little hope for him earning a promotion to the big club in the near future. Toronto elected to cut the veteran to make room for outfielder Ian Parmley on the Triple-A roster, allowing Espinosa to pursue opportunities elsewhere.

Hernandez batted third and went 1-for-3 with an RBI in Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Giants.

The lefty-killer got the start in right field in place of Yasiel Puig (ankle) with the left-handed Ty Blach taking the mound for the Giants. Alex Verdugo and Joc Pederson figure to get the lion's share of starts in right against righties, with Hernandez filling in against southpaws. The 26-year-old had started four of the Dodgers' six contests prior to Puig's placement on the DL on Sunday, so he should be able to see enough starts around the diamond to provide value in deeper formats. Hernandez is slashing .254/.347/.476 with three homers in 75 plate appearances.

Solarte went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI Sunday as the Blue Jays defeated the Rangers 7-2.

Solarte's seventh home run of the year came in the second inning as he hit a solo shot off Martin Perez. Solarte has been a sound source of power early this year, as he's on track to surpass last season's career-high 18 home runs. Although his .231 batting average is underwhelming, Solarte has struck out in just 15.5 percent of his plate appearances, leaving room for him to approach his .265 career batting average.

Albies went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, three RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in Sunday's win over the Phillies.

Albies has been nothing short of outstanding in the early going this season, as the dynamic second baseman has been a strong contributor in just about every offensive fantasy category. His relative lack of steals have been the only area in which his fantasy owners could've hoped for more production so far this season, but Albies has now stolen two bags in his last three games after having not swiped one in his 16 contests prior to that. Albies was used in the leadoff spot for just the second time all season Sunday in place of Ender Inciarte, who moved down to ninth in the order, and the Braves could stick with that lineup configuration moving forward based on the success the club found Sunday. If that's the case, Albies would likely benefit from more stolen-base opportunities than he might otherwise earn as the Braves' No. 2 hitter.

Drury (impaired vision) is participating in a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but remains without an estimated return date, Marc Carig of The Athletic New York reports.

Since beginning his rehab assignment on April 24, Drury has played in four games. Over said outings, he's gone 6-for-13 (.462) and scored three runs. However, it's unclear when the Yankees are looking to bring him off the disabled list. It remains to be seen what Drury's role will be once he returns to full health, as top prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar have been sound options since being promoted to the big club.

Tomlinson is out of the lineup Sunday against the Dodgers.

Tomlinson picked up starts at second base in both halves of a doubleheader Saturday, going a combined 3-for-8 with two RBI and a run. With Joe Panik (thumb) on the 10-day disabled list and at risk of missing extended time if surgery is required, Tomlinson could be positioned to see the bulk of the action at the keystone in the interim. Tomlinson will likely have to earn a full-time role, however, as Alen Hanson was added to the active roster Saturday to provide an additional option at the position. Hanson will pick up a start in the series finale after hitting a three-run homer off the bench in Game 1 of the doubleheader.

Rosario is out of the lineup Sunday against the Padres, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

Rosario had started the previous five games, going 4-for-19 to drop his season average to .241. A 4.8 percent walk rate and lack of power has limited Rosario to an underwhelming .615 OPS, 50 points below the mark he posted as a rookie last season. The slow start doesn't put Rosario in any immediate danger of losing his starting role, but manager Mickey Callaway may opt to mix in Jose Reyes more liberally at shortstop until the youngster offers more production at the plate.

Altuve went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the Athletics.

Altuve continues to get on base at a prolific rate and is now hitting .351/.411/.450 after his four-hit performance Saturday. He also hit his second home run of the week, a positive sign after struggling to hit for power early in the season.

Semien went 2-for-4 with two runs in a win over the Astros on Friday.

Semien continued producing out of the leadoff spot Friday, posting his fifth two-hit effort of the last six games. The hot-hitting shortstop has reached safely in eight straight contests overall, a stretch during which he's raised his average 39 points to .286.

Albies went 1-for-4 with a double, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's loss to the Phillies.

While the young second baseman has been an extra-base-hit machine to begin the season, the downside of all those doubles has been fewer opportunities to steal bases. That wasn't a problem Friday, as Albies stole home in the first inning on the front end of a double steal when the Phillies tried to gun Freddie Freeman down at second base. The Braves currently sit third in the majors with 19 stolen bases as a team and are committed to being aggressive on the basepaths, so while Albies is only 2-for-4 on steal attempts so far, he should get plenty more opportunities -- and have a lot more success -- as the season progresses.