MLB Player News

Ngoepe has been suspended by the Pirates following his arrest early Sunday after an altercation outside a Toledo bar.

Ngoepe was suspended seven days and will miss the remainder of the Triple-A season. He was drinking with two other minor league players -- Dovydas Neverauskas from the Pirates system and Warwick Saupold from the Tigers system -- when a disagreement with another man escalated into a large fight. Ngoepe was charged with assault and two counts of resisting arrest. Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was quick to condemn his players' actions, saying the team is "extremely disappointed" in the actions of its players. Ngoepe is scheduled to appear in court on September 13.

Polanco is out of Tuesday's lineup against Cleveland, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Polanco will have the night off and give way to Eduardo Escobar at shortstop when the Twins face Josh Tomlin and the Indians on Tuesday night. Polanco will likely return to action for Wednesday's series finale against the Indians.

Rodgers, 20, was named South Atlantic League Most Outstanding Major League Prospect, milb.com reports.

Rodgers is hitting .282 with 19 homers and 73 RBIs in 109 games. The 2015 No. 3 overall pick owns a .343 OBP and has 31 doubles. He is one of the top hitting prospects in baseball.

Franklin went 2-for-4 with a run in Monday's loss to the Red Sox, making him 5-for-9 in the two starts since a return from the seven-day DL.

The 25-year-old continued producing despite his spot in the latter portion of the order and has his season line up to .311/.376/.538 after Monday's performance. Franklin continues to also provide the Rays with valuable versatility in the field, having put in time at both first and second base, as well left and right field, this season.

Polanco went 2-for-4 with a double in Monday's loss to the Indians.

The infielder has swung the bat well since returning to the Twins in late July. Polanco now has seven hits over his last seven games, good enough to bring his average for the season to .292. The 23-year-old should continue to get looks while swinging the bat well for Minnesota.

Giavotella cleared waivers Sunday and has been outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake.

Giavotella was designated for assignment on Saturday, but went unclaimed through the team's waivers and is no longer a member of the team's 40-man roster. The team intends to evaluate a couple other options at second base, but that doesn't rule out a return to the majors for Giavotella at some point.

Altuve went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer Sunday against the Rays.

Altuve has been on an RBI tear, as he's driven in 25 runs this month to give him 87 on the year. The superstar is enjoying a career-year, as he's slashing .355/.415/.565.

Franklin went 3-for-5 with a solo homer Sunday against the Astros.

Franklin has left the yard four times over his last 28 at-bats and he's now slugging .539 in 107 at-bats on the year. The four-year veteran has been a career part-timer, but he currently has a career-high .304 batting average.

Kemp is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rays, marking the seventh straight contest he's been limited to bench duties.

After Carlos Gomez was designated for assignment early in the month, Kemp had been seeing a steady amount of work in left field, but he wasn't really able to seize the opportunity. He's only gone 8-for-34 (.235 average) with no extra-base hits on the month, and with no starts in the past week, it's hard to justify rostering him in most formats. The Astros now appear content to proceed with Marwin Gonzalez and Teoscar Hernandez as their primary options in left field.

Frazier was optioned to rookie-level Bristol on Sunday, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Frazier had been seeing regular playing time with the Pirates and owns a .321/.345/.457 line after appearing in 39 games. Although his numbers are solid, the team felt the need to add bullpen depth and recalled A.J. Schugel, making Frazier dispensable at this point in time. However, the move seems to be strategic, as Bristol's season concludes Thursday, so it's highly likely that Frazier will return to the big club by the weekend when rosters have expanded.