MLB Player News

Espinosa went 3-for-4 with a solo homer and two runs scored in Friday's 9-6 victory over the Phillies.

The veteran now has two three-hit outings over his last three games, and already has four homers in June, after having hit five in all of May. Espinosa is still struggling considerably at the plate-- as his .214/.300/.393 line suggests-- but certainly offers solid upside with respect to the long ball.

Tomlinson was placed on the 15-day DL Friday with a left thumb sprain.

It's not entirely clear when Tomlinson sustained the injury, but he'll miss some time while Ramiro Pena is called up to take a utility infield role. Tomlinson was hitting .289/.379/.329 in 88 plate appearances with five steals.

Franklin was optioned to Triple-A Durham on Friday.

The Rays activated Logan Forsythe from the 15-day disabled list (shoulder) and optioned Franklin as a corresponding move. Franklin only accumulated three at-bats during his time with the team, going 0-for-1 with two walks after being called up from Durham on Sunday. Throughout the 2016 season, Franklin is batting .258 with five home runs for Durham. Even though he spent less than a week with the big league team, there is a good chance that Franklin will see more time with the Rays later on this summer.

Forsythe (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day DL on Friday.

Forsythe only needed two rehab games with Triple-A Durham before the Rays deemed him healthy. He went 2-for-5 with a homer in those games while also drawing a walk and hit-by-pitch. Shoulder injuries can be a drag on a player's productivity even after they are activated, so Forsythe carries some risk for now. However, he's likely to immediately regain the starting duties at second base and hit near the top of the order.

The Phillies released Nina on Friday, Tom Housenick of the Allentown Morning Call reports.

Nina hit .193/.239/.301 with two home runs in 83 at-bats for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He will try to find another club looking for minor league infield depth.

Altuve went 2-for-3 with a go-ahead two-run double Wednesday to lift the Astros to a 3-1 win over the Rangers. He also drew a walk and stole his 18th base of the season.

Altuve is off to a hot start in June, hitting .400 (12-for-30) with a home run, five RBI and three stolen bases during the month. His offensive contributions are a big reason the Astros have won 12 of their last 16 games.

Dubon will represent High-A Salem in the Carolina League All-Star game, MiLB.com reports.

Dubon is hitting .301 in 52 games with 23 RBI, 10 doubles and 18 stolen bases. He's down a bit on the Red Sox's prospect list -- 12th or 13th depending on the organization doing the evaluating -- but has produced like top prospects Yoan Moncada and Andrew Benintendi and plays an important position defensively.

Espinosa went 3-for-5 with a double, a solo homer and three runs against the White Sox on Wednesday.

How rare are multi-hit games for Espinosa? Well, this was only his eighth in 58 games this year, and it lifted his average back over the Mendoza Line to .206. The power (nine homers) has been his lone redeeming quality, and much of it has come recently -- he's gone yard four times in his last seven games as he continues his efforts to hold off the looming Trea Turner. Ultimately, it's not going to be enough.

Marte (neck) is back in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Indians, batting eighth and playing shortstop.

Marte came down with some neck spasms prior to Tuesday's game and was eventually scratched from the lineup, but the dynamic young shortstop will be back in the order for Wednesday's matchup. His return bumps Shawn O'Malley back to a role coming off the bench, and provided that Marte can stay healthy moving forward, he should continue to see the bulk of the starts at shortstop.

Drury is out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Rays, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.

Drury, who's been struggling at the plate in his last four games (1-for-9 in that time), will get the day off as the Diamondbacks face the right-handed Jake Odorizzi. Yasmany Tomas, who's hitting .233 against right-handed pitching, will take Drury's spot in right field.