MLB Player News

Phillies infielder/outfielder Darnell Sweeney is not in the lineup Friday against the Braves.

Sweeney has seen most of his work in left field, but has recently transitioned over to second with Cesar Hernandez out for the season. Andres Blanco will get the start at the keystone Friday, while Aaron Altherr will shift over to left field.

Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe is not in the lineup Friday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Tribune reports.

He's recorded just three hits in his last 21 at-bats, so it looks like he will get a night off to clear his head. Nick Franklin will take over at second base and hit eighth in the order.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus went 0 for 3 on Thursday, but drew a walk, stole two bases and scored a run against the Astros.

The shortstop's now hit 20 steals for the seventh consecutive season to open his career, but as they have the last few years, his hitting numbers have lagged thanks to a near-total lack of power.

It's hard to shake the feeling that Andrus -- a very good contact hitter -- should be better than this, but he's been very consistently unproductive with the bat for the last three seasons. He's also not a particularly good base stealer, having been caught eight times this year and 15 times in 42 tries last year.

Giants infielder Joe Panik (back) was placed on the 60-day DL on Wednesday, John Shea of The San Francisco Chronicle reports. 

Manager Bruce Bochy had suggested Panik's season was likely over following his latest setback, but this roster move makes it official.

It's a tough way for his sophomore season to end, but Panik turned in strong production when on the field, batting .312/.378/.455 with eight homers and 37 RBI. Kelby Tomlinson will remain the starting second baseman the rest of the way.

Rays second baseman Nick Franklin entered midway through Tuesday's game and went 1 for 2 with a two-run homer against the Yankees.

 Asdrubal Cabrera left Tuesday's game with a knee strain, so Franklin could see more at-bats in the coming days as Cabrera recovers.

With Joe Panik (back) likely being shut down for the season, Giants infielder Kelby Tomlinson will see regular playing time down the stretch.

Tomlinson has done a nice job in Panik's stead, slashing .295/.351/.410 in 105 at-bats. He can provide help in both the batting average and stolen base departments down the stretch.

Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella (illness) took batting practice Tuesday for the first time since having vision issues, The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher reports.

He still has some work to do, but it is certainly good to see that Giavotella is progressing. There is not much time left in the season for Giavotella to make an impact in fantasy leagues, but it does sound like he will return sometime before the end of the season.

Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Padres.

This is a bit surprising to see, considering the Diamondbacks are facing a right-hander in Tyson Ross and Lamb went 2-for-4 with a double in Monday's loss. However, it seems manager Chip Hale simply wants to get Brandon Drury involved with a start at third base -- his last start came back on Sept. 5 -- as there has been no word of an injury to Lamb.

Angels second baseman Johnny Giavotella is on the disabled list because he's had issues seeing, reports the Orange County Register. Giavotella has been seeing double, but he hopes the issue will be cleared up before the season ends so he can return. He was recently diagnosed with a cranial nerve condition, according to ESPN.com

"With this issue, it could last a couple of days to a couple of weeks. So I'm just being patient with it, just taking it a day at a time," Giavotella said. "I was concerned that it might be vertigo at first. It's nothing that they can go in there and fix. It just takes time for it to repair itself.

Padres utility man Yangervis Solarte had quite a night at the plate on Thursday. Batting from the lead-off spot in the order, Solarte went 4 for 5 with two doubles, a home run, two RBI and three runs scored.

Solarte saved his biggest hits for late in the game. In the seventh inning, he crushed a pitch to deep left field for his 12th homer of the season--a solo shot which brought the Padres to within a run. 

In the next inning, he laced an RBI-double to pad the Padres' lead to their final score of 10-7 in the victory over the Dodgers. 

Solarte was in need of a big offensive performance, as he entered the game stuck in a 4-for-26 skid.