MLB Player News

Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe has heated up recently, getting 8 hits in 20 at bats (.400) over the last six games. 

Forsythe's fast start has several career highs in jeopardy. He's hitting .296 for the season--his previous best was .273. He already has 11 RBI and seven doubles, putting a bullseye on his previous bests of 26 RBI and 13 doubles over an entire season.

Forsythe is just focusing on his approach at the plate, a strategy he thinks will help the entire team turn around their slow start. 

"If we keep the mindset of having good at-bats like we have been the whole year and kind of keeping the line moving, we'll get back to where we were," he said, per Fox Sports.

Like much of the Rangers offense, the struggles for shortstop Elvis Andrus continued in Sunday's 7-1 loss to the A's. Despite drawing a couple of walks on the afternoon, Andrus went hitless and has seen his season batting average drop to .224.

Andrus' defense is suffering just as much as his offense is, as he committed his seventh error of the season on Sunday, which is the second-most in the American League. He has been at shortstop for every inning of every game for the Rangers so far. One might wonder if manager Jeff Bannister would consider giving the former two-time All-Star a rest in the coming days.

Rays second baseman Nick Franklin is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment with Triple-A Durham Tuesday, according to the Tampa Tribune.

Franklin is currently on the 15-day DL with an oblique injury. He has not played in a game yet this season with Tampa Bay after posting a .160 average with six RBI in 81 at-bats in 2014.

Padres utility man Cory Spangenberg will start for the Padres in Sunday's game against the Rockies. He'll bat second and play second base.

This is Spangenberg's first start since an April 24 game against the Dodgers. 

Third baseman Yangervis Solarte is back in the lineup and will hit fifth. After taking Saturday off, shortstop Alexi Amarista is back in the lineup and will bat eighth. 

The White Sox left two regulars out of the lineup on Sunday and moved another to DH to give him a day's rest from playing the field. 

Catcher Tyler Flowers is out of the lineup. For the third time in five games, he'll be replaced by Geovany Soto, who will bat eighth in the order. 

Third baseman Conor Gillaspie is also out of the starting lineup, for just the fifth time this year. He's replaced by Gordon Beckham, who'll bat seventh. 

Jose Abreu moves from first base to DH, swapping positions with Adam LaRoche, who gets his third start of the year at first base. 

White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham may have needed to leave and return like the Prodigal Son to Chicago before he found success, according to the Daily Herald.

Beckham, in his second stint with Chicago, is hitting .350 with four RBI in 20 at-bats. Manager Robin Ventura is liking what he's seen from Beckham so far this season. 

"It can happen, it can jump on guys when there are expectations and the pressure gets there," manager Robin Ventura said. "For him, it might have been helpful to get traded away and go away for a while and come back with more of a clear conscience of who he is, where he's at. You get some information from somewhere else that maybe sticks in your skull differently than it did here.

"He's in a good frame of mind and that's the other big thing. All the stuff that has been said about him, but he can play baseball. We know that. He's a good player."

Astros second baseman Jose Altuve went 1 for 4 at the plate in Houston's 11-4 win over the Mariners Saturday.

Altuve did his damage in the fourth inning when he took a Taijuan Walker pitch to deep center field for a three-run bomb, his third of the season.

Altuve's one hit also broke his streak of nine straight multi-hit games, but still boasts a .371 average with 19 RBI in 105 at-bats.

First baseman Yonder Alonso and shortstop Alexi Amarista were held out of the Padres' starting lineup for Saturday's game. 

Yangervis Solarte starts in place of Alonso at first for the fourth time this season but second time in three games. He'll bat fifth in the lineup. 

Clint Barmes also makes his second start in three games for the Padres. He's in the lineup at short for the seventh time this year and will bat eighth.

For the second straight game, Justin Turner replaces Juan Uribe at third base for the Dodgers. 

Turner will make his fourth start of the year at the hot corner, batting second in the lineup. 

The Dodgers also gave a rest to shortstop Jimmy Rollins, who is out of the lineup for just the third time this year. Enrique Hernandez will start just his fourth career game at short, batting eighth in the lineup. 

"JT's been swinging good. Alex has been swinging good. Van Slyke's been swinging good. We’ve got a number of guys that are swinging good which is a good problem," manager Don Mattingly said per the Orange County Register." ... It’s a lot easier when you’re winning. I think guys are happier with what’s going on when the team’s playing well."

Mets third baseman Eric Campbell is out of the starting lineup for the second straight game on Saturday. Campbell is hitting .204 this season.

Just like Friday, the Mets replace Campbell by moving David Murphy over from second base. Dilson Herrera replaces Murphy at second, batting sixth in the order.