MLB Player News

The Royals have optioned second baseman Johnny Giavotella to the minors Tuesday.

Giavotella hit .176 over 34 at-bats in the majors. The club opted to call up Francisco Pena to take his place. 

Mariners utility player Nick Franklin will likely be called up Tuesday, according to ESPN 710.

Franklin is with the team in Texas, but there has been no official announcement about the move. Franklin is hitting .376 in 109 at-bats in Triple-A. It's unclear where he'll play in the majors. 

Nationals infielder Danny Espinosa was held out of the starting lineup Sunday against the Mets for just the second time in 32 games since Ryan Zimmerman suffered a fractured thumb on April 12.

Espinosa is mired in a 6-for-51 slump through 14 May games after batting .288 in April.

"I think it's pitch selection. That's all," manager Matt Williams said before Saturday's game, per MLB.com. "I think that he is chasing balls out of the strike zone. But he's fantastic at second base, and I want to put him in there as much as I can.

"The ebbs and flows of seasons are such that sometimes that's going to happen. The good thing about Danny is he's not taking it to the field, and that's good. He's excited, he's enthusiastic, he comes ready to play every day, wants to play every day, and there's no reason that first two, three weeks of the season can't come around, starting today."

Mariners utility player Nick Franklin could be promoted soon, according to the Tacoma News Tribune.

Franklin is dealing with a sore back, but could come up if it checks out. The move could reportedly come as early as Tuesday. It's unclear where Franklin would play if promoted. He has experience in the middle infield, but has been used as an outfielder in the minors this year. Franklin is hitting .376 in 109 Triple-A at-bats.

Yankees infielder Yangervis Solarte continued his hot hitting Wednesday, in a 4-0 win over the Mets.

Solarte had just one hit in the win, but he made it count, homering for the second straight game. He was 1 for 3 with the solo home run, while adding an RBI, his fourth game in a row driving in a run.

Solarte has been the surprise of the season as a rookie, hitting .336/.414/.521 with four home runs and 23 RBI in 34 games.  

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham went 3 for 4 with a solo home run in his team's 4-2 win over the A's Wednesday.

Beckham led off the game with the homer to left field, but he was answered with a home run by the opposition's leadoff hitter in the bottom of the first. Beckham continued to play well throughout the game and was on base when the team's decisive three-run home run was struck in the eighth. He has hit .266/.310/.418 with three home runs and seven RBI In 79 at-bats.

Yankees infielder Yangervis Solarte continued his hot hitting Tuesday, going 2 for 4 with a walk, a solo home run and two runs scored in his team's 12-7 loss to the Mets.

Solarte has delivered multiple hits in each of his last three games while going 7 for 10 at the plate, and he's also the owner of an eight-game hitting streak. Tuesday's nice line gives him a .336/.412/.500 line with three home runs and 22 RBI in 116 at-bats.

When minor-league journeyman Yangervis Solarte hit .458 (11 for 24) over his first seven games with the Yankees, it was a nice story and all, but it didn't send me rushing to the waiver wire in Fantasy. His minor-league track record suggested it wouldn't last, and besides, he was only filling in because of injury.

But now, everyone on the Yankees infield is healthy, and yet Solarte has still started 10 of the team's last 11 games.

He's kept it up at the plate as well, batting .450 (9 for 20) with a double and a home run in his last six games. It's caused me take a second look at his numbers, which are awfully impressive for the season as a whole. His 15 walks to only 15 strikeouts have me thinking his .315 batting average isn't too far-fetched, and with all the doubles he's piled up, he has a more-than-respectable .463 slugging percentage.

We've seen this before, you know -- a versatile defender whose high contact rate makes him a perennial .300 hitter with enough extra-base pop to factor in all formats. Yes, Solarte might just be the second coming of Martin Prado, right down to the unspectacular minor-league track record.

If nothing else, as long as he's playing every day, he's worth owning just for the quadruple eligibility.

Yankees third baseman Yangervis Solarte contributed a sac fly and RBI single during a 6-5 loss Sunday against the Brewers. He also had one walk.

Solarte has hit safely in six straight games. He is batting .450 (9 for 20) with one double, one home run and seven RBI during his hitting streak.

Royals second baseman Johnny Giavotella smashed a three-run, seventh-inning homer that lifted Kansas City to a 9-7 win over the Mariners on Sunday. It was Giavotella's first homer since being called up last week, and it traveled 393 feet.

Giavotella went 1 for 3 with a walk, two runs scored and three RBI and has upped his average to .214.