MLB Player News

Sweeney is starting at shortstop and batting eighth in Thursday's game against the White Sox.

Sweeney has seen his playing time dwindle recently, as he only started one of Detroit's four previous games, but he'll get a chance to play in Thursday's afternoon tilt. The shortstop has been squeezed a bit by Zach McKinstry and Javier Baez. The latter started the year in center field but has since seen more time in the infield due to the return of Wenceel Perez and, more recently, Parker Meadows. As long as McKinstry and Baez stay productive at the plate, Sweeney may have to settle for a bench spot more often than not.

Lewis is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Athletics.

Lewis has logged consecutive games with a hit for the first time since May 18 and 19, but he will get a breather in Thursday's series finale. Willi Castro will start at third base and bat fifth as the Twins try to complete a four-game sweep.

Meadows is starting in center field and batting first in Thursday's game against the White Sox.

Meadows received a maintenance day Wednesday after making two straight starts following his return from the injured list, but he'll rejoin the lineup for the series finale. The 25-year-old went 2-for-8 with three walks, a double, a triple, a stolen base and three runs scored across his first two starts of the year, so he's already been able to make an impact for fantasy managers in a short amount of time.

White Sox manager Will Venable said that Robert is not in Thursday's lineup versus the Tigers after a ball ricocheted off the batting cage and struck him in the head during batting practice, Jared Wyllys of AllCHGO.com reports.

Robert was not in the lineup Tuesday or Wednesday as he received a mental break, but he had been slated to play Thursday prior to the pregame mishap. However, Robert is being held out as a precaution, and he is expected back in the lineup Friday against the Royals.

The Twins recalled Festa from Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday.

Festa will take the ball Thursday versus the Athletics and could be part of the Twins rotation on a long-term basis as a replacement for the injured Pablo Lopez (shoulder). The 25-year-old Festa holds a 1.38 ERA and 15:5 K:BB across 13 frames this season at the big-league level. He threw only 66 pitches in his last start at St. Paul in what was his second outing back from arm fatigue, so his workload will be relatively limited Thursday.

The Twins placed Lopez on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right teres major muscle strain.

Lopez suffered the unfortunate injury during his start Tuesday against the Athletics. He is expected to be sidelined anywhere from eight to 12 weeks. David Festa has been recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to take Lopez's spot on the roster and in the Twins rotation.

Williamson is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Orioles.

Williamson started at third base in each of the previous 15 contests for the Mariners, but he'll get a breather in Thursday's afternoon tilt. Miles Mastrobuoni will fill in at the hot corner and hit eighth as Seattle tries to avoid the sweep.

Scholtens (elbow) struck out two and allowed three earned runs on five hits and no walks over five innings in a rehab start Wednesday with Triple-A Charlotte.

Scholtens tossed 69 pitches in the outing and appears to be stretched out enough to handle a traditional starter's role, but it's unclear if the White Sox will be keen on including him in the rotation once he's activated from the 60-day injured list. While working his way back from March 1, 2024 Tommy John surgery, Scholtens hasn't looked particularly sharp during his minor-league rehab assignments. Over six starts between Charlotte and High-A Winston-Salem, Scholtens owns a 5.96 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and 15:9 K:BB in 22.2 innings.

The Tigers promoted Melton from Double-A Erie to Triple-A Toledo on Thursday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

After turning in a 5.10 ERA and giving up 19 home runs in 23 starts at Double-A in 2024, Melton showed stark improvement in keeping the ball in the yard upon returning to Erie to begin the 2025 season. He yielded just one home run in 39 innings over his 10 starts, allowing him to bring his ERA down to 3.23 this season despite his 20.7 K-BB% being right in line with his 2024 rate. Melton will look to replicate that success against International League hitters and could be in the mix for a late-season call-up to the Detroit rotation if the Tigers' pitching staff is hit hard by injuries.

Keith, who is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the White Sox, recently began taking pregame reps at third base and is now considered an available option at the position, Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press reports."Just giving [Keith] different looks on ground balls," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Wednesday. "He used to play third base a little bit, so it's not that foreign to him. You may see him there from time to time. We'll see."

Keith saw the majority of his playing time at third base in the minors, but due to concerns about his throwing after he suffered a labrum injury in his right shoulder in July 2022, he hasn't played the position at all since reaching the big leagues in 2024 and has instead served as a second baseman, first baseman or designated hitter. The Tigers never fully closed the door on Keith getting a look at third base, however, and the 23-year-old appears poised to get an opportunity to prove he can hold up defensively at the hot corner while Detroit looks to extract more offense from the position. Zach McKinstry, Andy Ibanez and Javier Baez have all received double-digit starts at third base this season, but with Ibanez typically being used as a short-side platoon player and with McKinstry and Baez both beginning to see their production at the plate trend down, Keith could represent a notable upgrade. Since May 1, Keith is slashing .293/.333/.500 with three home runs, 13 RBI and 18 runs in 27 games.