MLB Player News

Merrifield cranked out four singles in five at-bats with a stolen base and two runs against the Cardinals on Wednesday.

The big effort improved his average to an even .300 on the season, and it's almost surprising that he wasn't at that lofty height already, considering that he seems to get a hit in just about every game. Indeed, since the start of July, Merrifield has gone hitless just five times in 35 games, and he's been contributing both pop and speed steadily, establishing himself as one of the league's most surprising breakout stars. With an impressively low 13.2 percent strikeout rate, it should be no problem for him to keep hitting for average.

Polanco made his sixth consecutive start at shortstop and went 1-for-3 in Tuesday's win over the Brewers. He's 9-for-17 in his last six games.

Polanco lost the starting shortstop job in late July after hitting just .148 with a .410 OPS in June and July. It looks like he's back to being the everyday shortstop, but manager Paul Molitor hasn't made an official announcement.

Espinosa went 1-for-3 with an RBI double in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader, an 8-1 loss to the Royals.

The veteran infielder drove in the only run of the contest for the Mariners when he opened the scoring with his second-inning two-bagger. Espinosa's struggles at the plate made the trip with him to Seattle from Los Angeles, as he's gone just 2-for-11 over the five games he's seen action in. Furthermore, the 30-year-old's playing time projects to dwindle even further now that Yonder Alonso has arrived in town.

Andrus went 3-for-4 with two doubles in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Twins.

Andrus has amassed five doubles over the last three games, bringing his total to 31 -- just four shy of matching his career-best mark from 2014. Though he's hitting for more power this season than ever before, Andrus hasn't had to sacrifice much of the contact-hitting skills that have been a hallmark during his nine years in the majors. His 16.7 percent strikeout rate is the worst mark of his career, but it's still far better than the MLB average.

Rengifo was traded Sunday to the Rays along with minor-league pitcher Anthony Misiewicz and a player to be named later in exchange for minor-league pitcher Ryan Garton and minor-league catcher Mike Marjama.

The 20-year-old Rengifo is the main prize headed back to Tampa Bay in the trade, as the switch-hitting infielder had emerged as an interesting prospect for the Mariners in the Midwest League this season. Over 450 plate appearances for Low-A Clinton, Rengifo has produced 39 extra-base hits and has gone 29-for-43 on stolen-base attempts, which has helped make up for a pedestrian .250 average and .318 on-base percentage. Rengifo is expected to remain at the Low-A level with his new organization and report to Bowling Green.

Polanco will start at shortstop and bat ninth Sunday against the Rangers, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Though Polanco will pick up his third consecutive start, those still holding him in AL-only and deeper mixed leagues shouldn't get excited about a potential return to full-time duty in the middle infield. Polanco's starts Saturday and Sunday have come with Miguel Sano (hand) out of the lineup, but the Twins' young slugger isn't expected to require a disabled list stint. Assuming that's the case, Sano should take back his regular role at third base in the coming days, which would result in Eduardo Escobar moving over to shortstop while Polanco slides back to the bench.

Barreto is 14-for-26 with two home runs over his last six games with Triple-A Nashville.

Per Sounds play-by-play announcer Jeff Hem, the 21-year-old has hit both of his homers in the first inning of back-to-back games. Barreto returned to Nashville on July 8 after slashing .190/.261/.381 over 46 plate appearances across 11 games with the Athletics. He's enjoyed much more success against Triple-A pitching this season, slashing .284/.333/.448 with 15 doubles, five triples, 12 homers and 39 RBI over 89 games.

Andrus went 3-for-4 with three doubles and a run scored in Friday's 8-4 loss to the Twins.

After a fourth consecutive hitless performance July 20 dropped Andrus' season average to .282, the shortstop atoned for his post-All-Star-break slumber by going on an absolute tear. He's batting .371 over his subsequent 14 starts and has rattled off three multi-hit performances in a row. Just as importantly, Andrus is continuing to pack plenty of power into those hits. His 15 home runs on the season have nearly doubled up his previous career best, and his 29 doubles put him only six shy of matching his career-best mark from 2014.

Altuve is expected to be out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

It sounds like the Astros are planning to give their star second baseman the day off as the team opens up a weekend series against the Blue Jays. Altuve continued to dazzle at the plate Thursday, picking up three hits and a home run in his four at-bats against the Rays.

Haggerty stole his league-leading 36th base in Wednesday's game with High-A Lynchburg, The News-Herald reports.

Not only does the second baseman lead the Carolina League in steals, Haggerty's league-leading 12 triples give him the most extra-base hits (38) among the group, too. Furthermore, the 23-year-old leads all Indians minor leaguers in doubles (24), runs (55) and ranks third in walks (50). Haggerty's .805 OPS and excellent speed should land him on dynasty radars in 2018.