MLB Player News

Barreto will start at second base and bat second Sunday against the Mariners.

The rookie will enter the lineup in place of Jed Lowrie, who receives a breather after starting 15 of the Athletics' last 16 contests. A likely long-term heir to a full-time role in the middle infield, Barreto may have to settle for sporadic at-bats in the final month of the season with both Lowrie and Marcus Semien seemingly in line to retain starting roles for the big club heading into 2018, assuming the Athletics exercise Lowrie's affordable $6 million club option this offseason.

Chavis will play some first base in the Arizona Fall Leauge, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Chavis has had a monster season between High-A Salem and Double-A Portland in 2017 (30 HR in 125 games), putting himself back on the organization's radar. The problem is that he's blocked at third base, and rightfully so, by Rafael Devers. If Chavis can handle the transition to first base, that would put him on a path to become the everyday first baseman by 2019. Entering 2017, the prevailing thought had fellow prospect Sam Travis inheriting the first base job, but the Red Sox are putting Chavis in a position to push Travis.

Kemp started the first game of Saturday's doubleheader and went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI in a 12-8 win over the Mets.

Kemp was called up from Triple-A Fresno when rosters expanded and put to work immediately. With Carlos Beltran (foot) unavailable, manager A.J. Hinch utilized the designated hitter spot to give his plethora of outfielders at-bats through both games of the twin bill. When all hands are on deck and no doubleheaders are scheduled, Kemp is not expected to play much more than two games per week.

Beckham's contract was selected from Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.

The 30-year-old journeyman hit .262/.313/.393 with nine home runs in 355 plate appearances, so he didn't necessarily set the Pacific Coast League on fire. Look for him to occupy a bench role in September.

Andrus went 1-for-5 with three RBI in Friday's 10-9 win over the Angels.

Andrus plated the Rangers' first run of the game on a first-inning groundout, then added two more RBI to his ledger with a base hit in the second inning that scored Robinson Chirinos and Delino DeShields. The shortstop now sits at 72 RBI for the season, which represents a new career high in the category.

Kemp will be called up and available for Saturday's doubleheader against the Mets, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Kemp had an .845 OPS with a career-high 10 home runs, nine triples, 23 doubles and 24 steals at Triple-A Fresno this season.

Lopez will play in this year's Arizona Fall League, Max Rieper of SB Nation reports.

Lopez had a solid season, hitting .283/.353/.364 with 38 RBI and 21 steals over 123 games split between High- and Double-A. With a strong showing in Arizona, the 22-year-old shortstop should have an opportunity to make a splash in spring training next year.

Fontana was recalled by the Angels on Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

A second-round pick in 2012, Fontana fared far better with Salt Lake than he did with the Astros' Triple-A affiliate in 2016, nearly tripling his wRC+ from a year ago. The 26-year-old has displayed great patience at the dish throughout his minor-league career as well as decent speed and some emerging pop, but with Brandon Phillips coming aboard via a waiver trade, there simply doesn't seem to be a path to regular at-bats for Fontana.

Barreto was recalled from Triple-A Nashville on Friday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Barreto homered in his big-league debut in July, but he didn't do much else of note during his first stint in the majors. The 21-year-old put together a strong season with Nashville and really came on strong in August (.349/.393/.550), but he may only see occasional starts in the middle infield over the rest of the season with Marcus Semien and Jed Lowrie holding down regular roles.

Merrifield went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and a steal in Wednesday's loss to the Rays.

He pretty much was the Kansas City offense in this one, with his 17th homer providing all the team's runs. Add those long balls to Merrifield's 26 steals and .283 average, and you're looking at fantastic fantasy value from a guy who went undrafted in most leagues this year. He'd been cold lately, going 4-for-25 (.160) over a six-game stretch, albeit with a pair of homers, but Merrifield's few slumps haven't tended to linger.