MLB Player News

Espinosa was outrighted from the Rays' 40-man roster Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Espinosa was recently designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for the impending return of Xavier Cedeno (forearm) from the 60-day DL. He appeared in just eight games during his brief time with the Rays, hitting a middling .273/.333/.273 with a poor 46 percent strikeout rate.

Semien went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's win over the Tigers.

The 27-year-old accounted for all of the A's offense in a 3-2 victory. He came into Wednesday's game batting .229/.299/.343 with one home run and 19 strikeouts in 70 September at-bats. Semien suffered a wrist injury early in the year, and that was likely a big factor in his power decline this season.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Mariners.

Andrus' second base hit of the evening helped put the game on ice for the Rangers, as it drove home Delino DeShields for an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning. It was Andrus' 86th RBI of the season, one of many categories in which the shortstop has established new career highs.

Altuve went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the White Sox.

Altuve is putting the finishing touches on his MVP-caliber season. The home run was his 24th, tying his career-high mark set in 2016. The second baseman leads MLB in batting average (.348) while sitting among the top 10 in OBP (.408), OPS (.967) and stolen bases (31).

Barreto will hit leadoff in Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

Barreto has not started a game since Sept. 9, but he will be in there Tuesday and will occupy the top spot in the batting order with Marcus Semien coming off the bench. While Barreto will hit first Tuesday, he figures be challenged by Tigers starter and lefty Chad Bell, as he is just 1-for-15 with a 2:11 BB:K against southpaws this season.

Semien is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

Semien notched two hits and three runs in Monday's game, but he will be held out Tuesday with manager Bob Melvin looking to get fellow shortstop Franklin Barreto a start against a left-handed starter. Tuesday's game will be just the second Semien has not started since Aug. 22, so he figures to return to the lineup Wednesday.

Semien went 2-for-5 with three runs in Monday's 8-3 win over the Tigers.

Semien did an impressive job setting the table from the top of the order, generating his fifth multi-hit effort of September in the process. Despite a subpar .299 OBP for the month, Semien has already crossed the plate on 12 occasions in 16 games.

Altuve is not in the lineup Sunday against the Mariners.

Altuve will receive a rare day off Sunday as the Astros opt to start Marwin Gonzalez at second base. Houston has Monday off, so look for Altuve to return to action Tuesday against the White Sox.

Andrus went 0-for-3 at the dish in Thursday's 10-4 loss to the Mariners.

After a red-hot August and strong start to September, Andrus has cooled off over the past six games, going 3-for-19 with three walks. The minor slump shouldn't prompt Andrus' fantasy owners to take him out of the lineup, as he's been one of the top performing shortstops all season and should play nearly every day with the Rangers still fighting for a playoff spot.

Despite going 0-for-2 Wednesday against the White Sox, Merrifield managed two walks and inched closer to the AL stolen base lead with his 29th swipe of the season.

Merrifield sits just two stolen bases shy of Astros' second baseman Jose Altuve, and three swipes shy of matching his own minor-league career high. The second baseman has put together an impressive campaign after not making the Opening Day roster, and Merrifield (17 homers) is within reach of a 20-30 campaign in just his second MLB season.