MLB Player News

Torres was removed from Saturday's Triple-A contest in the third inning after apparently injuring himself while sliding into home, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

This could be an extremely tough blow for one of the Yankees' top prospects, who was just starting to turn it on since earning a promotion to Triple-A. Torres looked to be in some serious pain after appearing to injure his arm or shoulder while sliding headfirst into home. The severity of his injury isn't known at this point, but more should be known once he is further evaluated in the coming days.

Rodriguez (oblique) was activated from the disabled list Saturday.

Rodriguez is good to go after missing the first part of June with an oblique injury. The 25-year-old is currently currently slashing .258/.304/.353 across 47 games with Columbus this season.

Semien (wrist), who took batting practice before Friday's game for the first time since his injury, could begin a minor-league rehab assignment as early as next week, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports. "He's progressed really nicely to get to this point, and we all know he wants to get out there and play and get on a rehab assignment as soon as he can," manager Bob Melvin said. "If we feel good about where he's at, then in potentially a week or so maybe he looks to get out on a rehab assignment."

The slugging shortstop has been improving at a brisk clip and appears to be on the brink of a return to game action. Semien has already missed 56 games as a result of his April 18 surgery, which has provided promising rookie Chad Pinder extended playing time. Assuming he doesn't encounter any setbacks the rest of the way, Semien currently projects for an early July return to the big-league club.

Espinosa is not in the lineup Friday against the Royals, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Despite picking up hits in four of his last five games, Espinosa is still hitting just .168 on the season. He'll hit the bench for a night off, with Cliff Pennington grabbing a start at the keystone to replace him.

Semien (wrist) will take batting practice prior to Friday's game against the Yankees, Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California reports.

This is the first time that Semien will be able to do full swinging off a pitched ball, which is great progress considering he just progressed to soft toss drills Sunday. There's no timetable for him to head out onto a rehab assignment, although he certainly is getting closer to that event happening, making an early July return reasonable.

Espinosa went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Wednesday's win over the Yankees.

With just a single multi-hit game through his past 21 games and a 44.3 strikeout percentage during that stretch, Espinosa continues to be a feast-or-famine hitter. In deep settings, his six homers, 24 RBI and 24 runs are respectable marks, but his .166/.244/.304 slash line is atrocious. Espinosa's glove will keep him in the lineup, so his full-time role should continue to help his counting stats.

Altuve went 3-for-3 with two doubles, was hit by a pitch and scored three runs in Wednesday's 13-2 rout of the Rangers.

Usually a prolific producer of base knocks, Altuve had been scuffling over the past 10 games, posting just a .216/.302/.324 batting line. You can't keep the star second baseman down for long -- he is hitting .320, after all -- but it's worth noting that he's dropped off a bit in terms of both power and speed; Altuve is on pace to fall short of last year's 24-homer breakout and post his first full season with fewer than 30 steals.

Merrifield went 3-for-6 with a stolen base and three runs during Wednesday's win in San Francisco.

A pair of singles and his seventh double of the season boosted Merrifield's average to .292 through 48 games. The second baseman has enjoyed the club's stay on the west coast, going 7-for-18 with five RBI and five runs over the past five games. He hasn't been particularly good hitting leadoff (averaging .185 through 81 at-bats), but Wednesday might just be what the doctor ordered to get Merrifield rolling in the top spot.

Andrus is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Astros, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

After stringing together a 15-game hitting streak heading into Monday, Andrus went 0-for-7 with a walk in the first two games of the series to stall his momentum. Considering that Andrus has arguably been the Rangers' MVP this season and one of the most valuable fantasy shortstops, his owners shouldn't view the minor skid as anything overly worrisome. With Andrus getting his first day off since April 21, Jurickson Profar will slot in at shortstop and bat eighth.

Polanco is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

With two hits, two runs and two RBI in Tuesday's 20-7 win, Polanco made an impact in his return to the lineup after missing the past week while tending to a personal matter. However, his production was overshadowed on a night in which eight Twins players recorded multiple hits, including Eduardo Escobar (team-high five hits), his main competition for playing time in the middle infield. Escobar will be rewarded for his efforts with another start Wednesday and could end up turning the shortstop position into a timeshare with Polanco if he's able to stay hot.