MLB Player News

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

This marks the fourth time in five games that Espinosa will head to the bench for a night off, seemingly signaling that he's been usurped in the pecking order at second base following his awful start to the season. Cliff Pennington seems like the main beneficiary from this development, and he'll pick up Friday's start as well.

Merrifield went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, two RBI and two runs during Thursday's win over Tampa Bay.

It was just the third home run of the season for Merrifield, and the second baseman currently sports a .217/.276/.377 slash line for the campaign. He's playing regularly, and there is value in full-time at-bats in deep settings, but Merrifield will need to show more at the dish before he's a serviceable option in the majority of seasonal leagues.

Espinosa is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Thursday's absence marks Espinosa's third in the past four games. The 30-year-old has been in a miserable funk at the plate this season -- an 0-for-3 showing Wednesday lowered Espinosa's batting average to .138 and his .456 OPS is the lowest among qualified hitters. We may see more and more of Cliff Pennington at second base.

Merrifield is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.

Merrifield's performance at the plate has been awful lately. Over the last seven games he's gone just 4-for-28 (.143) and struck out 11 times. His recent troubles have brought his line down to .197/.250/.318 for the season. Cheslor Cuthbert will start in place of Merrifield on Wednesday.

Motter entered Tuesday's 10-9 win over the Phillies in the fourth inning following Robinson Cano's quad injury and went 1-for-2 with a game-winning RBI double, a walk and a run.

Motter played a key role after being pressed into duty, with his ninth-inning two-bagger bringing home Jean Segura with what would turn out to be the winning run. The versatile utility man had been mired in a 2-for-17 slump that spanned the prior seven games, but he's now managed to smack a trio of doubles over the last three contests and has reached safely in all four games he's appeared in thus far in May.

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

Espinosa has just two hits in his last 50 at-bats and is batting just .142 on the season, so he'll take a seat as Cliff Pennington gets the nod at second base in his stead. If Espinosa doesn't turn things around quickly, he could continue to see Pennington steal some of his playing time.

Jones, 19, is batting just .184/.222/.301 with three home runs, eight RBI and five steals through 25 games for Low-A Burlington.

Jones is considered one of the top prospects in the Angels organization, but he has struggled to make contact during the early portion of the 2017 campaign. Still, he has the potential to hit 10 home runs and steal 20 bases at a minimum, so he is worth keeping track of as he continues to mature and progress.

Espinosa went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Monday's 3-2 extra-innings loss to the Athletics.

Espinosa didn't start Monday's game, but he was forced into action when Andrelton Simmons suffered a bruised left hand and right thumb when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning. Espinosa extended his hitless streak to 31 at-bats, and his average is down to an embarrassing .142 on the year. The 30-year-old has a whopping 41 strikeouts and only seven walks, putting him in danger of losing more playing time to Cliff Pennington at the keystone.

Espinosa is not in the lineup Monday against the Athletics.

Espinosa will take a seat for the second time in three games amidst a brutal 2-for-46 (.043) slump at the plate. Cliff Pennington is starting at the keystone in his stead.

Merrifield will start at second base and bat sixth in the order Monday against the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

In an effort to shake up the lineup after the Royals were limited to one hit in Sunday's loss to the Indians, manager Ned Yost has decided to drop Merrifield five spots in the order. Given the lack of appealing alternatives at the top of the lineup, it's not out of the question for Merrifield to eventually reclaim leadoff duties, but he may have to offer more production at the plate in subsequent contests before moving up. Merrifield is batting .143/.196/.214 over his last 11 games.