MLB Player News

Semien went 1-for-3 with a walk, run and stolen base in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Angels.

Semien's third-inning single to deep center and Mike Trout's subsequent error while playing the ball brought home Adam Rosales to open the scoring for Oakland. The slugging shortstop also swiped his first bag of the season and has now hit safely in three straight games.

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

Cliff Pennington will make his season debut with Espinosa getting the afternoon off against Oakland's Andrew Triggs. Espinosa is just 2-for-11 to start the year, but he's made the most of them with five RBI.

Espinosa went 1-for-3 with two RBI from a second-inning single in Wednesday's 5-0 victory over the A's.

The veteran slugger continues to demonstrate a penchant for timely hitting in the early going of 2017, with Wednesday's second-inning run-scoring single extending his RBI total to five over the first three games. In fact, Espinosa's only two hits over 11 at-bats have been run producers, after he smacked a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the ninth in Tuesday's 7-6 victory. The 29-year-old's Achilles' heel -- strikeouts -- are still very much a presence as well, though, as four of the nine outs he's made on the young season have come on whiffs.

Andrus went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Wednesday's loss to Cleveland.

It's always nice to get some unexpected slugging out of the ninth spot in the order, and Andrus' homers are among the most unexpected of all. He's never cracked double digits in that category, with last season's eight representing his career high. Andrus is off to a strong start with the bat, having cracked two singles, a double, a triple and a homer over the course of this season-opening three-game set. His fantasy owners will be thrilled if he can approximately replicate last year's strong .302 batting average while continuing to provide his usual complement of steals.

Franklin was claimed off waivers by the Brewers on Wednesday, Roger Mooney of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Franklin is on the move quickly after being DFA'd by the Rays earlier this week. The switch-hitter provides defensive versatility but also a somewhat inconsistent offensive skill set. Franklin hit .270/.328/.443 with Tampa Bay last season, adding six home runs and 26 RBI over just 60 games. He'll likely be utilized as a reserve bat off the bench.

Polanco isn't included in the Twins' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Despite reaching base three times in the season opener, Polanco will be left on the bench in favor of Eduardo Escobar on Wednesday. Polanco is still viewed as the Twins' primary option at shortstop, and could close off Escobar's path to regular at-bats if he's able to continue his hot start to the season when he eventually returns to the lineup.

Espinosa socked a three-run homer in the top of the ninth Tuesday against the A's, turning a 6-4 deficit into the 7-6 final score. It was his only hit in four at-bats on the night.

He'd left three men on base earlier in the game, so Espinosa stepped up to the plate in the ninth with a chance at redemption, and he delivered. Espinosa's coming off a career-high 24 homers, but he also hit just .209 last season thanks to a boatload of strikeouts. If he keeps selling out to hit home runs, it'll be fair to expect more of the same this year.

Torres will receive reps at second and third base in addition to shortstop, Matt Kardos of MLB.com reports.

The tentative plan is for Torres to play three games at shortstop, followed by two at third base and two at second. Torres is already one of the most promising prospects in the Yankees' system, but adding to his repertoire of positions would only increase his value and enable him to make his major-league debut wherever the club deems its infield the weakest.

Merrifield was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday.

A mediocre spring showing and adequate infield depth left the Royals without much of a need for Merrifield on the 25-man roster. Over 29 games this spring he hit .267 with a .710 OPS. Although it's likely that he'll make his way up to the big club at some point this season, Merrifield will return to Omaha, where he'll be in a position to get frequent reps at second base.

Franklin was designated for assignment by the Rays on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Although Franklin followed up a decent 2016 campaign with a strong showing this spring, the Rays simply needed to trim their roster down Saturday with Opening Day approaching. While Franklin offers positional versatility, Topkin notes that the club felt more confident in Daniel Robertson's ability to serve as the backup shortstop. Franklin will now be available on waivers, but could return to the Rays if he goes unclaimed.