MLB Player News

Semien was scratched from the lineup Saturday due to an illness, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The shortstop could miss a day or two, but the ailment isn't likely to threaten his availability for Opening Day. Expectations are fairly high this season for the 26-year-old, who clubbed 27 homers to go with 75 RBI in 2016.

Merrifield went 1-for-2 with an RBI, a walk and a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-2 victory over the Padres in Cactus League play.

Merrifield's five stolen bases during Cactus League games are tops among all Royals players, and his contributions on the basepaths to go with a .389 on-base percentage have kept him in the mix for the starting job at second base to begin the season. Unfortunately for Merrifield, Raul Mondesi has been even more impressive in the batter's box during the spring and appears to be the frontrunner for the Opening Day gig at the keystone, so Merrifield may be more realistically competing with Christian Colon for a utility role in the infield at this stage of spring camp.

Torres was reassigned to minor league camp Tuesday.

Torres will begin the season with Double-A Trenton. In 18 Grapefruit League contests, the coveted prospect hit .464 (13-for-28) with six doubles, two home runs and nine RBI. Despite the fact that the Yankees starting shortstop Didi Gregorius is expected to miss extended time with a shoulder strain, the team thought it was best not to rush Torres to the big leagues. The 20-year-old has a chance to make his major league debut further down the road in 2017.

Semien (elbow) went 0-for-3 with a stolen base and a run in Monday's spring league game.

Semien is 0-for-7 since returning to spring action after being hit by a pitch last week, though he does have a stolen base and a run over that period. The 26-year-old has cooled off since he started spring on a tear, but he'll head into the season with high expectations after posting a career-high 27 homers and 75 RBI.

Altuve went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Monday's game against the Cardinals, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This was Altuve's first spring game since returning from the World Baseball Classic. He intends to play as much as possible over the Astros' final nine Grapefruit League games in order to get ready for the regular season.

Altuve is expected to return to Houston's training camp Sunday after Team Venezuela was eliminated from the World Baseball Classic over the weekend, Jake Kapan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Altuve went 7-for-27 (.286) with four runs and an RBI in seven games for Venezuela. He'll re-enter Houston's Grapefruit League lineup Monday or Tuesday, according to manager A.J. Hinch.

Kemp was optioned to minor league camp Sunday.

Kemp went 10-for-35 during his stint in major league camp but was expected to return to Triple-A Fresno before Opening Day. With the offseason additions of Norichika Aoki, Carlos Beltran and Josh Reddick, there wasn't much room for Kemp on the big league roster.

Motter went 2-for-3 with an RBI on a fielder's choice and another on a double in Thursday's 9-2 Cactus League victory over the Royals. He also scored once and walked.

Motter raised his spring average to .321 with the performance, which also marked his second two-RBI game over the last three. The versatile 27-year-old is standing out with his efforts at the plate in recent games, and his offense, if it endures, could help him gain separation from Shawn O'Malley and Mike Freeman, fellow candidates for a utility role.

Barreto was optioned to Triple-A Nashville on Friday.

Barreto is still the best of Oakland's prospects, but he wasn't able to do enough to convince the Athletics to forego an extra year of control and bring him up with the big club. The Athletics will stick with Marcus Semien and Jed Lowrie up the middle for now, but expect Barreto to be the man at one of those two positions for the A's in the very near future.

Semien left Friday's Cactus League game after being hit by a pitch on the left elbow, Joe Stiglich of CSN California reports.

The report noted that while Semien left the game, he stayed in the dugout, which would suggest his removal was largely precautionary. There's a chance the A's could send Semien for an X-ray in the coming days if there's some lingering soreness, but the fact that they didn't send him for one immediately is encouraging.