MLB Player News

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.

Polanco went 1-for-3 with his third home run of the spring in Friday's win over Tampa Bay.

Poloanco is hitting .226 (7-for-31) this spring but has six extra-base hits. He made three errors early in the spring at shortstop, but has been steadier in the field. He looks set to begin the season as the starting shortstop as there's been no talk of Eduardo Escobar challenging for the job.

Kemp has gone 9-for-28 with two doubles, three RBI and one stolen base (three attempts) through 15 spring games.

He's been filling in at second base frequently with Jose Altuve away competing in the WBC, making 14 appearances at the keystone compared to just three in the outfield. Kemp primarily played left field with the Astros last season, but the team decided to have Kemp focus his efforts in the infield this spring with the additions of Josh Reddick, Carlos Beltran and Nori Aoki over the winter. Kemp is expected to open the season at Triple-A Fresno.

Franklin went 3-for-3 with a stolen base and run in Monday's 9-4 Grapefruit League loss to the Twins.

The 25-year-old continues to be one of the Rays hottest hitters in terms of players with regular playing time this spring, with Monday's outing bringing his line to .571/.591/.810 over 21 at-bats. Franklin impressively sprayed the ball around on his three hits Monday, dropping one in to each outfield spot. Despite his torrid pace at the plate, Franklin will need to be sharp defensively to fill a "super utility" role that could garner him time at both the infield and outfield corner spots in addition to shortstop.