MLB Player News

Forsythe went 2-for-5 with a solo homer in Friday's 5-1 victory over the Yankees.

The Rays' leadoff man jump-started the offense in the home half of the first, launching a 396-foot shot off Ivan Nova. Although he's seen a 31-point drop in his average since July 1, Forsythe has started to pick it back up at the plate since the All-Star break. He's hit safely in eight of his last nine games, and has five multi-hit efforts so far in the second half.

Giavotella is out of the lineup for Friday's matchup with Boston.

Giavotella will be replaced in the lineup by Gregorio Petit who's starting at second and batting ninth. After collecting only two hits in eight games between July 9 and July 24, Giavotella appears to have found his stroke again as he's gone 9-for-15 (.600) in his last four games.

Franklin was recalled by the Rays on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays were hit hard by the injury bug Friday, placing Logan Morrison (forearm) and Oswaldo Arcia (elbow) on the disabled list. With that, the Rays recalled Franklin on Friday to help keep the struggling offense afloat. He slashed .313/.377/.458 with 13 RBI during his six-week stint with the big league club earlier this season. Franklin figures to see most of his playing time at one of the corner outfield spots while he's up with the Rays.

Marte (illness) has progressed to hitting in a cage and throwing, but it is unknown whether he will be ready to play when he comes off the DL on Thursday, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Manager Scott Servais says that Marte is coming along better than expected and it appears the shortstop is well on his way to a full recovery. Nonetheless, expectations for his return should be tempered. The 22-year-old has lost a bit of strength from the mono and it's likely he will be eased back into the starting role when he comes back. Marte's bat is needed, Seattle shortstops are hitting just over .200 in his absence.

Polanco has been recalled from Triple-A Rochester.

Polanco was called up after the Twins traded Eduardo Nunez to the Giants. While Eduardo Escobar will likely take over at shortstop, it's possible Polanco could get regular playing time so the Twins can evaluate him for 2017.

Chavis is hitting just .228 for Low-A Greenville since his return from a thumb injury in June. Greenville manager Darren Fenster told Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com that Chavis has been slow to get back the timing that he had during his red-hot start to the season.

"It's been a little slower getting him back into the rhythm that he was in coming out of the gates at the start of the year before he got hurt," Fenster said. "Just getting him consistent with his timing has been the biggest thing for him right now where in those first few weeks of the year when he was going really well, his timing was consistent." Chavis, who started the season hitting .356 with a .992 OPS in the first 11 games before suffering the thumb injury, has been better in July (.805 OPS) than he was in June (.568 OPS). We suspect he'll continue to get better, which could lead to a promotion to High-A Salem before the end of the season.

Petit is getting his first career start in the outfield (left field) Wednesday against the Royals, the Los Angeles Times' Pedro Moura reports.

He already has second base and shortstop eligibility in most formats, so it's not as if Petit lacked for positional value, but if he adds outfield eligibility it certainly wouldn't hurt. That said, his defensive versatility is about all he brings to the table, as he is hitting a very empty .276 with two home runs and fewer than 20 RBI and runs scored in 145 plate appearances.

Semien homered in a 2-for-4 game with two runs scored in Tuesday's win over the Rangers.

With 21 home runs, Semien leads all American League shortstops and trails only Trevor Story's 27 on the full leaderboard. Even though Semien has struggled overall this month, with a .192/.267/.410 batting line, his power has stuck around. He now has five home runs and a slick .208 ISO in July.

Marte (illness) remains without a timetable to return from the 15-day disabled list, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

The young shortstop is battling a case of mono has lost a good bit of weight and strength as a result, according to Johns. With that, the Mariners will have to be patient and wait for Marte to get over the illness before he starts ramping up his activity. A return in early August looks more realistic for Marte than does a return when he's eligible to come off the DL on Friday.

Merrifield was optioned Tuesday, Jeffrey Flanagon of MLB.com reports.

Merrifield will likely head back to Triple-A Omaha as Raul Mondesi, one of Kansas City's top prospects, gets called up to the majors. Although Merrifield has been a productive batter in the Royals lineup, based on his .271 season average spanning 210 at-bats, he has also been slumping since mid-July, going 1-for-17 (.059) over his last seven games.