MLB Player News

Merrifield is starting at second base and will bat second in the order Sunday against the White Sox, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Merrifield has started the previous five games and has produced two hits in each contest, making a strong case for playing time over the struggling Omar Infante. Even if Infante eventually ends up reclaiming regular at-bats at the keystone, Merrifield's versatility could allow him to see frequent starts at third base and left field while Mike Moustakas (torn ACL) and Alex Gordon (wrist) remain on the DL.

Semien went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored in Saturday's 12-3 victory over the Tigers.

Even the struggling shortstop got in on the A's 17-hit act Saturday, notching his first multi-hit game since May 18, and sixth overall during the month. Although he's still largely scuffling at the plate, Semien has managed to nudge his average up 17 points to .222 and now has 12 RBI on the month as well.

Merrifield went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 8-7 victory over the White Sox.

Make it five straight multi-hit efforts for the 27-year-old rookie, who's treating major league pitching like his own personal batting practice session over his first 32 career at-bats. He came through with some clutch hitting in the Royals' momentous ninth-inning rally, plating fellow rookie Brett Eibner and Omar Infante with a single that closed their deficit to 7-4 at the time. Merrifield is now slashing .375/.375/.500 after Saturday's outing, and has hit safely in seven of eight games.

Marte (thumb) is on track to begin a rehab assignment next week, MLB.com's Greg Johns reports.

Marte took batting practice Saturday and fielded ground balls, which puts him on pace to return to game action next week. Barring any setbacks during his rehab assignment, it appears he has a good chance to be activated from the disabled list when first eligible June 6.

Merrified went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Friday's 7-5 victory over the White Sox.

The 27-year-old continues his torrid pace, with Friday's effort marking his fourth straight multi-hit effort. He also commemorated his first two major league RBI with a run-scoring single in the seventh inning. Merrifield is now slashing .370/.370/.481 over his first 27 major league at-bats.

Marte (thumb) will likely resume baseball activities over the weekend, Jessamyn McIntyre of ESPN 710 reports.

The young shortstop had gotten into a groove at the plate before he suffered a thumb injury in Saturday's game against the Reds, which led to him landing on the DL. However, the expectation is that he'll be able to recover quickly, and that is certainly underlined by the fact that he'll resume baseball activities over the weekend. The earliest Marte will be able to be activated off the DL will be June 6 when the Mariners host the Indians.

Merrifield is in the lineup and batting second for Thursday's game against the White Sox, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Merrifield has three consecutive mult-hit games and will look to stay hot Thursday against the White Sox. He is hitting .348 since being called up and will likely remain in the lineup as long as he keeps performing.

Forsythe (shoulder) is targeting a mid-June return, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Forsythe hit the DL back on May 14 with a hairline fracture in his left shoulder blade. He's set for further evaluation at the end of the month, but Forsythe said he's already feeling better, and he took groundballs Wednesday afternoon. The infielder remains without a firm timetable, but at this point he's targeting a return sometime during the Rays' next homestand, which spans June 10-19.

Motter is in the lineup and batting eighth for Wednesday's game against the Marlins, Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune reports.

Motter will continue to see starts against left-handed pitching in a platoon with Brad Miller. The 26-year-old is 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI against lefties on the season.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch dropped Altuve from his normal leadoff spot to second in the batting order for Tuesday's series opener against Baltimore, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It's not a drastic change for an offense that is struggling to score runs, but Hinch's likely intent is to put Altuve in better position to drive in more runs. The three-time All-Star ranks is pacing the Astros with a .328 batting average and he ranks second on the team with 27 RBI.