MLB Player News

Marte will drop to ninth in the order for Wednesday's game against the Rangers, Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News-Tribune reports.

After batting out of the second spot in the order for the first two games of the Mariners' series against the Rangers, Marte will drop down to ninth in the order Wednesday to allow the Mariners to get more left-handed bats higher in the order against righty Colby Lewis. In fact, manager Scott Servais said over the weekend that Kyle Seager will be batting second against right-handers, so Marte batting out of the ninth spot could be a regular occurrence against righties early in the season.

Andrus is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

He started the season 2-for-6 with a RBI, a walk and a strikeout. This seems a little early in the year for Andrus to be getting the day off, but Hanser Alberto will start at shortstop and hit ninth, nonetheless.

Forsythe went 3-for-4 with a double, a two-run homer and a run scored in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Blue Jays.

The new Rays leadoff hitter broke out with his first three hits of the new season, and his one-out, eighth-inning homer proved to be the game winner. He was also involved in the game-ending controversial play, as his errant throw to first baseman Steve Pearce that had apparently allowed the go-ahead runs to score was negated by an application of the new slide rule. Despite the slow start over the first two games prior to Wednesday, confidence in Forsythe's ability to be a table-setting presence at the top of the lineup-- and provide occasional pop with the bat as well-- is high.

Motter was selected as the winner of the 2016 Al Lopez Award for most outstanding Rays rookie in spring training, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Motter tallied a .250 average with a homer and four RBI while impressively manning six different positions in the field. With the Rays starting lineup firmly set barring injury-- and some effective depth across the roster in the form of Steve Pearce, Tim Beckham and Brandon Guyer-- Motter's propsects of cracking the big-league roster this season aren't overly bright.

Altuve will start at second base and lead off against the Yankees on Tuesday.

The three-time All-Star will return to the lead-off spot for the Astros' season opener Tuesday after spending most of his time there last season. Altuve did hit second or third in the lineup on occasion, but George Springer and Carlos Correa, respectively, are expected to occupy those spots in the batting order.

Giavotella is hitting .288/.319./485 with a homer and nine RBI over 23 games during Cactus League play.

Before prospective owners get excited regarding the performance, it should be pointed out that Giavotella often fares well prior to the start of the season, as he has slugged over .500 in the previous two springs. The 28-year-old could potentially hold value in deeper leagues as an everyday second baseman, but it seems likely that he will revert to posting something closer to his .355 career slugging percentage once the year begins.

Petit was assigned to minor league camp Monday, Jeff Fletcher of the OC Register reports.

The 31-year-old has made 57 appearances in the majors over the last two seasons with the Yankees and Astros, but he won't start out the 2016 season with that same opportunity while Johnny Giavotella, Cliff Pennington, and Reynaldo Navarro are all considered better options at second base.

The Rays optioned Motter to Triple-A Durham on Sunday, Steve Carney of 620 WDAE reports.

Motter lost out on one of the final outfield spots with the Rays, despite cobbling together a .250/.294/.438 line with one homer and two walks versus seven strikeouts in 32 at-bats. Following the move to Durham, where he spent the entire 2015 season, his major league debut will again be delayed.

Marte showed off his speed with an inside-the-park home run Saturday.

Marte had eight stolen bases in 57 games last season. In a full season, 20 steals should be doable.

Manager Kevin Cash said Sunday that Forsythe will serve as the Rays' full-time leadoff hitter this season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It's quite the role change for Forsythe, who spent most of last season in the middle of the Rays' lineup. While Forsythe isn't the fleetest of foot, he still managed to steal nine bases in 2015, and should see that total increase now that he's at the top of the order against both right-handers and left-handers. In addition, Forsythe's on-base skills should allow him to improve upon last season's total of 69 runs.