MLB Player News

White Sox infielder Marcus Semien went 4 for 5 with a double, a walk, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base in his team's 15-3 win over the Rockies Tuesday.

Semien has been struggling at the plate and needs to put some quality performances on tape to keep a regular starting job once the infield gets healthy. Tuesday's performance helped, though he may not get full credit on a Colorado night in which nearly all the White Sox hitters were raking. Semien has hit .243/.300/.378 with one home run in 37 at-bats.

It's been a fun ride for Yangervis Solarte. Nobody had even heard of him prior to last week, when he scored 21.5 Fantasy points, good for fifth among third basemen. And the four ahead of him? Try Casey McGehee, Trevor Plouffe, Evan Longoria and Todd Frazier.

I say that not to hype any of those four but to emphasize how little we can gather from one week of data. Of those four, only Longoria is projected to be a significant Fantasy contributor. We know exactly who McGehee and Plouffe are, and though their potential for 15-plus homers with regular playing time gives them some NL- and AL-only appeal, it won't keep them from tumbling down the rankings in the weeks ahead.

In terms of ability, Solarte is much closer to them than someone like Longoria or even Frazier. It's why no one had heard of him prior to last week and why he's just now sniffing the majors at age 26. He showed modest pop in the minors, enough that he could maybe hit 15 homers over a full season, but unlike McGehee and Plouffe, his playing time hinges on other players' health. Right now, he's filling in for Mark Teixeira.

It's another Zoilo Almonte situation. Like Solarte, he got off to an impossibly good start before eventually regressing to his pedigree and becoming an afterthought in Fantasy. But he arrived midseason. This time of year, with so many breakout possibilities still on waivers, you can't afford to waste roster space on Solarte, at least not in standard mixed leagues.

Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus came up big on Sunday, launching a go-ahead home run -- his first of the season -- in a 3-0 win over the Rays.

Andrus took Joel Peralta deep in the eighth inning for a two-run shot. He finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and two RBI. He has a hit in each of his six games, slashing .333/.333/.500 with one homer and three RBI in 24 at-bats.

The White Sox continue to take a cautious approach with second baseman Gordon Beckham, who has sat out the last few games on his rehab assignment due to pain in his strained left oblique when he swings a bat.

"I would characterize it as he feels a stabbing pain at times or a tenderness and stiffness when he swings, and we are just not going to push through it," White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said, per MLB.com. "Again, we've talked about from Day 1 on obliques, we are always hesitant to put a time frame on injury recovery because things happen, but obliques are even more tricky in that regard.

"You never know until you are back playing every day without restriction on a consistent basis, you can never really say it's behind you. Right now, we are going to err on the side of caution and hopefully get him back out there in the coming days."

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham, on a rehab assignment, was not in the lineup again for the Birmingham Barons because of oblique stiffness, WSCR-AM 670 (The Score) reports.

Beckham was placed on the disabled list backdated to March 21, but remains without a timetable. He has been out of the lineup the last two days because of the setback, and it remains to be seen when he'll return to action for the Double-A affiliate.

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham experienced a slight setback Friday in his recovery from an oblique injury that prevented him from playing for Double-A Birmingham. But he is expected to return to action Saturday.

White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham is on his rehab assignment for Double-A Birmingham as he recovered from a strained left oblique, but he isn't on the verge of returning to the majors yet. According to MLB.com, he is not expected to return until the team's current road trip ends next Wednesday in Colorado.

Beckham was also scratched from the lineup Friday, though manager Robin Ventura was not sure why as of the end of the White Sox's game against the Royals. 

White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham is not expected to rejoin the team once his stint on the disabled list is over, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Beckham is dealing with an oblique injury, and won't rejoin the team when the White Sox return to Chicago. The club's current road trip ends April 10. Beckham's stint on the disabled list was backdated to March 21, so he's eligible to return sooner than normal.

The Yankees got a spark from the bottom of the lineup Thursday, as the Astros couldn't get Yangervis Solarte out in a 4-2 Yankees win.

Solarte made his first major-league start at third base and proved to be a spark plug. He was 3 for 3 with a double and an RBI single, and reached base an additional time via a walk. He scored twice, as the bottom two of the Yankees' lineup accounted for each of the team's runs scored.

Solarte has appeared in two games for the Yankees, and will likely continue to be used as a utility infielder moving forward. He hit .276/.323/.403 in 133 games for Triple-A Round Rock a year ago.

White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham played made three plate appearances as the designated hitter for Double-A Birmingham Thursday, in his first rehab appearance as he recovers from a strained oblique.

Beckham was hitless in three at-bats, with one strikeout before being replaced. He will likely continue to progress toward playing in the field before a decision is made on bringing him back from the disabled list.