MLB Player News

Altuve announced Thursday that he will not participate in the All-Star Game on Sunday in order to "rest a sore left hand," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The soreness stems from a hit-by-pitch Friday against the Twins, and the 34-year-old has opted for some rest during the midseason break. Altuve sat out one game after being plunked, but he's been back in the starting nine for the past three contests and is in the midst of an eight-game hit streak. Marcus Semien will take over the starting spot at second base for the American League.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday the team hopes to start planning a minor-league rehab assignment for Grissom (hamstring) toward the end of the week, MLB.com reports.

Grissom has been building strength in both hamstrings and appears to have turned a corner in his recovery. Cora believes Grissom's issues may be related to his winter preparation, which was different compared to previous offseasons after being acquired from Atlanta.

Altuve went 1-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the Marlins.

Altuve has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 games, going 21-for-56 (.375) over that span. He's rounded his production during the hot stretch with two home runs, four steals, nine RBI and 10 runs scored. The second baseman's .822 OPS on the year is his lowest in the last four seasons, but he's still put together an excellent campaign by batting .309 with 13 homers, 14 steals, 41 RBI and 55 runs scored through 89 contests.

Keith went 1-for-2 with a walk, a triple, an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Guardians.

Keith continues to chug along as he extended his hitting streak to eight games. During that stretch, the rookie has batted .419 with six extra-base hits. After looking shaky to start the season, Keith now appears to be a solid fantasy contributor, and fantasy mangers should jump on the 22-year-old if he's still available in their leagues given his recent performance and considerable upside.

Castro is out of the lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the White Sox.

Kyle Farmer will get the nod at second base in the nightcap after Castro manned the keystone in the Twins' 3-1 loss in Game 1, going 0-for-3 with a walk. Castro is on the bench for the first time since June 20, ending a streak of 17 consecutive starts.

Farmer (finger) will start at second base and bat ninth in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the White Sox.

Farmer hadn't played in either of the Twins' last two games after he exited the team's 3-2 win over the Astros on Sunday, when he was hit on the index finger by a pitch. The injury is apparently a non-issue at this point, however, as Farmer will head back into the starting nine for the second leg of the twin bill. The right-handed-hitting Farmer typically makes most of his starts against left-handed pitching, but he'll face off against White Sox righty Drew Thorpe on Wednesday.

Lopez is out of the lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Twins.

He'll cede his spot in the infield to Danny Mendick in the second leg of the twin bill. Lopez started at shortstop in the White Sox's 3-1 win in the first game of the day, going 0-for-3 at the dish.

Polanco went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run in a win over the Padres on Tuesday.

It was a rare multi-hit effort for the struggling veteran, who'd last accomplished that feat May 4. Polanco had been mired in a 1-for-12 skid over the previous four games entering Tuesday, a brief but nightmarish stretch where he'd struck out in eight of his 14 plate appearances. Polanco's season slash line still stands at a career-worst .196/.288/.289, and with the sample size now having grown to 219 plate appearances, it's fair to wonder how much improvement it will realistically see over the remainder of the season.

Massey is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader in St. Louis.

Massey will likely be back in the starting nine for the second game of the twin bill, but he'll get a breather in the early contest. Maikel Garcia will start at second base in Massey's stead.

Kiner-Falefa (knee) began doing some light running and throwing Tuesday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Tuesday marks the first time Kiner-Falefa has participated in any sort of baseball activity since he landed on the injured list last week due to a sprained left knee. He still has a few boxes to check off before being cleared to return to game action and may also require a minor-league rehab assignment, but the 29-year-old seems to be trending in the right direction.