MLB Player News

Lowe is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Atlanta.

Lowe will dodge a matchup with southpaw Chris Sale on Friday. Instead, Jose Caballero will bat eighth and play second base. Lowe has produced multiple hits in three of his last eight games with a pair of homers during that stretch.

The Royals reinstated Frazier (personal) from the bereavement list Friday.

The 32-year-old has been away from the team for the past few days to tend to personal matters but is now back with the Royals. Frazier hasn't been operating in an everyday role but has been a solid contributor since the start of May with a .266/.329/.422 slash line in 24 games.

Polanco (hamstring) is slated to run the bases before Thursday's game against the White Sox and then head out on a rehab assignment, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.

Polanco has been progressively ramping up his level of activity in recent days, apparently without any setbacks. MLB.com reports that general manager Justin Hollander indicated team trainers would jointly assess Polanco's condition with the veteran infielder following Thursday's activity, at which point the length of the rehab assignment would likely be determined.

Gelof went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in a loss to the Padres on Wednesday.

Gelof's eighth-inning two-bagger brought home Seth Brown to extend the Athletics' lead to 4-2 at the time. The infielder now has a trio of two-hit efforts in the last seven games, but his 33.3 percent strikeout rate in that same span is emblematic of the persistent struggles that have led to his .194 average and .572 OPS across 203 plate appearances this season.

Loftin is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Yankees.

Loftin had started each of the last five games at second base, but he will begin Thursday's contest on the bench. Garrett Hampson will occupy the keystone for the Royals as they try to avoid a sweep.

Keith is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Nationals.

Southpaw Patrick Corbin is on the bump for the Nationals, so the left-handed-hitting Keith will begin the contest on the bench. Andy Ibanez will handle second base for the Tigers.

Valdez entered Wednesday's game as a pinch hitter and went 1-for-1 with a walk, a double and two RBI in an 8-6 win over Philadelphia.

He delivered a two-out, two-run double as a pinch hitter for Jamie Westbrook, giving the Red Sox a lead they would not relinquish. Valdez remained in the game and played second base. Since a wave of infield injuries led to him becoming the starting second baseman against right-handers, Valdez is 5-for-22 with a home run, two doubles and seven RBI over eight contests.

Torres went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run, an additional run and a walk Wednesday in an 11-5 victory against Kansas City.

Torres further busted open the game for the Yankees with a three-run shot off Daniel Lynch in the seventh inning. The long ball was his second in June and his sixth overall this season. Four of the long balls have come over his past 21 contests after Torres went deep just twice over his initial 49 games.

Valdez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Phillies.

The lefty-hitting Valdez will exit the starting nine while the Phillies bring southpaw Cristopher Sanchez to the hill. The Red Sox will turn to the right-handed-hitting Jamie Westbrook to replace Valdez at the keystone.

Keith (knee) will start at second base and bat fifth in Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Keith will slot back in at the keystone after he was excluded from the starting nine in both of the past two games, though he appeared off the bench and went hitless in his lone at-bat in Tuesday's 5-4 extra-inning loss. The rookie got off to a rough start to the season but seems to have turned the corner since mid-May, as he's slashing .286/.324/.414 over a stretch of 22 games.