MLB Player News

Arroyo (thumb) is starting at second base Tuesday against Atlanta, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

A jammed right thumb has kept Arroyo out of the Red Sox's lineup for the past few days, but he'll return for Tuesday's game against Atlanta. With the departure of Enrique Hernandez to the Dodgers on Tuesday, Arroyo figures to face less competition for playing time at second base.

Diaz isn't in the Athletics' lineup Tuesday against the Giants.

After going 2-for-4 with a double during Monday's loss to the Astros, Diaz will get a breather for Tuesday's series opener against San Francisco. Tyler Soderstrom will serve as Oakland's DH, and Zack Gelof will start at second base.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said there's a chance Altuve (oblique) could be activated Wednesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Yordan Alvarez (oblique) is also a possibility for Wednesday's series finale against the Rangers. Altuve landed on the injured list July 6 due to left oblique soreness, but he's been doing baseball activities without issue for the last week or so and will apparently be allowed to skip a minor-league rehab assignment.

Drury (shoulder) hit off a high-velocity pitching machine Tuesday and is slated to face live pitching on the field Wednesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Those are expected to be the last boxes Drury needs to check, although he could repeat them for a few days before being activated. Drury has been sidelined for most of July with left shoulder inflammation but would appear on pace to return to the Angels' lineup soon.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on the Talkin' Yanks podcast that Torres (hip) will be back in the lineup Tuesday versus the Mets.

Torres had to depart Sunday's contest against the Royals due to hip tightness, but it sounds like he's made a full recovery following Monday's off day. The 26-year-old is off to a fantastic start at the plate in the second half, going 14-for-37 with three home runs in his first nine games.

Rosario went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and one run scored in Monday's 5-3 loss to the Royals.

Rosario notched his sixth multi-hit effort of the month, just one day after seeing a five-game hitting streak snapped. The shortstop is up to a .265/.306/.365 slash line with three home runs, 40 RBI, 50 runs scored, 20 doubles, five triples and nine stolen bases over 93 contests. He was hitting as low as .224 on June 3, but he's bounced back well in recent weeks while continuing to bat second in the Cleveland lineup.

Merrifield went 4-for-5 with a run scored in Monday's 6-3 extra-innings win over the Dodgers.

This was Merrifield's eighth multi-hit effort in 17 games in July -- he's batting an excellent (.355) for the month. That's also come with some power in the form of four home runs, accounting for a majority of his total (six) this season. The versatile 34-year-old's surge has him up to a .299/.351/.403 slash line with 42 RBI, 43 runs scored and 20 stolen bases over 92 contests. Most importantly, it's helped him stay in the lineup on a near-everyday basis of late, primarily at second base and in left field.

Westburg went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's 3-2 victory over the Phillies.

Westburg gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead with his first career home run, taking Cristopher Sanchez deep to the opposite field in the second inning. The 24-year-old Westburg had been struggling a bit at the plate, going 4-for-21 (.190) over his previous eight games while falling into a platoon role. The rookie infielder is now slashing .266/.319/.438 with 10 runs scored, eight RBI and a stolen base through his first 69 plate appearances.

Short hit a two-run home run in his only at-bat during Monday's 5-1 win over the Giants.

Short entered the game in the top of the eighth inning, taking over at third base for Nick Maton. He then went deep in the bottom half of the frame, giving him five home runs this season. That's only one away from his career high, and Short reached a career high in RBI with 22. The infielder had six home runs and 20 RBI across 61 games back in 2021, then appeared in just six games for the Tigers last year.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said Monday that it's possible Altuve (oblique) can be activated without going out on a rehab assignment first, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Baker did note that he has not yet spoken to Altuve about the possibility. Altuve began taking batting practice last week as he works his way back from a left oblique strain, so if he doesn't wind up needing rehab games it seems as if he could be activated relatively soon. The veteran second baseman has been sidelined since early July.