MLB Player News

Polanco went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Rangers.

Polanco had gone seven games without an extra-base hit, batting .273 (6-for-22) with three RBI in that span. The infielder continues to move around between second base, third base and designated hitter as the Twins find at-bats for Edouard Julien. Polanco is hitting a middling .250 with a .766 OPS, nine homers, 30 RBI, 21 runs scored and three stolen bases through 56 contests this year.

Westburg will hit the bench for Saturday's game against the Rockies, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Westburg sits for the second time in three games, which immediately follows a run of six straight starts. His .265/.304/.401 slash line (92 wRC+) through his first 44 major-league games is nothing special, so it wouldn't be a surprise if he continues to be treated as less than a true everyday player down the stretch. Adam Frazier starts at second base Saturday.

Diaz is not in the starting nine for Saturday's game against the White Sox.

Diaz finds himself on the bench for the third consecutive game. It's possible he's dealing with an unreported minor injury, but it's also possible his 2-for-29 showing over his previous 10 contests led the Athletics to decide to give him a few days off. Whatever the reason, Jonah Bride will get another start at the hot corner.

Dubon will sit Saturday against the Tigers.

Dubon finds himself on the bench for the fourth straight game. Jake Meyers will be in center field this time around, with Chas McCormick starting in left.

Gimenez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Gimenez has hit a rough patch, going 5-for-29 over his last nine games. His homer Friday was his first extra-base hit in that span. The second baseman remains in the lineup on a regular basis, slashing .241/.311/.390 with 12 homers, 21 stolen bases, 46 RBI and 57 runs scored through 123 contests overall. The Guardians aren't short on infield options, which has resulted in Gimenez occasionally sitting versus southpaws in recent weeks.

Kemp went 3-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, a walk and two runs in a win over the White Sox on Friday.

One day after belting just his fourth home run of the season, Kemp went back to playing his trademark small ball and serving as an incessant thorn in the side of White Sox pitching throughout the night. The veteran pushed his season on-base percentage to .315 with Friday's production, a middling figure that's nevertheless his best since way back on April 12. Kemp now has back-to-back multi-hit efforts for the first time since late July and has a blistering .571 average (8-for-14) and 1.595 OPS over his last seven games.

Sosa went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 12-4 loss to the A's.

He got the White Sox on the board by slicing a Zach Neal cutter the other way over the right-field wall in the second inning, but Chicago was already in a 5-0 hole at that point. Sosa has started four of the last five games at second base as Elvis Andrus shifts into a utility role, and the younger infielder has earned the assignment by batting .273 (6-for-22) over his last seven games with two homers and seven RBI.

Westburg went 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 5-4 win over the Rockies.

Westburg had gone 16 games without drawing a walk, hitting .246 with 14 strikeouts, five doubles and six RBI in that span. The infielder again started at second base, which appears to be his most likely position when there's a southpaw starting for the opponent. Westburg is slashing a solid .265/.304/.401 with two home runs, 17 RBI, 19 runs scored and four steals over his first 44 major-league contests.

Julien went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, a walk and two runs scored in Friday's win over Texas.

Julien drilled a three-run shot during Minnesota's six-run seventh frame but also struck out four times. It was his 11th homer of the year and first since July 26. Over his previous 22 games since that last home run, Julien posted a .621 OPS with just four RBI. The rookie infielder is now slashing .285/.378/.479 with 24 extra-base hits and 41 runs scored through 78 games.

Diaz is not in the lineup Friday versus the White Sox.

Diaz, who also sat out of Thursday's series opener, is slashing just .159/.264/.333 over his last 22 games (72 plate appearances) dating back to July 29. His season OPS has fallen from .716 to .676 in that span.