MLB Player News
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Brandon Drury 2B | LAA
Angels' Brandon Drury: Dropped from lineup Sunday
Drury is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.
Drury will take a seat for the second time in three games while he's managed just one hit in 25 at-bats over his last seven contests. The Angels haven't pulled the plug on Drury as an everyday player just yet, but his hold on a regular spot in the infield seems to be slipping.
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Christopher Morel DH | TB
Rays' Christopher Morel: On bench Sunday
Morel is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Morel went deep in his first two games after being acquired by Tampa Bay, but he'll sit Sunday after going 0-for-5 with three walks and four strikeouts in his past two contests. Josh Lowe will serve as the designated hitter in the series finale at Houston while Dylan Carlson starts in right field.
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Michael Massey 2B | KC
Royals' Michael Massey: Not starting Sunday
Massey is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.
Righty Alex Faedo is starting Sunday for Detroit, but the lefty-hitting Massey is on the bench since Faedo is serving as an opener for lefty Brant Hurter. Salvador Perez will rest his legs as the designated hitter while Freddy Fermin starts behind the plate.
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Jorge Polanco 2B | SEA
Mariners' Jorge Polanco: Multi-hit effort in return
Polanco (knee) went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a run in an extra-inning win over the Phillies on Saturday.
The veteran infielder had sat out Friday's series opener due to his nagging knee issues, but Polanco was starting at second base Saturday and managed to deliver one of three multi-hit efforts for the Mariners. Polanco's .215/.297/.352 season slash line still has plenty of room for improvement; however, the 31-year-old now boasts a .292 average and 1.019 OPS across 54 post-All-Star-break plate appearances, and his .375 average with men in scoring position during that span has helped him produce 10 RBI.
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Brooks Baldwin SS | CHW
White Sox's Brooks Baldwin: Swats first career homer
Baldwin went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to the Twins.
Baldwin temporarily tied the score at 2-2 in the sixth inning with a solo shot off Bailey Ober. The long ball was his first as a major leaguer in his 14th career game. Baldwin shouldn't be expected to hit for much power -- he went deep a modest eight times in 82 games in the minors this season prior to his mid-July call-up -- but he batted .324 and swiped 17 bases during that span, so there's certainly potential for him to be a useful fantasy producer. However, he's struggled against major-league pitchers thus far with a .167/.200/.313 slash line through 50 plate appearances.
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Brandon Lowe 2B | TB
Rays' Brandon Lowe: Tallies three hits, two RBI
Lowe went 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Astros.
Lowe has four multi-hit efforts over his last eight games, going 13-for-29 (.448) with a home run, five doubles and seven RBI in that span. The infielder hit .325 in July and is continuing his strong play into August. For the season, he's up to a .264/.353/.510 slash line with 12 homers, 37 RBI, 32 runs scored and two stolen bases over 238 plate appearances.
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Charles Leblanc 2B | ATL
Angels' Charles Leblanc: Called up Saturday
The Angels selected Leblanc's contract from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday.
Leblanc will join the major-league roster after producing a .262 average with 12 home runs, 48 RBI, 51 runs scored and four stolen bases over 81 games with Salt Lake this season. With Luis Rengifo (wrist) being placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday, Leblanc may be thrust into regular at-bats with the big-league club at third base.
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Jorge Polanco 2B | SEA
Mariners' Jorge Polanco: Back in action Saturday
Polanco (knee) will start at second base and bat fifth Saturday against the Phillies.
Polanco was forced to sit out Friday's series opener after exiting Wednesday's game due to a knee injury, but the issue seems to have subsided ahead of Saturday's contest. The 31-year-old infielder has put up a career-worst batting average (.210) and OPS (.644) through 289 plate appearances this season, but he's begun to heat up lately, slashing .273/.340/.682 with five homers and nine RBI since the All-Star break.
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Zack Gelof 2B | OAK
Athletics' Zack Gelof: Day off Saturday
Gelof is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Dodgers.
Gelof will get a breather after he went 2-for-10 with a walk and four strikeouts while starting the team's last three contests. Darell Hernaiz was reinstated from the 60-day injured list Friday after nursing a left ankle sprain for over two months and he'll replace Gelof at second base and bat eighth against Los Angeles.
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Nicky Lopez 2B | CHW
White Sox's Nicky Lopez: Out of lineup again
Lopez is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Twins.
Lopez will sit for a second straight game Saturday after starting five straight. Brooks Baldwin will start at shortstop and bat second against Minnesota right-hander Bailey Ober.