MLB Player News

Espinal (hip) was spotted Monday taking part in sprinting drills on the field prior to the Blue Jays' game against the Rays, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

Espinal looks like he's starting to ramp up again after a right hip flexor strain resulted in him being shut down Aug. 29. He'll still need to incorporate full baseball activities into his workout regimen before heading out on what will likely be a multi-game minor-league rehab assignment. Jake Lamb and Breyvic Valera are expected to form a platoon at third base until Espinal is deemed ready to return from the 10-day injured list.

Lowe will sit Monday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It wasn't a surprise to see Lowe sit Sunday against lefty Tarik Skubal, but it's unusual to see him remain on the bench Monday against righty Alek Manoah. He hasn't been anything close to cold at the plate recently, going 9-for-19 with a pair of homers over his last six games, so it's possible he's dealing with some sort of injury. Joey Wendle will get the start at second base.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that he plans on playing Torres primarily at second base for the rest of the season, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. Torres will start at the keystone and bat seventh in the Yankees' make-up game with the Twins.

According to Adler, Torres' continued defensive issues at shortstop over the past week had started to weigh on him, and the 24-year-old was receptive to a move down the defensive spectrum when Boone proposed the change. Gio Urshela will get an off day Monday, but he's expected to take over as the Yankees' primary shortstop the rest of the way beginning with Tuesday's game in Baltimore. For fantasy purposes, Torres will retain eligibility at shortstop heading into 2022, but even if he starts at the second base in each of the Yankees' final 19 games of the season, he may not have eligibility at the keystone in certain leagues at the beginning of next year.

Merrifield went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Twins.

Merrifield led the game off with a double off Baily Ober and eventually came around to score in the inning. He later doubled again in the fifth to drive in a run and then led off the ninth with a single and scored again to give the Royals an insurance run. It was the 32-year-old's second three-hit effort over his last five games, raising his slash line for the year to .277/.320/.399 with 48 extra-base hits, 69 RBI, 86 runs scored, 40 steals and 37:86 BB:K over 635 at-bats.

Torres went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a strikeout in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Mets.

Torres continued his solid weekend Sunday with a sixth-inning two-run shot off Mets reliever Jeurys Familia. The long ball was his first since July 21, ending a 25-game drought, and gives the shortstop seven on the season. After hitting 38 home runs in 144 games in 2019, Torres has regressed to 10 combined in 150 games during the last two seasons.

Semien went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Saturday's 11-2 win in Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Orioles.

Semien slammed a three-run homer in the seventh inning off Tanner Scott as a part of an 11-run inning. The 30-year-old is on fire, tallying seven homers in 11 games so far in September. On the season, he is slashing .272/.342/.550 with 39 long balls, 94 RBI, 101 runs and 15 steals in 634 plate appearances.

Gimenez is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

Gimenez gets the afternoon off after going 7-for-32 with three doubles and two RBI in his last 10 games. Owen Miller is playing second base and batting seventh Sunday.

Polanco is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

After a 3-for-5, two-homer performance Saturday, Polanco is now hitting .326 with six doubles, five home runs and eight RBI in his last 10 games. Luis Arraez is starting at second base and batting third Sunday.

Lowe is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

As is often the case, Lowe takes a seat with a left-hander on the mound. He's hit .273 with a double, two home runs and six RBI in his last 10 games. Joey Wendle starts at second base Sunday and Yandy Diaz plays third.

Andrus, who went 1-for-3 with a double in a loss to the Rangers on Saturday, now has a five-game hitting streak during which he's hitting .429 (6-for-14).

The hot-hitting shortstop is in the midst of a timely upswing at the plate as the Athletics make their final playoff push. Andrus' average is back up to .233 following Saturday's production, a pedestrian figure that's nevertheless his best in that category in exactly one month.