MLB Player News

Mendick went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Monday against the Tigers.

Mendick smacked his first home run of the season, taking Rony Garcia deep in the sixth inning. He's gotten regular playing time in the absence of both Leury Garcia (thumb) and Nick Madrigal (shoulder), and has held his own by maintaining a .275/.327/.412 line across 55 plate appearances. However, he has batted exclusively in the bottom third of the order, limiting him to five runs scored and only one RBI.

Arauz went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Monday's loss to the Yankees.

Arauz doubled home a run in the top of the ninth inning to make it a three-run game, but the Red Sox were unable to creep any closer. Following Monday's performance, the 22-year-old is hitting .303 with two doubles and five RBI over 11 contests.

Arroyo landed on the injured list Sunday while going through COVID-19 intake testing, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Arroyo is still expected to join the big-league roster Tuesday, so the move is purely a procedural one as he prepares to join his new team after getting claimed off waivers from Cleveland last week. Assuming nothing turns up in the testing process, expect him to fill a bench role in Boston moving forward.

Andrus isn't in the lineup for Monday's game against the Padres.

Andrus was dropped in the batting order Sunday in the midst of a cold start to the season, but he'll retreat to the bench Monday. Isiah Kiner-Falefa will shift to shortstop for the series opener against the Padres.

Semien went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in a win over the Giants on Sunday.

Semien furnished the second of two multi-run homers off Dereck Rodriguez in the fifth inning, lacing a 379-foot shot to left field in the fifth inning with Sean Murphy aboard. The veteran shortstop has now left the yard in back-to-back games and is progressively putting a completely abysmal start to the season behind him -- factoring in Sunday's production, Semien is slashing a solid .268/.333/.537 with two doubles, three homers, seven RBI, four walks, two stolen bases and seven runs across his last nine games, raising his average 37 points to .216 in the process.

Arraez will not start Monday's game against the Royals.

Arraez has so far failed to deliver on the promise he showed last season, when he hit .334 in his 92-game debut. His batting average was a rather empty one, so when it drops to a still-respectable .274 like it has this season, he doesn't offer all that much to a fantasy team. Marwin Gonzalez starts at second base for the second time in three games.

Manager Ron Roenicke suggested the Red Sox will likely activate Arroyo ahead of Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports. "Arroyo is still going through the [standard COVID-19 intake process], so we're waiting to see what happens with that," Roenicke said.

Assuming Arroyo's coronavirus test results return negative, he'll join the 28-man roster and serve as a depth option at three different spots in the infield. Arroyo didn't appear in any games with Cleveland this season before he was waived by the club and subsequently claimed by Boston last week.

Castro went 3-for-4 with a double, two singles, one walk and two runs scored in Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Indians.

The utilityman is now slashing a solid .278/.328/.407 after reaching base four times Sunday. His versatility was also on full display as he moved from right field to third base in the fifth and then back to right field an inning later. Expect Castro to continue to see sporadic playing time at multiple positions moving forward.

The Blue Jays recalled Espinal from their taxi squad ahead of Sunday's game against the Rays, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

Espinal will offer the Blue Jays some extra depth in the middle infield after Bo Bichette (knee) was moved to the 10-day injured list, but Brandon Drury and Joe Panik are seemingly the top candidates to replace Bichette as the team's everyday shortstop. Expect the slick-fielding Espinal to see most of his work with Toronto as a late-inning defensive replacement.

Kemp will start at second base and bat second Sunday against the Giants.

After batting out of the eighth or ninth spot in the lineup in his first 10 starts of the season, Kemp will slot into the two hole for the third game in a row while Ramon Laureano serves a suspension. Kemp came up big in Saturday's 7-6 win with three hits and a walk in five plate appearances, but he'll likely move back near the bottom of the lineup when Laureano is reinstated from his suspension ahead of Tuesday's game in Arizona.