MLB Player News

Drury will head to the bench for the first time this season Wednesday against the Orioles.

Drury has gone 6-for-25 at the plate through six games. Richard Urena picks up the start at third base in his absence.

Torres is starting at shortstop and hitting fourth against the Tigers on Tuesday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

Torres hit eighth in three of New York's first four games coming into this contest, but he'll move up to the cleanup spot as the Yankees adjust to the loss of Miguel Andujar (shoulder). Should this become a recurring trend, it could result in an uptick in run production for the talented 22-year-old, who is hitting .313 through 16 at-bats so far this season, but has yet to drive in a run.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run with two runs scored in Monday's 7-1 win over Colorado.

After striking out in the first inning, Lowe was 0-for-10 to start the year before going deep in the fourth inning. Expect the rookie infielder to be a regular for the Rays while Joey Wendle (hamstring) is on the IL.

The Rays recalled Arroyo from Triple-A Durham on Monday.

As anticipated, Arroyo will assume the active roster spot of Joey Wendle (hamstring), who was placed on the injured list in a corresponding move. Arroyo will bolster the Rays' depth in the infield but isn't expected to see regular at-bats for the duration of his stay in Tampa Bay.

The Rays plan to recall Arroyo from Triple-A Durham prior to Monday's game against the Rockies, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

With Joey Wendle (hamstring) headed to the injured list, Arroyo will move up to the big club to provide an extra infielder off the bench. Even with Wendle's absence, the Rays still have a couple of versatile infield options in Daniel Robertson and Brandon Lowe, both of whom are more likely than Arroyo to benefit from increased at-bats.

Merrifield will start in right field and lead off Saturday against the White Sox.

Merrifield appeared at second base in 108 games a season ago and was expected to receive the majority of his action at the keystone in 2019, but he'll instead make both of his first two starts in right field. According to Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com, manager Ned Yost recently said that using Merrifield in right gives the Royals their best defensive outfield, as it allows the team to shift the slow-footed Jorge Soler to designated hitter. Merrifield made 39 appearances in the outfield in 2018 and should already have eligibility at the position in the majority of leagues, so the more notable takeaway from the news is that he looks on track to carry dual-position eligibility into 2020 as well.

Kemp started at designated hitter and went 0-for-3 with a stolen base and run scored in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Rays.

Kemp made his season debut with the start, filling the DH role that went to Tyler White on Opening Day. He stole second after being hit by a pitch and eventually scored the game's first run on a double by Michael Brantley in the third inning. Manager AJ Hinch will rotate players through the DH spot, so expect Kemp to get occasional starts there. If he can make contributions consistently, Kemp may grab a larger slice of the plate appearances.

Lowe is not in the lineup for Friday's game against Houston, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Lowe went 0-for-4 with one strikeout out of the cleanup spot in Thursday's season opener as the designated hitter. The 24-year-old can play both corner infield and outfield spots but will nonetheless take a seat Friday. Austin Meadows will be the designated hitter as Avisail Garcia starts in right field.

Semien went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a shutout win over the Angels on Thursday.

Semien's 394-foot shot to center off Trevor Cahill extended the Athletics' lead to 3-0, and the shortstop's season-opening hitting streak to three games. The 28-year-old ceded the leadoff spot to Robbie Grossman on Thursday, but manager Bob Melvin is likely to rotate Semien into the top of the order fairly frequently over the course of the season.

Andrus went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's 12-4 loss to the Cubs.

Andrus hit safely in his first three at-bats and picked up where he left off in spring training during which he batted .432. The Rangers' three-hole hitter is healthy after an elbow injury cost him two months and sapped his power stroke in 2018.