MLB Player News

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.

Altuve went 2-for-4 with a home run and double Thursday against the Rays.

Altuve went hitless in his first two at-bats, but got things going with a solo home run in the fifth inning. He followed that up with a leadoff double in the eighth frame, but was ultimately stranded there. It's an encouraging start to the season for Altuve, who was hampered in the second half of the 2018 season with a knee injury that required offseason surgery.

Barreto was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

Barreto looked to have made the team even after the Japan Series (he did not record an at-bat) until the Kendrys Morales deal Monday. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old, the deal pushed him down the pecking order. Barreto hit .351 in Cactus League play with a .429 on-base percentage, so if he keeps up the good work he'll remain one of the top guys on the callup list.

Drury will start at third base and bat leadoff in Thursday's game against the Tigers.

After slashing .315/.373/.574 in spring training, Drury will be rewarded for his performance with a spot atop the lineup to begin the season. The assignment won't come with much job security, however, so Drury may need to get off to a hot start in order to avoid dropping down in the lineup. While the leadoff duties should provide a temporary boost to Drury's fantasy stock, his season-long outlook is still somewhat hazy given the expectation that top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (oblique) will eventually settle in as the Jays' everyday third baseman.

Polanco (arm) will start at shortstop and bat second Thursday in the Twins' season opener against the Indians, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Polanco dealt with arm fatigue in the latter stages of camp but will get the green light to enter the Opening Day lineup after experiencing no setbacks coming out of a minor-league game Tuesday. It's possible the Twins may give him an extra off-day or two early in the season for precautionary reasons, but the 25-year-old should still be expected to handle the overwhelming majority of starts at shortstop.