MLB Player News

Drury will begin playing first base twice a week for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Conor Foley of The Times-Tribune reports.

The Yankees have acknowledged that Drury deserves to be in the majors, but there's currently no room for the infielder with Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres both mashing for the big club. He'll get some reps at first base moving forward in an attempt to provide him with another path to the majors. If Drury takes well to first base, he could potentially replace Neil Walker -- who is hitting just .204/.280/.286 this season -- on the big-league roster in a utility role.

Altuve is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Rays.

Altuve will head to the bench for the first time all season after going 3-for-4 in Monday's series-opening win. The second baseman is hitting .342/.398/.470 with five homers and 11 stolen bases in 74 games this season. Alex Bregman will cover the keystone in Altuve's stead as Yulieski Gurriel shifts to third.

Merrifield (knee) will serve as the designated hitter Monday against the Rangers.

Merrifield may not be fully recovered from the bruise he suffered after fouling a ball off his knee Sunday, but he's at least able to hit. Adalberto Mondesi will handle second base Monday.

Andrus (elbow) was activated from the 60-day disabled list Monday.

Andrus had been out since mid-April with a fractured elbow. He'll play shortstop and bat second Monday against the Royals. Ryan Rua was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move Sunday.

Barreto made his second straight start at second base in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Angels, going 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.

With Matt Chapman (thumb) landing on the 10-day disabled list Friday, second baseman Jed Lowrie is slated to see most of the action at the hot corner for the time being. According to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, manager Bob Melvin referred to the Chapman injury as the "biggest opportunity" for Barreto to play regularly for the big club over the past two seasons, so it sounds like the Athletics are prepared to install the 22-year-old as their primary second baseman in the short term. Since being acquired from the Blue Jays in the November 2014 trade that sent Josh Donaldson north of the border, Barreto has been touted as the club's shortstop of the future, but his lagging production at the Triple-A level has prevented him from catching on in the majors. He was slashing .236/.335/.441 (102 wRC+) for Nashville this season prior to being promoted Friday.

Andrus (elbow) is expected to be activated from the 60-day disabled list prior to Monday's series opener against the Royals, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

The Rangers already cleared a roster spot by optioning Ryan Rua to Triple-A Round Rock following Sunday's 13-12 win over the Rockies, so it appears Andrus will return to the Texas lineup for the first time since April 11 after missing just over two months with a fractured right elbow. Though he struggled during his seven-game minor-league rehab assignment with one hit in 24 at-bats, Andrus didn't experience any renewed pain in his elbow, which carries more weight for the Rangers than his poor showing at the plate. With Andrus now healthy, it's expected he'll reclaim his role as the Rangers' everyday shortstop, resulting in Jurickson Profar settling for a utility gig.

Semeien went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Sunday against the Angels.

Semien took Blake Parker deep in the ninth inning to cut the Angels lead to one run. It was his seventh home run of the season and second in as many days. After a hot start to the season, Semien has cooled off considerably but should continue to score plenty of runs as he hits either first or second in the Athletics' lineup on a nightly basis.

Solarte went 2-for-5 with a solo home run Sunday against the Nationals.

Solarte added a key insurance run in the eighth inning by smashing a home run to right field, pushing the lead to two. The 30-year-old second baseman has put together a .258/.312/.480 batting line with 41 RBI and a .792 OPS through 68 games.

Merrifield, who was lifted from Sunday's game in the second inning, is being diagnosed with a "left medial knee contusion," Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Merrifield fouled a ball off his knee and appeared to be in noticeable discomfort, but the preliminary diagnosis of a bruise appears to be a good sign. Consider the second baseman day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener against the Rangers.

Merrifield was removed from Sunday's game against the Astros in the bottom of the second inning after fouling a ball off his left knee, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Merrifield looked to be in considerable pain as he limped off the field, suggesting the injury could be more than a day-to-day concern for the versatile speedster. The Royals will likely evaluate Merrifield later Sunday or Monday before the severity of the injury is revealed. Adalberto Mondesi, who was recalled from Triple-A Omaha earlier Sunday, replaced Merrifield and would be the main beneficiary for increased work at second base if Merrifield misses time.