MLB Player News

Marte went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, three RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Rockies.

After heading to the bench Saturday while tending to a minor shoulder injury, Marte rejoined the lineup for the series finale and fell a triple short of the cycle in this impressive performance. The three-hit showing was highlighted by his fourth home run of the season, with three of the long balls now coming in a nine-game span. While he has been disappointing through 223 at-bats this season and has just one stolen base, Marte is 11-for-33 across his last 10 games, with all but one of those hits going for extra bases.

Frazier was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday.

Frazier has appeared in 56 of the Pirates' 64 contests this season but holds an uninspiring .237/.318/.356 slash line over 152 plate appearances. He'll be sent to the minors to allow the Pirates to bring up some catching reinforcement in the form of Jacob Stallings, who will provide backstop depth following Francisco Cervelli's removal from Saturday's contest with a jaw injury. It wouldn't be surprising to see Frazier back in the majors in the not-too-distant future.

Marte was held out of the Diamondbacks lineup during Saturday's 12-7 win over the Rockies due in part to a tender right shoulder, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. "Maybe created some tenderness in his right shoulder," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said of Marte, who initially got banged up after sliding awkwardly into third base June 3 against the Marlins. "He could play. He's available off the bench. I just want to get him ahead of it instead of playing even. We're trying to nurse him through this situation right now."

As Lovullo suggested, Marte was available off the bench and ended up entering the contest as a pinch hitter, going 0-for-2 on the evening. Marte's exit from the lineup opened up a spot in the middle infield for the struggling Nick Ahmed, who came through with one of his best games of the season (3-for-5, one home run, two doubles, three RBI). Ahmed's performance Saturday as well as the recent hot hitting of Daniel Descalso could result in the Diamondbacks deploying a rotation in the middle infield, though Marte should see plenty of playing time thanks to his own strong form at the dish of late. Each of Marte's last nine hits have gone for extra bases, with the 24-year-old submitting a 1.226 OPS in his last 10 games heading into Saturday.

Marte is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rockies.

Marte will head to the bench Saturday as Daniel Descalso earns the starting nod at second base. The 24-year-old Marte struggled with a .207 average and .576 OPS in May, but has responded through the first seven games of June, going 8-for-22 with eight extra-base hits, seven runs and six RBI.

Marte went 1-for-4 with a double, walk and two runs Friday in the Diamondbacks' 9-4 win over the Rockies.

The power production is beginning to tick up steadily for Marte, whose two-bagger in the series opener was his 10th extra-base hit in as many games. The hot-hitting Daniel Descalso has made a case for regular playing time at second base against right-handed pitching, but Marte's ability to play the other middle-infield spot should continue to create a path for him into the lineup. Nick Ahmed, who is hitting .200 over his last 15 games, hit the bench Friday to make room for Marte at shortstop.

Forsythe is out of the lineup against the Pirates on Thursday, Andy McCullough of The Los Angeles Times reports.

Forsythe will get a breather after going 0-for-4 during Wednesday's game. In his place, Breyvic Valera will start at second base and bat seventh.

Diaz went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk and two runs for Double-A Jacksonville in its 2-1 win over Birmingham on Tuesday.

Diaz has recorded back-to-back three-hit outings, but he's still sitting at a middling .220 average for the season thanks to a miserable April and May. The infielder's sizzling start to June offers hope that he may be starting to find his footing in the Southern League, but the 22-year-old will probably need to trim down his 27.2 percent strikeout rate a bit more before enjoying sustainable success.

Marte is not in the lineup versus San Francisco on Wednesday.

Marte will head to the bench after starting the first two games of this series while Daniel Descalso gets the nod at second base. Over the past eight contests, Marte is hitting .370/.393/.926 with nine extra-base hits and eight RBI.

Gimenez went 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI for High-A St. Lucie in Monday's extra-inning win over Tampa.

It was the first multi-homer game of the 19-year-old's minor-league career. Gimenez, the Mets' No. 2 fantasy prospect, has put together a solid campaign against mainly older competition in the Florida State League, slashing .291/.362/.463 through 49 games with four homers and 19 steals in 23 attempts. With Amed Rosario settling in at shortstop on the big-league roster, the organization has no reason to rush Gimenez, so don't be surprised if he spends the whole season at St. Lucie and doesn't face the Double-A test until 2019.

Marte went 2-for-2 with a triple, double, RBI and run scored Sunday in the Diamondbacks' 6-1 win over the Marlins.

Though he didn't start Sunday's contest, Marte made a big impact off the bench and has now compiled seven extra-base hits in his last six games. That represents more than 40 percent of Marte's total for the season, with the 24-year-old maintaining a lowly .299 slugging percentage prior to the recent power binge. Before reverting to a groundball-heavy batting profile in the first two months of the current campaign, Marte demonstrated growth as a slugger in the second half of the 2017 season, so there's at least some precedent for his performance over the last week. Fantasy players in NL-only and deeper mixed leagues in search of middle-infield help could do worse than rolling the dice on Marte while he seems to have unlocked more power.