MLB Player News

Villar is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

After sitting against lefty Aaron Ashby and the Brewers in the Giants' final game before the All-Star break July 17, the righty-hitting Villar now finds himself on the bench against Dodgers right-hander Mitch White in San Francisco's first contest of the second half. Even though Tommy La Stella (illness) is still stuck on the COVID-19-related injured list and Thairo Estrada is filling in at shortstop while Brandon Crawford (knee) is on the IL, Wilmer Flores may be ahead of Villar for playing time in the middle infield. Flores will pick up his second straight start at the keystone.

Castro is not in the starting lineup for Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Athletics.

Castro will get a breather in Game 1 after he went 5-for-11 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored against the Guardians in the final series before the All-Star break. Kody Clemens was recalled from Triple-A on Thursday and will start at first base in the matinee.

Kemp is out of the lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Tigers.

Detroit is bringing a left-hander (Tarik Skubal) to the hill for the early game, so the lefty-hitting Kemp's absence from the lineup doesn't come as a major surprise. The righty-hitting Chad Pinder will spell Kemp in left field for the matinee.

Andrus isn't starting the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

Andrus started the last six games and hit .217 with four runs, three RBI and a stolen base. He'll get a breather while Nick Allen shifts to shortstop with Sheldon Neuse starting at second base.

Short was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday.

Short will return to the majors for the first time this season after he appeared in 61 games with the Tigers last year. He struggled to a .141 average in those contests and hasn't quite produced a better line in Triple-A in 2022. Overall, he's compiled a .225 average with nine homers, 37 RBI, 51 runs and nine stolen bases over 307 at-bats in 85 games for Toledo.

Motter was released by the Reds on Monday, Doug Gray of RedsMinorLeagues.com reports.

Motter had spent the majority of the season with Triple-A Louisville before being released Monday, batting .250 with eight homers, 18 RBI and 12 runs over 132 at-bats over 39 games. The 32-year-old has big-league experience and will likely find another team in the near future.

Haggerty went 3-for-4 with a run in a win over the Rangers on Sunday.

Haggerty continued to make impressive contributions Sunday, this time serving as a thorn in the side of Rangers pitching out of the bottom of the order. The 28-year-old now has a trio of three-hit efforts in the last eight games, affording him a .375 average over that span despite the fact he's also gone hitless in four other starts during the sample.

The Royals reinstated Merrifield (toe) from the restricted list Monday.

Merrifield was one of 10 Royals players who will rejoin the 26-man active roster after being ineligible to play during the four-game weekend series in Toronto due his vaccination status. Before he was deactivated Thursday, Merrifield saw his streak of 553 consecutive games played come to an end due to a bone bruise in his right big toe, which sidelined him for a four-game series with Detroit. Merrifield closed the Royals' first-half schedule with a .240/.292/.343 slash line to go with five home runs, 14 stolen bases, 45 runs and 36 RBI in 84 contests, but his availability for the team's first game of the second half Friday against the Rays is in question due to the lingering toe injury. It's unclear if the time on the restricted list plus the All-Star break will provide sufficient time for Merrifield to make a full recovery from the injury.

Semien went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a stolen base in a 6-2 loss to the Mariners on Sunday.

After not hitting his first home run of the year until May 28, Semien is looking much more like his usual self. The veteran right-handed bat now has five home runs in July to give him 13 on the season. He also easily stole second off Chris Flexen in the bottom of the first for his 17th stolen base of the year. The number marks a new career-high. If Semien can continue to play the way he has in June and July, then he should be in line for another high-powered second half to complement his new propensity for steals.

Hoerner went 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 3-2 win over the Mets on Sunday.

Hoerner had a good night at the plate, rapping out three singles, including one which cashed in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth with two out. The three-hit performance made up for a defensive gaffe earlier in the game when the second baseman misplayed a rundown situation which allowed Starling Marte to scamper home from third and Francisco Lindor to reach safely at second. Despite only walking 4.1% of the time, Hoerner has shown excellent bat-to-ball skills and his hitting .307 with a .305 xBA.