MLB Player News

Westburg (elbow) underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Andrew Golden of TheBanner.com reports.

Westburg's procedure will keep him out for the remainder of the 2026 campaign, but general manager Mike Elias said Friday that the 27-year-old infielder has a good chance to return to playing in the field full time by early 2027. Until then, Coby Mayo will likely take over as Baltimore's primary third baseman, though Jeremiah Jackson, Blaze Alexander and Weston Wilson are also candidates to make starts at the hot corner.

Altuve is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

With Altuve getting a breather against right-hander Jack Leiter, Brice Matthews will lead off and play second base for Houston. Altuve hasn't homered since April 17 and doesn't have an extra-base hit over his last six games. On the season, the 36-year-old is slashing .245/.328/.365 with three home runs, 11 RBI, 26 runs scored, one stolen base and a 19:34 BB:K across 181 trips to the dish.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Friday that Torres (oblique) is "trending toward" beginning a rehab assignment, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Torres is eligible to be reinstated from the 10-day injured list as of Friday, but it sounds like he's going to go out on a short rehab stint prior to rejoining the Detroit lineup. Torres has slashed .259/.389/.328 with two home runs, 11 RBI, 18 runs scored and a 25:22 BB:K across 144 plate appearances this season. Hao-Yu Lee is manning second base for the Tigers on Friday.

Gonzales is absent from the lineup for Friday's game against the Phillies.

After starting 21 games in a 22-game stretch, Gonzales has now been on the bench for two straight for the first time since mid-April. It will be Jared Triolo handling the hot corner again for the Pirates.

Nunez is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Orioles.

It looks to be a routine day off for Nunez, who had started each of the previous 11 games. The Nationals will roll out Jorbit Vivas at second base in Friday's series opener.

Westburg will undergo season-ending elbow surgery, Andy Kostka of TheBanner.com reports.

Westburg suffered a partially torn UCL in his right elbow during spring training and had been attempting to rehab the injury without surgery. He began a throwing program in April but was shut down earlier this month. The 27-year-old will now miss the entirety of the 2026 campaign, leaving Coby Mayo, Jeremiah Jackson, Blaze Alexander and Weston Wilson as candidates for playing time at third base the remainder of the season. Baltimore will hope to get Jackson Holliday (hand) back at some point in the relatively near future, and he's been getting reps at third base as well during his latest rehab assignment, perhaps signaling he'll be an option at the hot corner for the big-league club.

Gelof went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 5-4 loss to St. Louis.

Gelof got a center-cut fastball from Ryne Stanek in the seventh inning and sent it over the left-center field wall for his second long ball in as many games. It has been a scorching start to May for Gelof, who is slashing .308/.372/.692 with four homers, nine RBI and eight runs across 11 games this month. The 26-year-old is valued for his ability to play multiple positions around the diamond, but with Max Muncy (hand) sidelined, Gelof has seized regular playing time at third base.

Semien went 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a second run scored in Thursday's win over the Tigers.

The veteran second baseman took Ricky Vanasco deep in the eighth inning, the fifth of five Mets long balls on the afternoon. Semien has had a sluggish start to his tenure with his new team, but he may be getting comfortable -- over the last eight games, he's batting .310 (9-for-29) with a double and two of his three homers on the year, as well as a 4:5 BB:K.

Turang went 1-for-2 with a double, one RBI, two runs scored and two walks in Thursday's 7-1 win over San Diego.

Turang has now hit safely in 11 of his last 13 outings and is also riding a four-game RBI streak. The second baseman has been a five-category fantasy producer thus far in 2026, slashing .298/.422/.511 with six home runs, 27 RBI, 33 runs scored and eight stolen bases across 175 plate appearances. Turang's .933 OPS is well on pace to be a career high after posting a career-best .794 mark last during the regular season last year.

Arraez went 2-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday's 4-0 loss to the Dodgers.

While most of the Giants struggled against Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers, Arraez reached base three times while hitting two singles in the shutout loss. The 29-year-old infielder has reached safely in each of his last seven outings, batting .321 with four runs scored, three RBI, two doubles and a 4:1 BB:K in 33 plate appearances during that span. Overall, he's slashing .310/.347/.380 with 16 runs scored, 14 RBI, four stolen bases and a 4.0 percent strikeout rate across 173 plate appearances this season.