MLB Player News

Ibanez (hamstring) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock on Monday.

Ibanez has missed two weeks with a strained left hamstring. Given the relatively brief nature of his absence, he shouldn't need too long of a rehab assignment, though it's not yet clear exactly when the Rangers expect him to return. The team will be excited to have him back, as he hit .467/.500/.733 over his last 12 games before he suffered the injury.

Espinal (hip) was spotted Monday taking part in sprinting drills on the field prior to the Blue Jays' game against the Rays, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

Espinal looks like he's starting to ramp up again after a right hip flexor strain resulted in him being shut down Aug. 29. He'll still need to incorporate full baseball activities into his workout regimen before heading out on what will likely be a multi-game minor-league rehab assignment. Jake Lamb and Breyvic Valera are expected to form a platoon at third base until Espinal is deemed ready to return from the 10-day injured list.

Albies went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Marlins.

After homering in each of his first four games of September, Albies endured a 1-for-19 dry spell at the dish over the subsequent four contests before getting back on track Sunday. Two batters after Albies connected on his solo shot in the seventh inning, Freddie Freeman left the yard and joined teammate Adam Duvall (34) as members of the 30-home run club. Albies (28), Austin Riley (29) and Dansby Swanson (26) will all have shots at reaching that benchmark over the final three weeks of the season.

Lowe will sit Monday against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It wasn't a surprise to see Lowe sit Sunday against lefty Tarik Skubal, but it's unusual to see him remain on the bench Monday against righty Alek Manoah. He hasn't been anything close to cold at the plate recently, going 9-for-19 with a pair of homers over his last six games, so it's possible he's dealing with some sort of injury. Joey Wendle will get the start at second base.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that he plans on playing Torres primarily at second base for the rest of the season, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports. Torres will start at the keystone and bat seventh in the Yankees' make-up game with the Twins.

According to Adler, Torres' continued defensive issues at shortstop over the past week had started to weigh on him, and the 24-year-old was receptive to a move down the defensive spectrum when Boone proposed the change. Gio Urshela will get an off day Monday, but he's expected to take over as the Yankees' primary shortstop the rest of the way beginning with Tuesday's game in Baltimore. For fantasy purposes, Torres will retain eligibility at shortstop heading into 2022, but even if he starts at the second base in each of the Yankees' final 19 games of the season, he may not have eligibility at the keystone in certain leagues at the beginning of next year.

Merrifield went 3-for-5 with two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Twins.

Merrifield led the game off with a double off Baily Ober and eventually came around to score in the inning. He later doubled again in the fifth to drive in a run and then led off the ninth with a single and scored again to give the Royals an insurance run. It was the 32-year-old's second three-hit effort over his last five games, raising his slash line for the year to .277/.320/.399 with 48 extra-base hits, 69 RBI, 86 runs scored, 40 steals and 37:86 BB:K over 635 at-bats.

Marte went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-4 win over the Mariners.

Marte went deep off Erik Swanson in the seventh inning to extend the Diamondbacks' lead to three runs. He extended his on-base streak to nine games, though he is batting just .194 in that stretch. The 27-year-old is slashing .320/.380/.524 with 11 long balls, 42 RBI and 43 runs scored in 304 plate appearances. Despite playing in just 73 games this season, he is tied for the most home runs on the team.

Torres went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a strikeout in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Mets.

Torres continued his solid weekend Sunday with a sixth-inning two-run shot off Mets reliever Jeurys Familia. The long ball was his first since July 21, ending a 25-game drought, and gives the shortstop seven on the season. After hitting 38 home runs in 144 games in 2019, Torres has regressed to 10 combined in 150 games during the last two seasons.

Rodgers went 3-for-4 in Sunday's 5-4 win over Philadelphia.

While the second baseman had a productive day in the No. 2 spot in the order, Colorado's other batters in the 1-through-5 holes combined to go 0-for-15 with one walk. Rodgers has been solid in September, recording multiple hits in five of his last 11 games. He's slashing .283/.332/.454 with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, 37 runs scored, two triples and 17 doubles across 340 plate appearances.

Lux will start in left field and bat eighth Sunday against the Padres, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Even with a lefty (Blake Snell) on the mound for San Diego, the lefty-hitting Lux will be awarded the start in the outfield over the lefty-hitting Cody Bellinger, whom manager Dave Roberts has become increasingly reluctant to use versus same-handed pitching. An infielder by trade, Lux will be making his third consecutive start in left field, and he could continue to see more work in the outfield if Chris Taylor (neck) misses additional time. Lux went 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and an RBI in Saturday's 5-4 win.