MLB Player News

Rodgers' shoulder strain isn't considered to be a major injury, and he's expected to be able to throw within the next few days, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Rodgers reportedly jammed his shoulder in a collision with Manny Machado while sliding into third base Saturday. Whether or not he'll be able to return when first eligible next Wednesday remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem likely that he'll wind up missing the rest of the year.

Frazier went 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBI in an 8-7 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday.

He's strung together a modest four-game hitting streak (5-for-14) with three walks. For the season, however, Frazier continues to struggle with a .210 batting average and six extra-base hits in 134 plate appearances. He moved down to eighth in the batting order, albeit against tough lefty Jon Lester, for just the second time in 2020. Frazier's name came up at the trade deadline and it wouldn't be surprising to see him traded in the offseason.

Andrus is being challenged by manager Chris Woodward to be more productive offensively, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Andrus hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Tuesday's win over the Astros, but prior to that at-bat, he'd hit three meek grounders, two of which ended in double plays. Andrus, who has the fifth lowest OPS (.680) over the last three seasons among hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances, has been resistant to the statistical analysis the Rangers have offered and laments the increasing reliance on metrics in baseball as a whole. "The toughest thing for me is to not to believe my instincts during the game and to actually believe more in a piece of paper, or report," he said. "That's where the game is right now. I think that's what I've been a little hard-headed about." Woodward, a statistically-inclined manager, has given the 12-year veteran data that indicates opposing pitchers know his power zones, and they avoid them when pitching to him. As a result, Andrus has chased or taken defensive swings and experienced an offensive decline. Texas could decide to move on from Andrus and has candidates such as Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Anderson Tejeda ready to fill in.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said Marte and rookie Daulton Varsho will share center field after the team traded Starling Marte, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

Varsho got the start Tuesday, but Lovullo said Marte will move from second base to the outfield as well. He spent most of his breakout 2019 campaign as a center fielder. Tim Locastro will also be in the center-field mix.

Altuve went 3-for-5 and scored twice in a loss to Texas on Tuesday.

The veteran collected his third three-hit game of the campaign in the loss, though each of his base knocks were singles. It has been a down season for Altuve, who is hitting an uncharacteristic .225 overall. After seeming to get back on track in mid-August, the second baseman entered Tuesday's contest hitting only .150 (3-for-20) over his previous six games.

Andrus went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a victory over Houston on Tuesday.

In his first game since returning from a stint on the injured list, Andrus came up big with a solo shot to left field off Astros closer Ryan Pressly in the ninth inning to help send the game to extras. The clutch homer was a rare highlight for Andrus in what has been a difficult season. He is hitting a paltry .188 overall, and Tuesday's long ball was his first of 2020.

Gimenez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Tuesday against the Orioles.

Gimenez took Tom Eshelman deep in the sixth inning to record his first career home run. The 21-year-old was activated from the COVID-19 injured list Aug. 28, with Tuesday being his first start since. He took advantage of the opportunity, but with Robinson Cano, J.D. Davis and Amed Rosario manning his primary positions, Gimenez may find regular at-bats difficult to come by.

McNeil went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored Tuesday against the Orioles.

McNeil extended his hitting streak to five games with this performance, during which he's gone 8-for-18 with four doubles an RBI and two runs scored. While his power has been nowhere to be found to this point in the season, McNeil has maintained a .289 batting average and .351 on-base percentage through 111 plate appearances.

Castro (hamstring) is performing all baseball activities, recently adding baserunning, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Castro has been out for two weeks with a left hamstring strain, but he appears to be closing in on a return. He filled just a part-time role prior to the injury and will presumably be used similarly once healthy.

Torres (hamstring) could return to the lineup at some point during the Yankees' weekend series in Baltimore, source reports.

Torres seems to be well ahead of the 3-to-6-week timeline given by general manager Brian Cashman as recently as last Friday. He remains without a specific target date as he works his way back from a left hamstring strain, but he's expected to head to the Yankees' alternate training site for a few days to get some at-bats in soon before being activated shortly thereafter.