MLB Player News

Rodgers is starting at second base and hitting seventh Thursday against the Astros.

He gets the start with a righty (Cristian Javier) on the mound, which is a good sign for the righty-hitting Rodgers. Granted, Garrett Hampson, who is not in the lineup, remains healthy and active, so it will be interesting to see how the playing time shakes out now that Rodgers is up. Chris Owings (hamstring) and David Dahl (back) are both on the injured list, so there might be enough playing time to go around in the short term.

Espinal will start at shortstop and will bat ninth Thursday in the first game of the Blue Jays' doubleheader with the Phillies.

He'll be manning shortstop for the third straight game after turning in two-hit performances in both of his past two starts. The Blue Jays haven't committed to Espinal as their everyday shortstop, but he looks like he'll be first in line for playing time at the position while Bo Bichette (knee) is out indefinitely.

Estrada is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Estrada was in the starting nine for each of the past three games, but he'll give way to Tyler Wade at second base in the series finale. Considering the Yankees faced left-handed pitching twice in the previous three games, the righty-hitting Estrada could be stuck in the short side of a platoon at the keystone behind the lefty-hitting Wade.

Lowe is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

With a 1.156 OPS through 97 plate appearances, Lowe has been the Rays' top hitter so far this season. Though his stellar form at the plate has largely allowed him to escape a platoon role, the lefty-hitting Lowe will take a seat against southpaw James Paxton while the Rays and Yankees conclude their series with a day game after a night game. Joey Wendle will cover second base in Lowe's stead.

Andrus (back) entered Wednesday's game as a pinch runner and played two innings at shortstop.

Andrus was held out of the starting lineup for a third consecutive game Wednesday, but his appearance late in the game as both a runner and fielder suggests his return is imminent. If he does start Thursday's series finale, the resulting domino effect on the lineup will likely be Isiah Kiner-Falefa shifting from shortstop to third base and Todd Frazier from third to first base.

Marte returned to the lineup and went 2-for-4 in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to Oakland.

After a rest day Tuesday, Marte rapped out multiple hits for the 11th time in 24 games and raised his average to .337. That's higher than the mark he posted during his breakout 2019 season, but Marte's power is down -- just one home run and a .429 slugging percentage. Pitchers are attacking him differently, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, who notes Marte is seeing fewer fastballs over the plate and more on the edge. This has contributed to a reduction in barrels. Last year, when Marte slugged .592 and launched 32 home runs, he barreled up 9.3 percent of his batted balls. That has fallen to 3.6 percent in 2020.

Merrifield went 0-for-2 with two stolen bases and a walk in a 5-0 loss to the Reds in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader.

Merrifield drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning, then stole second and third base, but the Royals weren't able to bring him home. He doubled his steals total to four in 25 games this season. The 31-year-old is slashing .302/.358/.510 with five homers, 17 RBI and 18 runs scored.

Arraez (knee) isn't starting Wednesday against the Brewers but was cleared of a serious injury after undergoing imaging, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

The 23-year-old exited Tuesday's win over the Brewers after aggravating the left knee injury, but it appears he'll avoid a trip to the injured list. Arraez should be considered day-to-day until the team further updates his status.

Rodgers was recalled from Colorado's alternate camp site Wednesday.

Rodgers is set to join the Rockies for the first time all season after failing to break camp with the team. The prospect struggled in his big-league debut in 2019, slashing .224/.272/.250 with 27 strikeouts in 25 games, though he hit .350/.413/.622 across 37 games at Triple-A prior to his promotion. He'll replace David Dahl -- who was sent to the injured list with lower-back soreness -- on the active roster. Rodgers should provide the Rockies with infield depth during his time in the majors.

Haggerty (hip) was recalled from the Mariners' alternate training site Wednesday.

Haggerty suffered a hip injury at the end of camp, but he's apparently fully recovered and will join the 28-man roster. The utility man was claimed off waivers by the Mariners during the offseason and has just four major-league at-bats on his ledger.