MLB Player News

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

The Rays will move four lefty-hitting regulars (Lowe, Austin Meadows, Ji-Man Choi and Joey Wendle) to the bench with southpaw Martin Perez toeing the rubber for Minnesota in the series finale. With Lowe sitting, Michael Brosseau will pick up a start at the keystone.

Marte has been cleared for infield duty only after returning from a groin injury, Julie Stambaugh of the Arizona Republic reports.

Marte, who was out of the lineup Wednesday, has played second base since missing two games due to the groin. Manager Torey Lovullo is not yet certain when Marte will be ready to handle the more stressful outfield position.

McNeil went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk, a double, two RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Phillies.

McNeil took Nick Pivetta deep to lead off the fifth inning and record his sixth home run of the campaign. He added an RBI double an inning later to put the Mets up 4-0. McNeil has swung the bat well of late, putting together seven multi-hit efforts in his last nine starts. That's helped raise his line to .351/.414/.514 across 278 plate appearances for the season.

The Athletics purchased Motter's contract from the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball on Tuesday and assigned him to Double-A Midland.

After being cut by the Tigers in mid-May, Motter quickly moved on to the independent ranks to continue his career. The Athletics saw enough from Motter during his 33-game stint with New Britain to give him a look, but he's unlikely to serve as anything more than a depth option in the high minors during his time with the organization.

Semien went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in a win over the Cardinals on Tuesday.

Semien's 401-foot shot to center in the fifth represented the second run in a six-run rally for the Athletics during the inning. The blast was the 28-year-old's first round tripper since June 15, but it extended what has been a successful all-around month at the plate for Semien. Factoring in Tuesday's production, he's hitting .306 during the current month while racking up 11 extra-base hits (six doubles, one triple, four home runs) and 15 RBI.

Lux was promoted from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Lux will get his first taste of Triple-A after slashing an impressive .313/.375/.521 with 13 home runs and seven stolen bases in 64 games for Tulsa. The well-regarded prospect is one step closer to the majors following Wednesday's promotion, though seeing as he's still not on the 40-man roster, he could spend the remainder of the season at Oklahoma City unless he really forces the Dodgers' hand.

Marte is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Dodgers.

The Diamondbacks will ease Marte back into action after he missed time with a groin injury over the weekend, sending the second baseman to the bench for Wednesday's afternoon contest following a Tuesday night game during which he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. In his place, Ildemaro Vargas is starting at the keystone and hitting sixth.

Merrifield went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run Tuesday in the Royals' 8-6 win over the Indians.

Merrifield's base knock in the top of the ninth helped fuel the Royals' comeback from a three-run deficit and gave him two hits for the third consecutive contest. The 30-year-old previously notched three consecutive multi-hit games in April and will look to establish a new season-long streak in Wednesday's series finale. He'll lead off and man left field, marking his first start of the season at that position.

Biggio will start at second base and bat leadoff Wednesday against the Yankees.

Normal table setter Eric Sogard is receiving a breather for the day game after the night game, so Biggio will settle in atop the order for the first time since June 14. Biggio owns a robust .352 on-base percentage through his first 27 games in the big leagues, but his elevated strikeout rate (28.6 percent) has played a major part in limiting his average to a pedestrian .221. The rookie has at least made some progress on that front lately, as he'll carry a four-game hitting streak into the series finale.

Rosario went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a second run scored and a stolen base in Tuesday's loss to the Phillies.

The 23-year-old remains locked in at the plate, slashing .433/.438/.633 over the last nine games with a homer, four steals, four RBI and six runs. Rosario continues to hit near the bottom of the Mets' order, limiting his fantasy potential, but if he continues cranking out hits he could work his way into a more productive lineup spot.