MLB Player News

Altuve went 2-for-4 with a double, a run and a stolen base Sunday against the Twins.

Altuve continues to contribute across the board. Forty-three of his 121 hits have gone for extra bases, and the diminutive second baseman is on pace to top 30 steals for the sixth consecutive season with 19 in 89 games. Altuve also leads the league with a .350 batting average and is tied for sixth with 65 runs scored.

Franklin will start at second base and bat ninth Sunday against the Rays.

With the Angels announcing earlier Sunday that Danny Espinosa was designated for assignment, Franklin looks poised to assume at least the strong side of a platoon at second base with Cliff Pennington. While Franklin stands to see a surge in at-bats as a result, the 26-year-old is on his third team this season and is a fringe 40-man-roster player, so he probably won't have much leash on a regular role. He's recorded two hits in 15 at-bats since joining the Angels in late June.

Polanco is out of the lineup Sunday against the Astros, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Polanco has recorded just one hit in his last 22 at-bats, sinking his batting average to .222 for the season. He'll give way to Ehire Adrianza at shortstop Sunday and could begin losing out on at-bats to Eduardo Escobar or Adrianza on a more permanent basis if he fails to turn things around in the near future.

The Angels designated Espinosa for assignment Sunday.

With a .162/.237/.276 batting line over 254 plate appearances this season, Espinosa ranked among the worst-performing regulars in the league, and his nifty defensive work wasn't enough to make up for his empty offensive production. Espinosa's ability to play both middle-infield spots and occasionally hit for some pop could be enough to convince another team to take a flier on him via trade or waivers. However, if the 30-year-old goes unclaimed, he'll likely stick in the Angels organization and report to Triple-A Salt Lake. Barring further upgrades to the position leading up to the trade deadline, the Angels are set to go with a platoon at second base with Nick Franklin and Cliff Pennington.

Drury is out of the lineup Sunday against the Braves.

Drury will head to the bench for the first time in the second half, allowing Chris Owings to start at second while Ketel Marte gets the nod at shortstop. It's been an average month of July for the infielder, who is 8-for-31 at the plate with just two RBI.

Forsythe had a well-rounded stat line Saturday, going 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored in a win over Miami.

The veteran second baseman was showing life at the plate in 20 games leading up to the All-Star break (.333 with two home runs and 10 RBI), and he will look to carry that momentum into the second half after struggling for the majority of the season. He is being used in an everyday role at the moment, but with Adrian Gonzalez (back) beginning to ramp up his activity, Forsythe will have to improve on his pedestrian .245/.363/.342 slash line in the coming weeks or he may run the risk of losing playing time to Chris Taylor at second when the Dodgers' offense is at full health.

Altuve went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Twins.

The homer, Altuve's second in the last three games, extended the second baseman's on-base streak to 18 games. During that run, which has included nine multi-hit games, he's slashed .427/.494/.667/1.161 with four homers, six doubles, 10 walks and 17 RBI while striking out just five times over 87 plate appearances.

Frazier went 3-for-5 with a double against the Cardinals on Friday.

He snapped an 0-for-25 skid with his performance Friday. Frazier will likely lose playing time when Starling Marte (suspension) returns Tuesday, as the utility man becomes more of a matchup option off the bench than an everyday starter. Frazier began the season batting .370/.458/.500 in 107 plate appearances, so there's reason to believe he'll turn things around. That said, he'll probably have to wait for another injury, trade or suspension before he finds consistent playing time.

Tomlinson has a .267/.325/.307 slash line with four stolen bases in 75 at-bats this season.

The 27-year-old excelled in a similar role the past two seasons, but has had a tougher time in 2017, especially against lefties (.233/.333/.233). Tomlinson provides positional versatility and has spent time at second and third base, shortstop and left field this season, but starts far too infrequently to be a reliable option in standard formats.

Merrifield hit .281 with a .768 OPS, seven home runs and 14 stolen bases through 70 first-half games.

Merrifield was passed over for an Opening Day roster spot, but it was only a couple of weeks before he locked down the big-league gig for good. The sophomore has cut his strikeout rate by nearly eight percent from last year while positing an impressive .168 ISO. His 14 swipes are second in the AL only to Jose Altuve, but Merrifield's 93.3 percent success rate on the basepaths is best among all MLB players with at least five steals.