MLB Player News

Marte (thumb) will likely resume baseball activities over the weekend, Jessamyn McIntyre of ESPN 710 reports.

The young shortstop had gotten into a groove at the plate before he suffered a thumb injury in Saturday's game against the Reds, which led to him landing on the DL. However, the expectation is that he'll be able to recover quickly, and that is certainly underlined by the fact that he'll resume baseball activities over the weekend. The earliest Marte will be able to be activated off the DL will be June 6 when the Mariners host the Indians.

Merrifield is in the lineup and batting second for Thursday's game against the White Sox, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Merrifield has three consecutive mult-hit games and will look to stay hot Thursday against the White Sox. He is hitting .348 since being called up and will likely remain in the lineup as long as he keeps performing.

Forsythe (shoulder) is targeting a mid-June return, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Forsythe hit the DL back on May 14 with a hairline fracture in his left shoulder blade. He's set for further evaluation at the end of the month, but Forsythe said he's already feeling better, and he took groundballs Wednesday afternoon. The infielder remains without a firm timetable, but at this point he's targeting a return sometime during the Rays' next homestand, which spans June 10-19.

Solarte went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and two strikeouts Wednesday against the Giants.

The 28-year-old switch hitter has posted a paltry .176 average during May, but he's gone 3-for-8 in his last two games, so things might improve for him in the near future. He also recorded his first extra-base hit since April 8.

Tomlinson went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI Wednesday against the Padres.

Tomlinson drove in his first run since May 3, and he has been seeing the ball pretty well of late going 6-for-14 in his last seven games. The 25-year-old has hit an impressive .344 with an OPS of .782 in 57 at-bats this year.

Motter is in the lineup and batting eighth for Wednesday's game against the Marlins, Roger Mooney of The Tampa Tribune reports.

Motter will continue to see starts against left-handed pitching in a platoon with Brad Miller. The 26-year-old is 2-for-4 with a home run, three runs scored, and two RBI against lefties on the season.

Renda has a .281/.331/.419 line after playing 44 games at Double-A Pensacola.

After being acquired from the Yankees in the Aroldis Chapman trade, Renda has shown his value to the Reds organization by posting his best Double-A numbers to date. Renda's 13 doubles, three triples, and home run have contributed to his career best slugging percentage of .419. Before hitting a rough patch in mid-May, he'd been sustaining a batting average above .300. Pensacola would especially like Renda to recover from his slump, for he's a threat while on base and has yet to be caught stealing this season.

Beckham is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers.

This appears to be a normal day off for Beckham, although it could be a nice mental break as well considering the third baseman is hitless in his last three games. Chase d'Arnaud will take over for him at the hot corner Wednesday.

Astros manager A.J. Hinch dropped Altuve from his normal leadoff spot to second in the batting order for Tuesday's series opener against Baltimore, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It's not a drastic change for an offense that is struggling to score runs, but Hinch's likely intent is to put Altuve in better position to drive in more runs. The three-time All-Star ranks is pacing the Astros with a .328 batting average and he ranks second on the team with 27 RBI.

Motter hit his second home run and knocked in three as part of a 2-for-3 game with a walk in Monday's loss to Miami.

Motter's early returns with the Rays continue to be excellent, as he has three extra-base hits and a .308/.400/.846 line through his first 15 plate appearances. He posted double-digit-homer seasons in the minor leagues in both 2014 and 2015, but Motter's still in a platoon situation with Brad Miller at shortstop. He's an intriguing option for DFS when the Rays are facing left-handed pitching thanks to his above-average power at shortstop.