MLB Player News

Minnesota activated Polanco (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Friday.

Polanco will be back in action with the Twins on Friday night against the Royals after slashing .333/.448/.500 over 29 plate appearances on a seven-game minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul. The 30-year-old infielder has battled multiple leg injuries this season, but he typically produces solid offensive numbers when his health cooperates. Polanco could find himself returning to a utility role however, with rookie Edouard Julien having thrived as Minnesota's starting second baseman in his absence.

Castro is absent from the lineup Friday versus the Athletics.

Alan Trejo will start at second base and bat eighth against southpaw JP Sears. He and Castro continue to work in a platoon at the keystone for Colorado.

Merrifield is batting leadoff Friday against the Angels, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Normal leadoff man George Springer has been dropped to the fifth spot in the batting order amidst a slump. Merrifield has earned his ascension to the top of the order by putting up a .968 OPS with five home runs and two stolen bases in July.

Westburg is absent from the lineup for Friday's game versus the Yankees, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.

Westburg had started each of the last three contests -- two against left-handed pitching -- but will take a seat for this one versus righty Gerrit Cole. Ramon Urias is at third base and Adam Frazier is at second.

Gimenez went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in Thursday's 6-3 win over the White Sox.

It's the first multi-hit game for Gimenez since July 18 -- he'd gone just 4-for-26 (.154) in seven games prior to Thursday's contest. He opened the scoring against the White Sox with an RBI double in the first inning before adding a stolen base in the seventh, improving to 17-for-20 in steal attempts this year. While Gimenez has remained productive on the basepaths, he's had a fairly disappointing season at the plate after a breakout 2022 campaign. He's now slashing .244/.315/.389 with nine homers, 46 runs scored and 39 RBI across 394 plate appearances this season.

The Dodgers optioned Hernandez to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.

Hernandez has struggled mightily during his limited chances in the majors this season, going just 3-for-22 with four RBI. He's been much more effective in the minors, where he's slashing .260/407/.385 through 216 plate appearances. Hernandez's departure will clear a spot on the active roster for Amed Rosario, who was acquired in a trade with Cleveland on Wednesday.

Rojas (back) has gone 7-for-18 with a home run, a stolen base, four RBI and three runs since being activated from Triple-A Reno's 7-day injured list Saturday.

Rojas was sidelined at Triple-A for just over three weeks due to the back injury. Since losing out on a regular starting role at third base for the Diamondbacks and getting optioned to the minors June 19, Rojas is slashing .277/.346/.404 over 52 plate appearances with Reno.

Gimenez went 0-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Royals.

Gimenez hit second in this contest, and he could have a chance to get more time in that spot following the trade that sent Amed Rosario to the Dodgers. It's been a productive July for Gimenez on the basepaths, as he's logged eight of his 16 steals over his last 20 contests despite slashing .240/.321/.453 for the month. Aside from an uptick in power, that's not all that different from his .241/.311/.385 slash line for the year, so he may need to be more consistent to stay in the No. 2 spot.

Drury (shoulder) fielded grounders and threw from third base Thursday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Worth remembering is that Drury's injury is to his left (non-throwing) shoulder, but he's still making nice progress as he continues to ramp up his rehab. He could continue with his workouts this week before potentially rejoining the Angels sometime next week.

Gorman went 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI during Wednesday's 11-7 win at Arizona.

Gorman went 0-for-4 in his return to the lineup Tuesday after missing two games with a back issue, but he busted out with two homers and his fifth three-hit game of the season Wednesday. The 23-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to the second half with five homers and a .359/.405/.821 slash line in 11 games since the All-Star break.