MLB Player News
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Joseph Ortiz 2B | MIL
Orioles' Joey Ortiz: Unavailable due to illness
Ortiz has yet to play since being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk due to illness, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Ortiz was sent down a week ago, so it must be a nasty bug he's dealing with. He should be considered day-to-day.
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Luisangel Acuna 2B | CHW
Rangers' Luisangel Acuna: Perfect on bases at Double-A
Acuna is hitting .302 with three home runs, 18 steals on 18 attempts and a 118 wRC+ in 40 games for Double-A Frisco.
His 50.8 percent groundball rate is a little high, but Acuna's 23 percent line-drive rate and 12.1 percent infield-flyball rate are the best marks of his career. Additionally, his 28.9 percent hard-hit rate is easily a career high. Acuna is not the same type of high-impact offensive player as his big brother, Ronald Acuna, but he is an elite athlete at 5-foot-8 and could feasibly play anywhere on the diamond. His success rate on the bases suggests that will always be a big part of his game.
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Ketel Marte 2B | ARI
Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte: Swipes bag in win
Marte went 1-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 6-0 win over the Rockies.
Marte singled in the first inning but then later reached on a fielder's choice in the sixth and stole second. It was his second steal over the last three games and his sixth of the year, which is already his highest mark since he had 10 in 2019. The 29-year-old has recorded at least one hit in 23 of the 26 games he played in during May and is currently riding a 10-game hit streak dating back to May 20. For the year, Marte's slashing .279/.336/.475 with eight homers, 22 RBI, 31 runs and a 15:36 BB:K over 226 plate appearances.
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Edouard Julien 2B | COL
Twins' Edouard Julien: Heading back to Triple-A
Julien will be optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Julien performed well after being recalled to the majors May 20, slashing .286/.333/.500 with two homers and four RBI in 36 plate appearances. He'll be forced back to Triple-A due to the return of Jorge Polanco (hamstring), but the 24-year-old prospect will almost certainly be back with the Twins at some point this year if he continues to crush minor-league pitching.
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Jorge Polanco 2B | NYM
Twins' Jorge Polanco: Returning Thursday
The Twins will activate Polanco (hamstring) from the 10-day injured list Thursday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
A strained left hamstring sent Polanco to the injured list May 20, and he will return after spending little more than the minimum time on the IL. The 29-year-old infielder was seeing the ball extremely well prior to getting injured, slashing .316/.435/.737 with two homers and three RBI across his last five games. His return will send Edouard Julien back to Triple-A St. Paul.
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Brandon Lowe 2B | PIT
Rays' Brandon Lowe: Homers in win
Lowe went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Cubs.
Lowe got the Rays on the board in the seventh inning, launching a 431-foot, two-run homer off Mark Leiter to tie the game 2-2. It's Lowe's ninth home run of the season and his first since May 17. The 28-year-old second baseman is now slashing .204/.298/.407 with 26 runs scored and 29 RBI through 191 plate appearances this season.
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Nico Hoerner 2B | CHC
Cubs' Nico Hoerner: Adds two steals
Hoerner went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two stolen bases in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Rays.
Hoerner walked to open the Cubs' half of the first inning before swiping second base and scoring on Ian Happ's base hit. The 26-year-old Hoerner would add a second stolen base later in the game, giving him 14 for the season. Hoerner had cooled off a bit at the plate coming into Wednesday's contest, batting .179 (7-for-39) over his last 10 games, though he does have two homers in that span. He's still slashing a solid .285/.336/.395 with four home runs, 26 RBI and 30 runs scored through 217 plate appearances this season.
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Harold Castro 2B | KC
Rockies' Harold Castro: Out of lineup versus lefty
Castro is not in the starting lineup Wednesday at Arizona.
Alan Trejo will play second base and bat eighth against the Diamondbacks and left-hander Tommy Henry. Castro has turned it on offensively over the last week-plus but will likely continue to sit versus most southpaws.
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Jose Altuve 2B | HOU
Astros' Jose Altuve: Sitting Wednesday vs. Twins
Altuve is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Altuve will get a day of rest for the first time in six games. The infielder will grab a seat on the bench with Mauricio Dubon getting the start at second base and hitting leadoff against Louie Varland and Minnesota. Since returning from the fractured thumb that caused him to miss the first six-plus weeks of the season, Altuve has slashed .324/.425/.588 with two homers and six RBI over 34 at-bats.
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Brice Turang 2B | MIL
Brewers' Brice Turang: At shortstop Wednesday
Turang is starting at shortstop and batting seventh Wednesday versus the Blue Jays.
Turang has lost a lot of potential reps at second base to the hot-hitting Owen Miller, but he could continue to be a regular presence at short for the Brewers while Willy Adames recovers from a concussion. Turang holds a brutal .215/.264/.315 slash line on the season, though he has tallied three homers and seven steals.