MLB Player News

Valdez will sit Saturday against St. Louis, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Valdez hits the bench against lefty Steven Matz, with Pablo Reyes taking over at second base. Valdez has started against 11 consecutive righties and is hitting .311/.340/.511 in 47 plate appearances overall, but he's only gotten the call against two of the five lefties the Red Sox have faced since his late-April promotion.

Lowe will sit Saturday against the Yankees, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Lowe's off day comes against lefty Nestor Cortes. Lowe started against a southpaw on Opening Day but has sat against each of the eight lefties the Rays have faced since then. Lowe probably could have used a day off regardless of who was on the hill for the Yankees, as he's gone hitless in his last seven games and owns a .355 OPS over his last 17 contests. That slump contrasts strongly with the 1.045 OPS he recorded over his first 17 games of the year. Taylor Walls will take over at second base.

Garcia went 0-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Mets.

The 22-year-old isn't known for his speed, but he swiped his second bag of the year as the Nationals put pressure on Mets rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez in a low-scoring game. Garcia is enjoying a strong start to May, slashing .326/.396/.465 through 11 games, but a lack of power -- both on his own part and in the lineup around him -- limits his fantasy ceiling even when he's on a roll at the plate.

Andrus left Friday's game against the Athletics with an apparent injury, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Andrus was seen holding his side as he jogged back to the dugout and was unable to continue. Hanser Alberto took over at second base. Andrus should be considered day-to-day at this point.

Gorman hit a two-run home run as a pinch hitter in Friday's 8-6 win over the Red Sox.

Gorman's ninth-inning blast off Kenley Jansen provided the Cardinals with their margin of victory. With St. Louis using Willson Contreras as the full-time designated hitter, Gorman has slipped into a strong-side platoon role, primarily playing at second base and occasionally at third. He can still provide some pop off the bench, as evidenced Friday. The 23-year-old is slashing .261/.352/.550 with nine homers, 26 RBI, 12 runs scored and three stolen bases through 128 plate appearances.

Gimenez went 3-for-4 with a triple in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Angels.

Gimenez entered Friday with just two hits and no walks over eight games in May. It's been a tough stretch for the second baseman but not one that's led to much of a reduction in his playing time, as he's sat out just once this month. For the season, he's slashing .231/.301/.346 with two home runs, six stolen bases, eight RBI and 21 runs scored through 36 contests. The triple was his first of the year and the sixth of his career.

Rosario went 3-for-5 with a triple, a double and a run scored in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Angels.

Rosario came up a home run shy of the cycle. This was his second multi-hit effort in his last three games after having just one in the previous 12 contests. The shortstop is slashing a modest .248/.287/.361 with a homer, seven RBI, 17 runs scored, six stolen bases, four triples and four doubles through 32 games.

Miller went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs scored in Friday's 5-1 win over the Royals.

Miller was a triple shy of the cycle, though he has just one three-bagger in his career. He's hit safely in his last five games, going 8-for-18 (.444) over that span. His homer was his first of the year, and he's added six RBI, three stolen bases and nine runs scored while slashing .323/.348/.435 through 62 plate appearances. He's starting to get a look at leadoff versus southpaws, but he's still in a fairly strict platoon role at second base, with Brice Turang facing most righties.

Altuve (thumb) went 0-for-4 and played seven innings for Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.

Altuve said after the game that he plans to play Saturday, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic, and that his timing is still off at the plate, which is to be expected. The second baseman was seeing his first action since breaking his thumb during the World Baseball Classic back in March, and the most important thing is that he's finally getting reps after missing two-plus months. Altuve will likely need a few more rehab games, but it appears as though he could be playing for the Astros and hitting at the top of the order at some point next week.

Merrifield went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a stolen base in Friday's 3-0 win over Atlanta.

He scored Toronto's first run in the fifth inning on a George Springer single, giving Chris Bassitt all the support he would need as the veteran righty tossed a shutout. Merrifield has shrugged off a slow start to the season, and over his last 20 games he's batting .311 (23-for-74) with one homer, eight RBI, nine runs and six of his eight stolen bases on the year.