MLB Player News

Espinal has been added to the Blue Jays' lineup Thursday against the Tigers.

He will start at third base and bat eighth versus the Tigers and right-hander Spencer Turnbull. Matt Chapman was scratched before first pitch due to a viral illness.

Lowe went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's victory over the Red Sox.

The 28-year-old tied the game 3-3 in the fifth inning with an RBI single off Richard Bleier. Lowe then extended Tampa's lead to 9-3 in the seventh with a solo home run -- his fifth of the season, all of which have come in his past six games. He has gotten off to a fast start this year, going 11-for-33 with 12 runs and 12 RBI.

Julien is starting at second base and batting leadoff for the Twins on Thursday against the Yankees.

Julien went 0-for-2 with a walk from the eight spot in his major-league debut Wednesday but will move to the top of the order for this one. His on-base skills make him a natural long-term fit at leadoff for the Twins, although we wouldn't necessarily count on it being a regular occurrence right away.

Stott is batting leadoff and starting at second base Thursday against the Reds.

He batted eighth against Marlins lefty Jesus Luzardo on Tuesday but is hitting atop the order Thursday versus the Reds and Nick Lodolo. Stott has quickly taken on a prominent role this year for the defending NL champions while slashing .420/.431/.500 with three stolen bases across his first 12 games. He's hit leadoff in three of the last four, with Trea Turner occupying the No. 2 hole.

Torres (hip) is back in the Yankees' lineup Thursday against the Twins.

Torres tweaked his hip flexor Tuesday and didn't start Wednesday, although he entered the game as a pinch runner. He'll start at second base and hit leadoff against Minnesota righty Joe Ryan.

Alu (hamstring) joined up Thursday with Triple-A Rochester following a rehab assignment, Bobby Blanco of MASNSports.com reports.

Alu began the season on Rochester's injured list, but he is good to go now following a four-game stint with High-A Wilmington. The 26-year-old had a strong showing in the upper minors last summer, batting .299/.365/.506 with 20 home runs, 81 RBI, 15 stolen bases and 81 runs scored in 132 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

NcNeil went 0-for-1 with three walks and a stolen base in Wednesday's win over the Padres.

Blake Snell and Brent Honeywell issued seven free passes in 6.2 innings between them, and McNeil was more than happy to take advantage. The steal was the first of the season for the 31-year-old, but McNeil hasn't really caught fire at the plate yet, slashing .250/.389/.341 through 13 games with four doubles, three runs and five RBI.

Sosa went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Wednesday against the Twins.

He was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday after Tim Anderson (knee) went down. Sosa drew his first start Wednesday and took Jhoan Duran yard in the ninth inning to tally his first homer of the season and second of his career. Sosa was off to a hot start with Charlotte before the promotion, and he should mix into the starting lineup at second base and shortstop along with Elvis Andrus and Romy Gonzalez so long as Anderson is sidelined.

Rojas went 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 7-3 win over Milwaukee.

Rojas continues to rake. This was his fourth three-hit game in nine starts, and he leads the team with 14 hits and a .412 batting average. The key for Rojas, who was benched several times last year for shoddy defense, is maintaining a dependable glove. He's done that thus far, albeit in a small sample size, and is currently tied for the most outs above average among third basemen, per Theo Mackie of the Arizona Republic.

Estrada went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run in a loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday.

Estrada's ninth-inning homer had little impact on the game since the Dodgers were up 10-4 at the time, but they count all the same in fantasy. It was the infielder's second long ball of the campaign and marked the third time this year he's reached base three times in a contest. Estrada has been pretty productive so far this season, complementing the pair of long balls with seven runs, five RBI, two thefts and a .341/.386/.537 slash line through 44 plate appearances.