MLB Player News

Merrifield is expected to join the Blue Jays on Thursday for a series in Minneapolis, but his vaccination status and ability to enter Canada for the team's next homestand remains unclear, Gregor Chisholm of The Toronto Star reports. "Obviously we know he wasn't there in Toronto, but totally up to him [whether he gets vaccinated] and I'm sure he's had conversations with his family and other people," Jays manager John Schneider said Wednesday. "We're leaving that decision up to him."

The former Royal missed a series in Toronto just before the All-Star break due to his inability to cross the border, but Merrifield made comments afterward suggesting he would get vaccinated if he were playing for a team in playoff contention. That's now the case after he was dealt to the Jays at the trade deadline, but it remains to be seen if he's changed his mind about getting vaccinated. Merrifield has a career-low .642 OPS through 95 games this season, but a move to a competitive team and having a more potent offense around him could spark his bat to life down the stretch.

Urias is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Amid a rough patch at the plate, Urias will take a seat for the day game after a night game, affording Mike Brosseau a turn at third base. Urias has gone 3-for-20 over his last five starts, with his season-long average falling to .230 as a result.

Altuve went 4-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's victory over the Red Sox.

Altuve scored on a heads up play in the first inning when Yordan Alvarez grounded out to short. Altuve would finish the day 4-for-4, his second four-hit game of the year. The veteran second baseman now has six hits in 13 at-bats to start August while striking out just once. In three games this month, Altuve has improved his batting average from .270 to .280.

Vargas went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 3-0 win over San Francisco.

Vargas was called up to the majors for the first time Tuesday and made his first start Wednesday. The 22-year-old wasted little time making his mark on the LA-SF rivalry, driving in the game's first run with a double in the second inning and immediately following with a steal of third base. Vargas notched another RBI with an infield single in the third. Justin Turner (abdomen) isn't expected to need a long-term stay on the IL, but Vargas could carve out playing time beyond the veteran third baseman's return if he gets off to a productive big-league start.

Drury went 1-for-3 with a grand slam and a hit-by-pitch in a 9-1 win against Colorado on Wednesday.

The buzz around the stadium heading into the contest was for Juan Soto's team debut, but Drury made a strong impression of his own by swatting a grand slam in the first inning. The long ball was his career-best 21st of the season -- the same amount as Soto has hit thus far. Drury's breakout campaign also includes a .275/.337/.527 slash line, 63 RBI and two stolen bases.

Frazier went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Yankees.

The 30-year-old continues to turn his season around. Frazier has banged out multiple hits in four of the last five games, and since the beginning of July he's batting .330 (32-for-97). The prolonged hot streak has boosted his slash line on the year to .250/.311/.316 with three homers, seven steals, 27 RBI and 44 runs through 104 contests.

Castro went 3-for-4 in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Twins.

Castro had three of Detroit's four total hits on the day, so it's not surprising he wasn't able to rack up any counting stats given the lineup's overall futility. The utility man is now batting .284 this season, while the team as a whole is batting just .226. As one of the squad's most consistent hitters, Castro should continue to see regular playing time, especially with Spencer Torkelson down at Triple-A Toledo.

Gorman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Gorman, who has recorded hits in each of the past five games while swatting two home runs and stealing a base, will take a seat with the Cubs bringing southpaw Justin Steele to the mound. The righty-hitting Albert Pujols will draw into the lineup at designated hitter in place of the lefty-hitting Gorman.

Guillorme will start at third base and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Guillorme has now started at third base against a right-handed pitcher for the fourth time in the last five matchups, while Eduardo Escobar has played just once. The usage is an indication that the two will be deployed in a platoon at the hot corner moving forward, a reality that manager Buck Showalter acknowledged following Tuesday's loss to the Nationals, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. As the left-handed option in the platoon, Guillorme should see the larger share of playing time of the two and notice a spike in his fantasy value accordingly. Over his 176 plate appearances versus righties this season, Guillorme is slashing .312/.379/.395 with two home runs, nine RBI and 23 runs.

Andrus went 3-for-4 with a double in a loss to the Angels on Tuesday.

Andrus had one of only two extra-base hits for the Athletics in another low-scoring night for Oakland. The veteran shortstop now has a trio of three-hit tallies in the last seven games alone, and he's sporting a .346 average and .863 OPS across the 55 plate appearances covering his last 14 contests.