MLB Player News

Marte has been sidelined at Double-A Chattanooga since June 3 with a hamstring strain, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Rosecrans says the trip to the 7-day injured list was precautionary, so it sounds like a mild strain. On the season, Marte is slashing .293/.366/.484 with eight home runs and 10 steals in 47 games. His 16.9 percent strikeout rate is the best mark of his career, and this is his first exposure to Double-A pitching.

Duran isn't in the Rangers' lineup Thursday against the Angels.

Duran is just 1-for-11 with a home run during Texas' series with the Angels and will sit out Thursday's finale. Travis Jankowski will replace Duran in left field and bat eighth.

Pena (illness) is starting at shortstop and batting sixth Thursday against the Nationals.

Pena's illness kept him out of the lineup for three games, but the 25-year-old shortstop has now recovered and is ready to go Thursday. Pena was slashing .292/.320/.375 across his last five games prior to getting sick.

Barger (elbow) began a rehab assignment June 8 and has gone 1-for-10 with three walks and a run over four games between the Blue Jays' rookie-level Florida Complex League affiliate and Single-A Dunedin.

Before starting his rehab assignment, Barger hadn't played since April 28 due to the right elbow, so he may require a few more games in the lower levels of the minors to get his timing back at the plate before he returns from Triple-A Buffalo's 7-day injured list. Barger slashed .237/.333/.329 with an 11.6 percent walk rate and 31 percent strikeout rate in 87 plate appearances at Buffalo prior to being shut down with the injury.

Arcia went 4-for-8 with two runs scored and four RBI across both games of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep of the Tigers.

The veteran shortstop collected two hits and drove in two runs in each half of the twin bill. Arcia has been on a tear in June, getting held hitless only twice in 12 games while reeling off six multi-hit performances for a .378 average (17-for-45) with one homer, five runs and 10 RBI. The surge has boosted his slash line on the season to .331/.383/.470 -- putting him on pace to top his previous career best in OPS by 120 points.

Witt went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored in Wednesday's 7-4 loss to the Reds.

Witt has maintained a hot bat in June, hitting .319 (15-for-47) over his last 12 games. He's driven in four runs over his last four contests as well. While a .244 batting average and .707 OPS aren't all that impressive, the talented shortstop is showing a few more flashes of potential lately. He's added 11 home runs, 21 stolen bases, 31 RBI and 40 runs scored over 67 contests this season.

Allen, who went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases in Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Reno on Wednesday, is hitting .400 (8-for-20) over the five games he's played for the Aviators since being demoted June 6.

A rough stint against big-league arms that saw Allen slash an anemic .167/.205/.167 across his last 15 games with the Athletics prompted the move back down to the farm. Allen struck out at just a 15.6 percent clip in that span, but a minuscule 9.1 percent line-drive rate helped lead to an atypically low .200 BABIP during the stretch. Now back in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, the 24-year-old looks like a different player, already racking up a trio of multi-hit efforts and four extra-base hits during his brief return. Allen owns a .354 average and .973 OPS at the Triple-A level overall this season (95 plate appearances), and given Oakland's non-contending status, he's a virtual lock to get another look in the majors before season's end if he continues to thrive.

McLain went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 7-4 victory over the Royals.

McLain hit his first home run since May 24 and notched his 13th multi-hit effort across just 28 games (132 plate appearances). The rookie has remained at shortstop after the elevation of Elly De La Cruz and is locked into the No. 2 hole in Cincinnati's emerging lineup. McLain is slashing .328/.379/.516 with three home runs, 13 RBI, two stolen bases and 23 runs scored to start his big-league career.

Tovar went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI on Wednesday against the Red Sox.

Tovar hit second in the order for the fourth consecutive game -- half of which have come against lefties -- after hitting almost exclusively eighth or ninth in the order for the first 10 weeks of the season. He has one hit in three of those four games and also has a pair of RBI and runs. In the last month, Tovar has hit .274 with three home runs, 10 RBI and 13 runs scored across 112 plate appearances.

Hamilton (thumb) was activated off the injured list and started at DH for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Hamilton had a pair of hits and walks during the WooSox's 13-5 win over Norfolk after being on the shelf for the previous two weeks. He was also caught stealing for the sixth time in 32 tries this season.