MLB Player News

The Astros selected Price's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Price will receive his first promotion to the majors after slashing .235/.360/.476 with 10 homers, 26 RBI and 19 runs in 47 games at Sugar Land. Cesar Salazar was designated for assignment in a corresponding move, so the door is open for Price to work as Houston's backup catcher until Yainer Diaz (oblique) returns from the injured list.

Merrill went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 6-4 loss to the Phillies.

Merrill made things interesting in the ninth inning with his two-run blast off lefty Jose Alvarado, cutting San Diego's deficit to 6-4. It's the sixth homer of the year for Merrill, who's gone 9-for-26 (.308) with a pair of long balls and a .956 OPS in his last seven games. After a slow start to the season, Merrill is now slashing .207/.280/.341 with 24 RBI, 27 runs scored and 10 stolen bases.

The Royals selected Rojas' contract from Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.

Rojas will receive another opportunity in the majors after slashing .246/.309/.433 with six home runs and a 16:32 BB:K over 48 games with Omaha. The 31-year-old will provide infield depth while Maikel Garcia (hamstring) is banged up, and Rojas is capable of handling the outfield, as well.

Garcia went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Padres.

Garcia extended the Phillies' lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning with a 429-foot blast off Lucas Giolito for his fifth homer this season and first since May 6. Garcia is now 3-for-10 with a pair of extra-base hits in his last three contests after going 0-for-17 in his previous six games. Overall, he's slashing .196/.275/.316 with 17 RBI, 18 runs scored and three stolen bases across 236 plate appearances this year.

Gray is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Royals.

The day off comes after Gray committed three errors at shortstop Wednesday. It will be Ryan Kreidler handling the position for the Twins on Thursday.

Bell is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Royals.

Bell is 9-for-26 at the plate during a modest seven-game hitting streak, but he will take a seat for Thursday's series opener. Byron Buxton is getting a start at designated hitter, while James Outman will patrol center field for the Twins.

Giolito (2-1) took the loss Thursday against the Phillies, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk over four innings. He struck out five.

Giolito held the Phillies scoreless through his first three innings Thursday before giving up a run on a two-out single in the fourth. Giolito would then allow a home run and a double to the first two batters he faced in the fifth, forcing the Padres to turn to their bullpen. The 31-year-old Giolito has yet to pitch into the sixth inning through four starts this season, though he still picked up a pair of wins while covering exactly five frames in his first two outings. Overall, his ERA sits at 4.86 with a 1.74 WHIP and 11:13 K:BB over 16.2 innings. Giolito is tentatively lined up to face the Reds at home in his next outing.

Valenzuela isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Valenzuela will step out of the starting nine Thursday after going 1-for-6 with a solo homer and three strikeouts across the first two games of the series. Tyler Heineman will fill in as Toronto's catcher and bat eighth.

Wheeler (5-1) earned the win Thursday over San Diego, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks over seven innings. He struck out eight.

It was a strong bounce-back effort from Wheeler, who gave up four runs on four homers in a loss to the Dodgers his last time out. The right-hander blanked the Padres through six innings Thursday before giving up a two-run homer to Manny Machado in the seventh for his sixth quality start of the campaign. Wheeler's ERA now sits at 2.31 on the year with a 0.83 WHIP and 48:12 K:BB across eight starts (50.2 innings). He's currently in line for a road matchup with the Blue Jays in his next outing.

The Blue Jays designated Andrews for assignment Thursday.

Andrews turned in a pair of scoreless outings after being selected to the active roster last week but was optioned back to Triple-A shortly thereafter. He'll now end up as the odd man out of a 40-man spot to make room for Chad Dallas, who was selected to the big-league roster in a corresponding move. Andrews owns a 1.29 ERA through 21 innings at Buffalo, which could draw interest on the waiver wire from teams in search of bullpen help.