Player Notes

Seth Smith went 2-for-4 with a homer, two walks and three runs scored versus the Rangers on Monday.
Advice: The A's are hoping Smith's slump is over. His OPS dropped from 1.072 on April 23 to .933 on April 30 to .755 on May 17, but he's now gone 4-for-8 in his last two games. Of course, it was in late April and early May that the A's really needed him. Now that Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp and Chris Young are healthy again, Smith isn't so important to the attack anymore.

Colby Rasmus went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, but the Blue Jays lost to the Rays on Tuesday.
Advice: The homer was Rasmus' seventh on the year, and he scored two runs in the game. Rasmus is doing his usual thing this year, hitting .234/.303/.433 through 42 games. With the recent call-up of Anthony Gose, Rasmus might see some of his playing time disappear in the coming weeks if he doesn't produce more games like Tuesday's.

Chris Denorfia went 3-for-4 with a steal and an RBI versus the Cardinals on Monday.
Advice: Certainly one of the game's most unheralded players, Denorfia keeps producing no matter which outfield position the Padres may ask him to play on a given night. The 32-year-old is batting .301/.352/.406 with five steals (and no pickoffs), two homers, 14 RBI and 19 runs and 133 at-bats. He's given NL-only owners everything they could have hoped for.

Nationals optioned OF Eury Perez to Triple-A Syracuse.
Advice: Perez was sent down so that the Nationals could add some bullpen help. The 22-year-old speedster went 0-for-5 in five games during his brief stint with the big club.

Starling Marte is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Cubs.
Advice: He's just getting the day off. Jose Tabata will make the start in left field while Garret Jones plays right. Gaby Sanchez is at first base.
More: Rob Biertempfel on Twitter

Reserve outfielder Logan Schafer has posted a .455 OPS for the Brewers this season.
Advice: Although Shafer at times looks like a high-schooler at the dish -- slashing .182/.250/.205 -- he's actually registered a positive WAR, due to the three runs he's estimated to have saved in the field, per Baseball Reference. That's good enough to keep a roster spot in the majors, of course, but glove-only subs will have to wait until fantasy baseball evolves to include advanced defensive metrics to have any value even in the deepest of leagues.

Trevor Plouffe left Tuesday's game in the 10th inning after taking a knee to the head.
Advice: Plouffe was sliding into second base to break up a double play when Dan Uggla's knee caught him in the head. The third baseman was able to walk off the field without assistance but appeared to be a little woozy. He'll no doubt undergo concussion tests.
More: Rhett Bollinger on Twitter

Andy Dirks went 2-for-5 with a home run as the Tigers beat the Indians on Tuesday.
Advice: The homer was Dirks' fifth, and he drove in two runs on the night. What's more, the outfielder batted leadoff ahead of Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera. It's likely temporary until Austin Jackson returns, but if Dirks can continue to get on base he should be in line to score plenty of runs in his new lineup spot.

Indians placed 1B Nick Swisher on the paternity leave list.
Advice: Swisher's wife gave birth to a girl on Tuesday afternoon. He will be back within the next couple of days.

Andres Torres went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's win against Washington.
Advice: Prior to the evening, Torres hadn't collected a hit since May 8. The 35-year-old backup outfielder is batting just .247/.282/.346 over 81 at-bats this season.