MLB Player News

Longoria went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Angels.

Longoria extended his hitting streak to nine games with his first three-hit effort since June 10. His average has jumped to .267 in that time, putting the career .270 hitter between .265 and .275 for the fourth time in five years. The 31-year-old third baseman's .444 slugging percentage still leaves much to be desired when compared to his .521 mark from 2016.

Robinson went 1-for-3 with a solo homer in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Royals.

Robinson has just four hits in six career games, but three of those have left the yard. The versatile fielder has already appeared at second base, third base and left field, and manager Jeff Banister has gone on the record with saying that he wants to find room in the lineup for Robinson against right-handed pitching. The 25-year-old rookie has certainly done his part so far to earn extra at-bats, and the ongoing struggles of Joey Gallo, who was on the bench Sunday for a second straight game, should only further help his cause.

Valencia went 2-for-5 with a double and a three-run home run Sunday against the White Sox.

Valencia's game-tying long ball in the top of the fifth provided his first RBI since a July 6 three-run shot against the Athletics. He's just five short of last season's 51 RBI in 46 fewer games played, as moving from Oakland's subpar lineup to a more dangerous Seattle unit has paid dividends for Valencia's counting stats. The veteran slugger's .271/.331/.428 line is actually inferior to his 2016 output of .287/.346/.446, yet he's providing more fantasy value this year.

Chapman went 3-for-3 with a double, two solo home runs and three runs in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Indians.

The rookie broke through in the long-ball department at the big-league level in spectacular fashion, launching his first two career round trippers at particularly timely junctures. His 409-foot shot in the third opened the scoring on the night, while his 455-foot blast in the eighth knotted the score at 3-3. Chapman has started the second half wielding a hot bat, as he also roped a triple in three at-bats on Friday. Given the absence of playoff prospects in Oakland, the 24-year-old is likely to continue getting seasoning at the big-league level for the remainder of the campaign.

Devers went 4-for-4 with a double, home run, two RBI and two runs scored Saturday in his first game since being promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Devers has been a hot topic in Boston as the Red Sox continue to get by with Deven Marrero and Tzu-Wei Lin at the hot corner. The Red Sox prefer that Devers be allowed to get some Triple-A at-bats under him before bringing him up to Boston. Additionally, there have been recent reports of the Red Sox's interest in acquiring third baseman Todd Frazier from the White Sox. If that happens, you can write off Devers making his MLB debut until September's roster expansion.

Longoria went 2-for-4 with a double and solo homer in Friday's 2-1 extra-inning victory over the Angels.

Longoria got his second half of the season off to a fine start with a 418-foot shot to left-center in the first off Ricky Nolasco and added his 23rd double later in the contest. The veteran third baseman extended his hitting streak to seven games and is now slashing .324/.316/.500 over the first nine games of July.

Manager Buck Showalter said he wants to keep Machado hitting second in the batting order, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

The third baseman spent most of the first half (238 at-bats) hitting third, but batted just .214 with a .704 OPS from there. Since moving to second, Machado is hitting .281 with an .861 OPS over 96 at-bats. Although RBI opportunities might drop off a bit, hitting second should provide him with more run-scoring chances, and he certainly seems more productive hitting second, which is the most important thing.

Manager Terry Francona is thinking of moving Jose Ramirez to second base while Jason Kipnis (hamstring) remains out indefinitely, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Ramirez has logged 17 games at second base this season, giving him eligibility at the keystone in most leagues. However, 20 is typically the magic number of contests needed to retain position eligibility for the next year. With that in mind, the All Star's value in keeper formats should receive an extra boost once Ramirez locks in that versatility for 2018.

Escobar is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Astros, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Escobar sat out two of the Twins' final three games prior to the break, and he will remain on the bench for the second-half opener. While the 28-year-old enjoyed a very productive month of June (.354/.398/.549), he is still sitting with just a .677 OPS against right-handed pitching for the season.

The Red Sox promoted Devers to Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

The tantalizing prospect now has a gig because the BoSox released Jhonny Peralta and designated Pablo Sandoval for assignment. Devers hit .300/.369/.575 with 18 home runs over 320 plate appearances at Double-A Portland and now has a clearer path to join the contending Red Sox before the end of the season. If the 20-year-old gets the call and an undisputed opportunity, he'll be an urgent fantasy pickup.