MLB Player News

Asche was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

The White Sox plan to announce a corresponding move before Monday's game against the Angels. Asche hasn't managed to produce at the plate this season, as he's hitting a bleak .105/.177/.175 and sporting a 33.9 strikeout percentage.

Duffy (heel) went 0-for-2 and played shortstop Saturday for High-A Charlotte, Bryan Levine of the Charlotte Sun reports.

Duffy sat out Friday's tuneup work, as he felt soreness in his surgically repaired heel during his Thursday contest. He came through on his expected plan by suiting up Saturday -- looking good at shortstop, per Levine -- though he failed to take a third at-bat because it "might've been doing more harm than good." That gives the impression his rehab work will go slowly. A late-May return looks plausible, either way.

Duffy felt soreness in his surgically repaired left heel during his Thursday rehab start for High-A Charlotte, but he still plans to take the field for the Stone Crabs against Fort Myers on Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The news certainly isn't ideal, but Duffy's proclamation that he'll be back Saturday after sitting out Friday's game is certainly encouraging. The 26-year-old has gone 2-for-6 over his first two appearances for the Stone Crabs.

Longoria went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI in Friday's win over Boston.

Longoria launched his fourth homer of the season over the seats on top of the Green Monster in this contest, a welcome sight for fantasy owners who have seen Longoria struggle to the tune of a .234/.310/.387 slash line. The .697 OPS he currently holds through the first six weeks of the season is well off of his .830 career mark, but he still holds substantial fantasy value for his power potential.

Escobar went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk and four RBI in Thursday's win over the White Sox.

After getting the day off Wednesday due to a rainout, Escobar enjoyed a productive game Thursday, setting the tone for his club with a three-run homer in the first. The bomb was his fourth of the season -- a welcome sight for fantasy owners as Escobar was just 1-for-his-last-11 at the plate.

Donaldson (calf) continues to rehab in Florida, but he's still at least a couple weeks away from returning, Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star reports.

Manager John Gibbons noted that his star third baseman is behind Troy Tulowitzki (hamstring) in the recovery process. Tulowitzki is hoping to return by the middle of next week for the series against Atlanta. Based on Tulo's timeline, fantasy owners can figure a best-case scenario would be to have Donaldson back in late May.

Valencia went 4-for-6 with a homer, two RBI and two runs against the Phillies on Wednesday.

Valencia's had a rough start to the campaign, but his occasional outbursts -- he had another four-hit game last week against the Angels -- will keep him employed in deeper fantasy formats. The journeyman is on his seventh MLB franchise in eight seasons, but he's a solid bat who's historically hit both lefties and righties, so he should continue coming around steadily.

Plouffe is out of Wednesday's lineup against the Angels.

He is 6-for-11 over his last three games, but will nonetheless take a seat against righty Jesse Chavez. Ryon Healy will start at third base while Jed Lowrie gets the nod at DH.

Duffy (heel) played four innings in his first rehab game with High-A Charlotte on Tuesday, singling and striking out over three at-bats, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The major takeaway was Duffy's ability to finally get some game action in, which reportedly went off without a hitch Tuesday. He's expected to see action in multiple games at the minor-league level before being deemed ready for a move up to the Rays.

Segura went 3-for-6 with three runs in Tuesday's 10-9 win over the Phillies.

The Mariners' leadoff man continued his excellent season at the plate, notching his sixth consecutive multi-hit effort and scoring both the game-tying and game-winning runs on doubles by Ben Gamel and Taylor Motter in the seventh and ninth innings, respectively. Segura is hitting .485 over his first 33 at-bats (seven games) in May, and .403 (25-for-62) with four doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 15 runs since returning from the disabled list on April 25.