MLB Player News

Bregman ran Thursday for the first time since suffering the hamstring injury, Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Thursday's activity represented a positive step forward for Bregman and he said he felt "fine" afterward, but the 22-year-old acknowledged that he is still without a timetable. With just 10 days remaining in the regular season (after Thursday), there's little reason for optimism in regard to Bregman's chances to play again in 2016, but a return has not been officially ruled out. General manager Jeff Luhnow said earlier this week that Bregman's injury typically requires 4-to-6 weeks of recovery time.

Longoria went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in a 14-4 loss at the hands of the Yankees.

Longoria has been white hot the past week, hitting four home runs in his last seven games. He now has 36 home runs on the season, extending his career high. Longoria also has 95 RBI, the most since 2011 when he hit 99.

Ramirez went 3-for-3 with a walk, three doubles, one RBI and scored a run in Wednesday's game against the Royals.

Ramirez has now hit safely in 17 of 19 games this month, pushing his average to .315, its highest mark since June 6, and good for seventh-best in the AL. Furthermore, the 24-year-old's 22 stolen bases this year ranks fifth in the AL, while his 42 doubles are fourth-best in all of MLB. Ramirez has been tearing it up all season, and the third baseman is showing no signs of slowing down as the 2016 campaign nears the end.

Valencia is in the lineup Tuesday against the Astros, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

After starting 10 consecutive games, Valencia had initially been out of Tuesday's lineup. However, Khris Davis was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with an illness, so Valencia will head to right field and hit cleanup against Joe Musgrove and the Astros.

Valencia is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Astros.

He has started the last 10 games, primarily getting the nod in right field and with one start coming at first base over that stretch. Jake Smolinski will start in right field while Brett Eibner gets a rare start in center field Tuesday.

Bregman's hamstring injury usually needs 4-to-6 weeks of recovery time, according to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Luhnow did say that recovery time can be pushed a bit, but even so, Bregman has only missed one week. With just under two weeks left in the regular season, expecting Bregman to make a return seems wildly optimistic. Perhaps he can make a postseason appearance if the Astros manage a deep run, but his fantasy season is most likely over.

Alvarez is not in the lineup Monday against the Red Sox.

Alvarez has been scuffling in the month of September, batting a mere .212 with five RBI since the calendar turned. With that in mind, he'll head to the bench for a day off while Mark Trumbo takes over as the designated hitter and Michael Bourn garners a start in right field to fill out the lineup.

Escobar is not in the lineup Sunday against the Mets.

Escobar has started seven consecutive games and gone a dismal 1-for-28 (.036) in that time. James Beresford will start at the hot corner while Escobar heads to the bench.

Valencia went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer Saturday in a 11-2 win over Texas.

Amid questions this week of whether he'd even remain on the Athletics roster the rest of the season, Valencia has proved himself valuable as the team has won five of its last six while averaging 10 runs a game. Valencia has totaled nine runs and has reached base 10 times over that period and is slashing .289/.347/.458 with 69 runs, 17 homers and 51 RBI on the season.

Ramirez went 1-for-4 with a game-winning RBI single in the 10th inning and a walk in Saturday's 1-0 victory over the Tigers.

The third baseman put an end to the scoreless marathon with his clutch single off reliever Justin Wilson, plating Jason Kipnis with the winning run. Ramirez has followed up a stellar August in which he slashed .350/.387/.581 by hitting safely in 14 of his first 16 games of September, with four multi-hit efforts over that span.