MLB Player News

Valencia is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Angels.

Valencia will get a rare day off after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's matchup with the Angels. Oakland will go with Max Muncy in right field, and he'll bat seventh in the order against right-hander Alex Meyer.

Alvarez is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rays.

Alvarez starts regularly against righties, but with left-hander Drew Smyly on the hill for the Rays, he'll get the day off Wednesday.

Duffy (Achilles) is not in the lineup Wednesday against Baltimore, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays announced earlier in the week that Duffy would be headed for season-ending surgery, but the plan was for him to play in "several more games" prior to the procedure. Duffy was scratched from Tuesday's lineup, and his absence Wednesday could be an indication that surgery may be required sooner rather than later.

Moncada will be given a day off Wednesday, Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports.

The original plan was to have Moncada play all three games in San Diego, but Padres pitchers are taking advantage of an MLB newbie. The 21-year-old is 0-for-7 with seven strikeouts through the first two games of the series and manager John Farrell decided to give him a breather. "He's getting pitched to," Farrell said. "He's seeing some things here for the first time. 3-2 breaking balls for strikes, backdoor breaking balls from left-handers that I'm sure in [Double-A] Portland and in the Eastern League, he's not going to see all that often." With San Diego scheduled to start right-hander Jarred Cosart on Wednesday, we expect Travis Shaw to start at third base for Boston.

Plouffe left Tuesday's game with an oblique strain, MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger reports.

This is pretty bad news with a little over three weeks left in the season. It would not be surprising if we didn't see Plouffe back in action until 2017, given the nature of the injury. Look for a combination of Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano and Eduardo Escobar to get starts at third base for the foreseeable future. Plouffe hit .256/.300/.408 with 11 home runs in 341 plate appearances and missed significant time with injuries at different points in the season.

Machado had a huge day Tuesday, going 3-for-6 with a grand slam and five RBI in an 11-2 win over the Rays.

The blast came as part of a six-run fourth inning that gave the Orioles a lead they would never relinquish. It was Machado's 34th home run of the season and brought his RBI total to 90. Combined with his solid .304 batting average and excellent defense at third base and shortstop, it's been an all-around spectacular season for Machado, who is still just 24 years old.

Plouffe injured himself in the middle of an at-bat in the eighth inning Tuesday and was replaced by a pinch hitter, MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger reports.

It is unclear what the nature of the injury is, but it was serious enough for Kennys Vargas to have to come off the bench to take Plouffe's place mid at-bat. Stay tuned for an update on the nature of the injury.

Duffy (Achilles) has been scratched from Tuesday's lineup, Steve Carney of 620 WDAE Tampa Bay reports.

The Rays said earlier Tuesday that they would hold off on shutting Duffy down, but it would not be a surprise if they sent him for surgery following this latest setback. Expect an announcement from the team regarding Duffy's status in the coming days. Nick Franklin is now slated to man shortstop Tuesday with Steven Souza in right field.

Duffy (Achilles) will play several more games before being shut down for the season, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

It was announced Monday that Duffy would undergo season-ending Achilles surgery in the near future, but it looks like that will not happen immediately, as he is in the lineup for Tuesday's game. It's not exactly clear when Duffy's season will come to a close, but that will be known when the Rays set a date for him to go under the knife.

Longoria (hand) is in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Longoria was forced from Monday's game early after being struck by a pitch on the hand, but he apparently was no worse for the wear Tuesday. Longoria will play third and hit third like he regularly does.