MLB Player News

Duffy went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI in Sunday's loss to the Blue Jays.

He had a big series against Toronto, going 4-for-11 with two doubles, two runs scored and four RBI. Duffy hasn't made much of an impact with the bat since coming over to Tampa Bay, but he may be starting to find his stroke.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Sunday that Chapman isn't likely to receive a promotion to the big leagues in the final month of the season, Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Chapman turned heads with a three-homer game for Triple-A Nashville on Saturday, but that apparently didn't move the needle enough for the organization. Though he's shown exceptional power in the minors this season, Chapman has generally scuffled since being promoted to Triple-A, slashing .194/.284/.528 across 81 plate appearances.

Moncada will start at third base and bat eighth Saturday against the A's, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports.

After coming off the bench in his major league debut Friday, Moncada will slot in for his first career start Saturday against right-hander Daniel Mengden. It appears the switch-hitting Moncada will start exclusively against right-handed pitching for now, with Aaron Hill drawing the starts against lefties, and he will bat in the bottom third of the Red Sox's lineup. That said, there's still plenty to get excited about with the game's top prospect as he profiles as a potential five-category producer even in a platoon role.

Alvarez is out of the lineup Saturday against the Yankees.

He will head to the bench with lefty CC Sabathia due up for New York, as is typically the case whenever the Orioles face a southpaw. Alvarez did get a start Tuesday against a lefty (J.A. Happ) and finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, but he's 8-for-33 against left-handers on the year and his exposure to them will remain limited.

Alvarez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, a walk and two runs in Friday's 8-0 victory over the Yankees.

The veteran slugger's 425-foot shot in the second brought home Adam Jones and made Alvarez a 20-homer man for the second straight season. The homer was his first since Aug. 19 against the Astros, with that round-tripper also having served as his most recent RBI prior to Friday.

Moncada made his major league debut Friday night, entering Boston's 16-2 win over Oakland in the seventh inning and getting two at-bats.

Moncada's highly anticipated debut came in a low-pressure situation, with Boston leading by 10 runs. He walked in his first plate appearance, scoring on a Travis Shaw double, then struck out in his other appearance. The plan going forward is to have Moncada start at third base whenever Boston is facing a right-handed starter, which will happen Saturday when the A's throw right-hander Daniel Mengden.

Bergman went 2-for-5 with a triple, homer, three RBI and two runs Friday against the Rangers.

Bregman has displayed a lot more power in his rookie time in the big leagues this year than he has the past two seasons in Single-A. His power is especially valuable at shortstop, and along with multi-position eligibility, the 22-year-old has shown good plate discipline through a solid walk rate.

While Moncada will not start Friday night's game, manager John Farrell said he will get the majority of the starts at third base against right-handed starters moving forward, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

The Red Sox's plans for Moncada seemed somewhat uncertain when he was not included in Friday's starting lineup, but Farrell said that he simply wanted to give Moncada a day to get acclimated to life in the big leagues before inserting him into the starting group. Farrell is planning to use Aaron Hill at third base against left-handed starters, and will likely still mix in Travis Shaw at the position from time to time, but Moncada will be in the lineup for Saturday's game, and frequently thereafter.

Moncada is not in the lineup Friday against the A's, the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reports.

As Abraham notes, the Red Sox did not start Xander Bogaerts or Andrew Benintendi in their first games after getting promoted to the big leagues, so this is not out of the ordinary for a top Red Sox prospect. Moncada's contract was selected from Double-A earlier in the day, and the hype surrounding the promotion is warranted. He is the top fantasy prospect in baseball, thanks to a five-category skill set that will be on display sooner than later for the Red Sox at the hot corner. Travis Shaw will get the start at third base Friday and Moncada will be available off the bench.

Moncada's contract was selected from Double-A Portland on Friday.

It was announced that Moncada would be getting the call a couple days ago, and it was fairly apparent that this was coming a couple weeks ago when he started playing third base with Portland (he is a second baseman by trade). He has some swing and miss in his game (30.9 percent K-rate at Double-A) and he has struggled to hit lefties (.167 average in 36 at-bats), but he is still quite easily the top prospect in baseball for fantasy purposes. He has all the makings of a five-category contributor, with his power starting to catch up to his speed, and he should occupy a prominent spot in the Red Sox's order for years to come. It is unclear how many days per week he will play initially, but Boston's other options at the hot corner have been horrendous in the second half so there are plenty of at-bats up for grabs. Based on his upside, Moncada should be rostered in the vast majority of formats.