MLB Player News

Escobar is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers, Brandon Warne of Cold Omaha reports.

Eduardo Nunez will take over at short against lefty Martin Perez, pushing Escobar to the bench as he did Tuesday when the Twins faced a lefty. Escobar got the nod Thursday against lefty Carlos Rodon but went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. The switch-hitting Escobar has fared better against left-handed pitching overall than against righties to this point, but it looks like he will continue sit occasionally against opposing lefty starters.

Machado went 2-for-4 with an RBI single in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Mariners.

The 23-year-old superstar plated Adam Jones in the eighth with two out to notch at least one RBI for his fourth straight game. Machado also extended his hitting streak to 10 games and made it four straight contests with multi-hit efforts, a feat he's accomplished in nine of his last 10 as well. Machado is putting together an MVP-caliber season and closes out June with a jaw-dropping .370/.396/.600 line over 100 at-bats that includes eight doubles, five homers, 21 RBI and 20 runs.

Bregman was called up to Triple-A Fresno on Thursday.

The 22-year-old has been phenomenal at Double-A Corpus Christi, hitting .297/.415/.559 with 14 home runs and 46 RBI in 62 games of action this season. Bregman recently played in the Texas League All-Star Game on Tuesday, and will earn his first chance to compete at the highest level in the minors. The 22-year-old could be a second-half addition to the surging Astros, but the team will like to see how he acclimates himself to pitching at the next level before calling him up to the majors.

Donaldson went 2-for-4 with a home run in Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Donaldson's 18th homer of the season was a solo shot with two outs in the third inning off rookie Tyler Anderson. According to Statcast, his blast was projected to travel 391 feet and left his bat at 99 mph. The reigning MVP has been teeing of this month, going 34-for-91 (.374) with five home runs, 23 RBI and 25 runs over 91 at-bats.

Machado went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs and three RBI Wednesday at the Padres.

Machado drove in his first run on a single, which was part of a four-run fourth inning, and he later belted a ground-rule double to plate two more runs to extend the Orioles lead to 9-3, helping them to an easy victory. He's been absolutely on fire lately, as he's gone 23-for-40 over his last nine starts to raise his slash line to .332/.390/.611.

Longoria has put together his best month of the season to date in June, and is 6-for-13 with a double and two runs over his last three games.

The veteran has been progressively better each month this season, and has been at his best in June. After a 2-for-4 performance against the Red Sox on Tuesday that represented his second straight multi-hit effort, Longoria's June line is up to .309/.375/.649 with five doubles, nine homers, 17 RBI, 10 walks and 16 runs. The Rays offense continues to be starved for runs on most days, but the 30-year-old has managed to raise his average 14 points this month despite the team's struggles.

Donaldson went 2-for-5, walked, scored a run and drove in three in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

Donaldson extended his hitting streak to seven games with the effort, and Tuesday's marked the fifth of those games with two hits. He added a triple Tuesday, giving him five on the season, more than he hit in the past two years combined. After 84 extra-base hits in 158 games last year, Donaldson is on almost the exact same pace in 2016, with 40 extra-base hits through 77 games.

Muncy was optioned back to Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

In order to make room for Josh Reddick coming off the DL with a thumb injury, Muncy was sent back down to Nashville. Muncy went 9-for-35 with two doubles and two RBI during his brief stay with the A's and will likely get another with the club later on this summer. With Nashville this season, Muncy is batting .263/.366/.442 with seven home runs and 20 RBI.

Machado went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI in Sunday's 12-5 blowout over the Rays.

Each of the first six hitters in the O's lineup collected at least two hits, one run and one RBI, and as usual Machado was right in the thick of the action. He's now banged out eight hits in four games since returning from his suspension, pushing his slash line on the season to .325/.384/.609.

Astros GM Jeff Luhnow has hinted in recent days that Bregman could be promoted to Triple-A Fresno later this week, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Bregman is scheduled to play in the Texas League All-Star Game on Tuesday, after which the Astros may formally graduate him to the next level. With a .410 on-base percentage to go with 14 homers and 45 RBI across 233 at-bats at Double-A Corpus Christi, Bregman seemingly has little left to prove in the Texas League and appears ready to test himself against better competition. The Astros haven't ruled out the possibility of Bregman joining the big club this season, but that likely wouldn't happen until after the All-Star break.